EAHS bowling preview

Head Coach: Frank Telenko, Jr., sixth year.

2007-2008 Record: 49-19 overall.

Key Returners: Harry Rehkugler, senior; Beth Garman, junior; Katie Boozer, junior; Danny Secord, sophomore; Adam Fink, sophomore; Tyler Lee, sophomore; Beth Moyer, sophomore; Steven Ritzman, sophomore; Shaun Meier, sophomore; Aaron Maze, sophomore; Katie Funck, junior; Scottie Rhinehart, junior; Ethan Gruber, sophomore.

The Bears return a lot of players who were involved with the program last year, but Secord and Fink are the only two that saw extensive varsity action last year. As E-town’s most experienced bowlers, Secord and Fink will be relied on to be its most consistent this season as sophomores.

“It is going to be interesting to see who steps up to fill some big shoes lost to graduation,” said Telenko.

The Bears move back to Section One this year after winning a section title during their time in Section Two. Telenko said that while he doesn’t know what to expect in Section One, he knows what his returning group needs to do to be successful.

“We will continue to be great spare shooters and take our best shot at the top spot,” he said.

After Secord and Fink, look for Maze, Ritzman, Meier, Lee and Garman to compete for the top varsity spots match in and match out.

Key Newcomers: Justin Stillwagner, freshman; Paul Ziegler, sophomore; Tyler Halbleib, freshman; Shaun Eckerd, freshman.

With such a deep core of returning bowlers, this could be a learning season for these four.

“They are still learning to master the game and figure out what it takes to be consistent and get better. I expect them to improve and bowl a lot of games this year,” said Telenko.

Most of their time will be spent bowling in JV matches and learning the intricacies of the high school game, but Telenko said he is ready for anything.

“Who knows, maybe one or two could surprise us and crack the lineup,” he said.

Key Losses: Elisha Armold, Derek Boozer, Jon Lee, Megan Lee, Melissa Lee, Ryan Lightner, Chuck Rubis.
The Bears were hit relatively hard by graduation, losing their top two bowlers from last year – Boozer and Lightner. Both were four year starters and averaged more than 200 (Boozer averaged 216 and Lightner 208), and those kinds of scores won’t be easy to replace. But in addition to knocking down pins, they also knew how to win, and were keys to the Bears’ section championship two years ago. Boozer was also a Lancaster-Lebanon League and Section Two all-star for the past three seasons and is currently in the starting lineup for the Penn State-Berks bowling team.

Jon Lee was also a starter last year and was one of the team’s most consistent bowlers.

This is a tough group to replace from nearly every standpoint, but the younger Bears got to see them bowl and have a great example to follow.

Strength: Desire.
The Bears don’t have experience on their side but they do have something that ever successful team needs – the desire to improve. And that is something Telenko said will propel his team to where they want to go.

“Our commitment to practice is our greatest asset,” he said. “These kids are constantly picking my brain about the game and want to learn. They are dedicated and put a lot of time into practicing.”

Weakness: Experience.
Telenko said it best.

“There is a big difference between bowling in the Saturday morning junior program and bowling in a high school match,” he said.

Experience is something the Bears can’t work on in practice. It can only be gained by bowling in matches. For the past three years or so, the Bears have had that bowler who was able to step up and come through with a big shot – whether it was Boozer or Andy Moyer before him. And that could be something that hurts E-town early on this year.

“This team is still searching for that ‘go-to’ guy or gal,” said Telenko. “We need a few individuals who are able to deal with the pressure and perform.”

This is certainly something that could go away very quickly. All it would take is a few early season wins to gain confidence and then the Bears won’t be worried about bowling in a tight spot, they’ll relish it.

Outlook: E-town has a very young team (all of the bowlers expected to see the majority of the varsity time are either sophomores or juniors), and that could mean this is a year it gets its feet wet. The return to Section One won’t make life any easier on the underclassmen, but it could be a blessing in the next few years to get thrown into the fire this season.

“I fully expect this team to learn how to bowl together, support each other and develop as a team,” said Telenko. “We will have the main nucleus of this team together for the next three years, and there is a lot of potential.”

But first things first, the Bears have to step up and show no fear of bowling at the varsity level, and Section One, in order to be successful this year. Telenko’s philosophy has always leaned heavily toward the importance of picking up spares, and it will be no different this season. To do that, though, the Bears will need to continue working hard in practice, even if they get off to a slow start. And it will need someone to emerge as a go-to bowler that the team can rely on in close matches – and that will likely be Lee or Secord.

