By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Even though Seaman junior bowler Riley Parkhurst was in the midst of a career day Wednesday at West Ridge Lanes he couldn't do any celebrating after the final ball in the Washburn Rural Senior Day triangular had been rolled.
Riley Parkhurst
Tyler Faurot
Parkhurst bowled a personal-best three-game series of 727 Wednesday and he needed every single pin to hold off Washburn Rural sophomore Tyler Faurot, who was second with a 726 series.
"I got off to a good start and kept hitting eight at that marker down lane and it just kept coming in,'' said Parkhurst, who put together games of 237, 224 and 266.
Faurot rolled games of 231, 236 and 259 and actually took a six-pin lead over Parkhurst into the final game.
Parkhurst and Faurot were bowling side by side, which made it easy for the pair to keep track of each other at the end of the third game.
"I went over there and knew if he nine-spared-struck I beat him by one and that's what he did,'' Parkhurst said.
"At the end there I was kind of looking and I was kind of calculating to see what I had to shoot to beat him,'' Faurot said.
And although he would have loved to have won, Faurot had no complaints with how he bowled in only his third varsity meet.
"I'm fitting in well,'' Faurot said. "I started strong today and that helps.''
Parkhurst led the way as defending Class 5A-1A state champion Seaman bowled an outstanding 2,811 series to top runner-up Rural by 60 pins. Topeka West was third at 2,259.
Seaman's Dominic Figueroa finished fifth individually as all six of the Vikings bowled a 665 or better series.
Washburn Rural put three bowlers in the top five, with returning state placer Josh Hammons third with a 700 series and Logan Glinka fourth with a 696.
Topeka West was led by Dason Tidwell's 665 series.
With United Kansas Conference, regional and state tournaments coming up Parkhurst said he feels good about the way he's bowling.
"I feel like I've got everything under control now and feel like I can keep rolling them,'' he said.
WASHBURN RURAL TRIANGULAR
At West Ridge
BOYS
Team scores
Seaman 2,811, Washburn Rural 2,751, Topeka West 2,259.
Individual results
1. Riley Parkhurst, Seaman, 727; 2. Tyler Faurot, Washburn Rural, 726; 3. Josh Hammons, Washburn Rural 700; 4. Logan Glinka, Washburn Rural, 696; 5. Dominic Figueroa, Seaman, 679.
Other Seaman -- Zander White 678, Ethan Burns 673, Alex Presscott 668, Braxton Moore 665.
Other Washburn Rural -- Geo Peoples 613, Walker Thompson 572, Reece Godby 522.
Topeka West -- Dason Tidwell 665, Cole Rodriguez 550, Casey Ard 492, Richard Haug 475, Alec Rutschmann 462, Zach Hulse 461.
Vikings' Thetford rallies to take girls individual title
The way JaeLinn Thetford's day started out Wednesday, it appeared as if the Seaman junior standout might be in for a long day.
JaeLinn Thetford
"I could not get lined up,'' Thetford said of her first-game struggles. "I was all over the place. It was not a good game.
But after bowling a first-game 133, Thetford made a dramatic turnaround, improving 61 pins in the second game for a 194 and capping her day with a final-game 265 to claim the individual title in Wednesday's Washburn Rural quadrangular with a 592 series.
Thetford admitted that the 265 was a surprise.
"It came out of nowhere,'' she said. "That saved my series.''
Thetford's teammate, Katie Price, finished second with a 580 series as Seaman took the team title by a 2,244-2,174 margin over Washburn Rural. Topeka West was third with an 1,844 team total.
Thetford said she feels good about the Vikings' chances as they take aim on a second straight state team championship.
"As a team we're doing great,'' Thetford said. "We really work together as a team and if we get down on ourselves we're really good about picking each other up.''
Personally, Thetford said she needs to work on her consistency.
"My good days are really good and my bad days are really bad,'' Thetford said with a laugh.
Washburn Rural got a third-place finish from Claire Ireland (578) and a fifth from Elizabeth Poling (524) while Topeka West's Megan Wood finished third with a 540 series.
GIRLS
Team scores
Seaman 2,244, Washburn Rural 2,174, Topeka West 1,844.
Individual results
1. JaeLinn Thetford, Seaman, 592; 2. Katie Price, Seaman, 580; 3. Claire Ireland, Washburn Rural, 578; 4. Megan Wood, Topeka West, 540; 5. Elizabeth Poling, Washburn Rural, 524.
Other Seaman -- Laci Cole 521, Cheyenne Turkin 507, Kayla Mize 502, Claire LaDuke 417.
Other Washburn Rural -- Ahley Billups 524, Taylin Sakers 481, Gabby Martinez 487, Hailey Beyer 428.
Other Topeka West -- Reagan Kell 450, Brenna Rutschmann 439, Hannah Allen 376, Karlee Gilbreath 369, Jordyn Felsburg 276.
