BERNE — The Berne-Knox-Westlerlo bowling teams were rolling in success this winter.
The girls’ team continue to show that it is still one of the top small-school teams in the area by winning the Western Athletic Conference league and tournament. The Lady Bulldogs were trying to "three-peat" as Class C-D champions but finished second at the sectional tournament last month.

The boys’ team finished fifth in the league and improved one spot at the league tournament. At sectionals, the team finished sixth out of 26 teams.
"We won sectionals the past two years," said Coach Don Dennis of the girls’ team. "We finished second by 22 pins."

Queens of the WAC

The BKW girls were led by junior Sammy Moak. She made the league all-star team and had high triples of 624 and 614 at the league tournament. She had a 206 average and a high game of 225.

The Bulldogs needed all those points as they were in third place at the tournament heading toward the final frames.
"We needed seven out of eight points," Dennis said. "And we did it. We passed both Middleburgh and Mayfield to win the league championship that day."

Moak rolled a 201 at sectionals and missed qualifying for the state team by 50 pins.

Senior Ashley Overbaugh was also named to the Western Athletic Conference all-star team. She bowled an average of 181 at sectionals and had high games of 203 and 211 in the last team games of the day.
"She helped move us into second place," Dennis said. "She really came on. She had eight strong strikes. She had a 254 for a personal high."

Emily Meduna, a senior, had a high game of 207 this winter.
"We’ll miss her next year," Dennis said.

Junior Emily Pierce had a strong season finish.
"Both Emilys came on at the end of the season," Dennis said. "We really needed it. They helped us win the league."

Amber Moak, Sammy’s sister, had good success as an eighth-grader.
"She made a big improvement," Dennis said. "She had a high game of 204 this season."

Junior Athena Kelly was a big contributor at the Western Athletic Tournament and at sectionals, Dennis said.
"We’ll really miss the two seniors," Dennis said of Meduna and Overbaugh. "But the future is really exciting. We have some young bowlers coming up. There are three that I feel are ready to step up."

Those three bowlers are sophomores Rebecca Villeneuve, Caitlyn Overbaugh, also a sophomore, and Brittany Larghe.

Dennis also said that juniors Sarah Hallennbeck, Liz Hallenbeck, and Aurora Becker, along with Sonisha Robinson, an eighth-grader, had a good year bowling on the junior-varsity level.
"The girls had a terrific season," Dennis said. "Every season, we are hoping to win the league and tournament and do well at sectionals. We got two out of three and second place at sectional is nothing to be ashamed of."

Boys

The boys’ team was led by senior Ethan Schager. He was named a WAC league all-star and had a 197 average.

Schager rolled a 1,290 in six games at sectionals. He had an average of 215 and a high game of 257.

Classmate Drew Swint also had a good day at the sectional meet. Swint had an average of 182 during the season but rolled a six-game score of 1,336 pins. He had an average of 223 at sectionals.
"He really came on," Dennis said. "He had a high game of 267 and bowled the first nine strikes of the third game. During the season, he had a 709 triple and a 269 game."

Junior Dave White had a 197 game at sectionals. Freshman Tim McIntyre bowled a 182 at sectionals.

Mark Bryan, a senior, had a 176 at the sectional meet.
"They battled hard and competed in every match," Dennis said. "We’ll miss the three seniors next year. They came together and had great chemistry. They are a pleasure to coach.
"Next year, we have four boys that do not have a lot of varsity experience," Dennis added. "But they made strong improvements during the year and should be good next year."

Those four bowlers are ninth-graders Chet Ferriero and Keith Newcomb, junior Luke LeGedais, and eighth-grader Josh DeNyse.

There are four more kids who bowled like a junior-varsity team, Dennis said.

Those four are Anthony Martin, a freshman, eighth-grader Chris White, and seventh-graders Mike Field and Jon King.

Dennis, again, got help from Assistant Coach Matt Decker.
"He does a good job with the junior varsity and the modified," Dennis said. "He continues to learn more each year and is really helping us."

Also helping out the BKW bowlers is Marty Van Buren.
"He donates his time and comes to every match," Dennis said. "He’s been a great help to us with the young and older kids."

Dennis is happy with another fine year of bowling at BKW. His teams really improved and showed that the sport is alive and well on the Hill.
"It was a great year," the coach said. "These are nice kids to work with. Even if he finished dead last, we still would have had a great time. They are fun to work with, and I look forward to working with them next year."