The day was Friday, Feb. 6. The day was filled with a lot of lasts. Last strike, last spare, last split, last regular season meet at home and what could have been their last time bowling at Cadillac Lanes as a West High Wahawk.
This was the first meet the boys bowled without the girls all year due to the new season’s structure. Senior captain Aiden Berry was also missing from this meet due to a stomach bug that had caused him to miss a few days of practice and eventually the meet. Without Berry and the girls’ team being present, there was also fewer coaches, fans and overall people. This made the alley seem quite empty, so we expected the meet to be quiet, but not this quiet. The meet was watched very carefully so although the pins were loud, fans held in most of their cheers until the final score was read off and the history was made.
The Wahawks came out of the gate in individuals where they averaged just over a 236, with the low game being a 211. In the second game of individuals, the scores were even better. They averaged just less than a 250 in game two, with the low game being a 204.
The success clearly came from all the bowlers. Sophomore Hunter Stiemel led the team in scoring with a season high 546 series. Up next was Senior Jake Melcher, who finished with a 494, edging out Junior Rush Steen, who finished with his own 493. Senior Boston Wolford bowled in just his fourth varsity meet of his career and finished with a very impressive 458 series. Senior Nick Tharp added his own season high series with a 466. Finally, Junior Davin Smith was the lone Wahawk left on the score sheet while still logging a very solid 415. Smith battled through adversity, where in the middle of his second game, his strike ball had the thumb hole dislodged and was lost in the back machines. Smith was forced to use a different interchangeable thumb hole that seemed to be twice as large as the grip before. Although the unexpected challenge arose Smith battled through the adversity to fill much-needed frames in baker’s.
Bakers were no different from individuals. The team could not stop striking. Bakers started off very hot, where the Wahawks had 11 strikes and logged a 267. They did not slow down in the next four games, scoring a 264, 244, 235 and 247 baker’s total would come out to 1257. Everyone knew the score was incredible, but no-one realized just how spectacular the score was. Then by the end of it all, parents were celebrating with happiness while also anticipating what the final tally would come out to.
According to https://ushsbf.org/iowa.html that baker set was the new Iowa High School State Bowling record for a five-game baker set. This 1257 series broke this 13-year-old record by almost 20 pins, which was previously owned by crosstown rival Waterloo East, set back on February 16, 2012. This feat is also 21 pins short of the national record set by Oak Hills High School in Ohio who logged a baker set of 1278. Along with this baker record the Wahawks also now hold the record for the largest score in a typical meet format (10 Individual Games + 5 baker Games) with a total score of 3964. The previous record holder to that score is unknown due to the scoring system being unique to Iowa High school Bowling
Wolford found out at 7:11 in the morning that he would be on varsity, filling in for Berry later that afternoon, and was simply unfazed by the late notice. Wolford had every reason to be this confident due to his early success on JV and very solid varsity performance early in the season, where he had a 458 series. Wolford simply responded with “Sound good” and showed up eager to contribute to the team. Wolford was asked what it meant to be on this record-breaking team and stated, “I knew any record would always be tough to beat, especially missing one of our core pieces.” he also stated strict confidence where he said “This team is very talented, and from start to finish, anything is possible.”
That level of confidence but self-humility is what the team has aimed to display this year. Coach Brandon Steen said it best when he quoted, “The way you guys glue together but stay within yourselves is something that is very rare and awesome to be a part of.” Staying within oneself is very important to staying grounded and focused on upcoming tasks that could easily knock you off course. Coach Ken Ruddy also stated, “The attitudes today were some of the best I have seen all season, and it was very impressive how all of you can leave a bad shot in the past and move on.” Ruddy also reiterated how important that same mentality will be to carry on as the Wahawks bowl in the postseason