“Making spares takes a great deal of concentration and discipline on the lane,” said Telenko. This team works hard in practice and I would love to see them become successful.”

If they stick to their work ethic, there’s no telling what this young team can accomplish, including a triumphant return to Section One.

EAHS bowling preview

Head Coach: Frank Telenko Jr., fourth season.

2006-2007 Record: 42-18 overall. Section Two champions.

Key Returners: Derek Boozer, senior; Ryan Lightner, senior; Jon Lee, senior; Megan Lee, senior; Melissa Lee, senior; Chuck Rubis, senior; Elisha Armold, senior; Harry Rehkugler, junior; Beth Garman, sophomore; Katie Boozer, sophomore.
This group has the ability to lead this team back into contention for the section title.
Captains Boozer and Lightner will be the team’s anchors and will put up 600 and 700 serieses consistently. Jon Lee, the team’s third captain, will be in the high 500s and is capable of a 600 series as well.
But the group’s biggest task (other than knocking down lots of pins, of course) will be showing the younger bowlers the ropes.
“I expect this group to lead,” Telenko said. “There are a lot of young kids on this team, and we plan to contend for another section title. This group knows what it takes.”

Key Newcomers: Danny Secord, freshman; Adam Fink, freshman; Tyler Lee, freshman; Shaun Meier, freshman; Beth Moyer, freshman; Steven Ritzman, freshman; Ethan Gruber, freshman; Aaron Maze, freshman; Garrett Amsbaugh, freshman; Katie Funck, sophomore.
The Bears have a ton of young bowlers, many of whom need to be ready to bowl at the varsity level when needed. Secord and Fink have already seen action, as both bowled in the team’s season-opening match.
Secord appears to be the most varsity-ready bowler of all of the newcomers, putting up a 524 series in his first match.
They will get to learn from a talented group of upperclassmen.
“This group is talented and hungry and they are expected to be ready to carry the torch,” said Telenko. “Many will get varsity time (and) they need to be ready to perform right now and be ready to take the leadership reins for next year.”

Key Losses: Andy Moyer, Andy Fink, Kyle Criste, Katielynn Scanlon.
All four of these bowlers were integral parts of last year’s successful team.
Moyer was the anchor of that team, consistently putting up excellent scores. Fink, Criste and Scanlon were also solid, consistent bowlers and helped the Bears win a lot of matches a year ago.
Their leadership and ability will be missed, but they did a good job grooming the current seniors to lead the team.

What they do well: Shoot spares.
Telenko is a big believer in the “spares win matches” philosophy, and he has hammered that into the heads of his bowlers.
“We are a great spare shooting team because we work on it every day at practice,” he said.

What they need to work on: Not playing down to their opponents.
Telenko said that one of the things his team needs to work on is bowling with the same consistency no matter who the Bears are matched up against.
“We tend to get caught up in bowling to our opponents. If we bowl a team that is not perceived as a strong team, we tend to bowl bad,” he said. “We need to learn how to win and worry about our self motivation.”
The cure to that problem lies with the seniors. The younger players take their cue from them, so the older bowlers must show that they will bowl at a high level consistently, regardless of the competition.

How they’ve fared so far: 4-0.
The Bears swept Manheim Central in their season opening match, 4-0, on Monday, Dec. 3 and are off to a good start.
In that match, Boozer led the way with a 712 series, followed by Lightner (618), Lee (562) and Secord (524).

Outlook:
There’s no denying that E-town has a very strong, capable team – especially with Boozer and Lightner in their starting lineup. So the Bears will need to live up to the expectations that will be placed on them as defending section champions. They have the target on their backs now, and they have to be ready to be on their game every match.
The Bears have an exceptionally large team (20 bowlers), and Telenko has big expectations for them, not only to win matches, but to learn the nuances of the game.
“I expect them to learn the game of bowling and act like a sponge during practice and matches. They need blind faith,” he said. “As a varsity program, we expect to win the section title again. We practice to win every day and my seniors want nothing more.”
Next year, the Bears will move back up to Section One, so this will be an important season for the younger bowlers to continue improving before making the leap next season.
But for now, E-town will continue punishing pins – and Section Two opponents.