By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Seaman's bowling team set the bar extremely high with its team championship in the early session of Friday's Class 5A-1A state tournament at Northrock Lanes.
But the Viking girls were definitely up to the challenge, giving Seaman a sweep of the state titles with a 3,173-3,144 win over Bishop Carroll.
Seaman Makenzie Millard reacts to a strike during Friday's Class 5A-1A state bowling tournament. Millard finished second individually as the Vikings won the team title. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Seaman sophomore Cheyenne Turkin beams after receiving her 14th-place medal in Friday's Class 5A-1A state bowling tournament. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Sophomore Cheyenne Turkin said that watching the boys claim the title inspired the girls team to follow suit.
"It's such a good day and just knowing the boys are bringing home first, too, it's so exciting,'' Turkin said. "After the boys won all of us girls were kind of just talking and we were like, 'OK, we have to go out there and bring this home. We can't let them beat us.' ''
Viking senior Makenzie Millard agreed.
"It fired us up a lot,'' Millard said of the boys title. "Seeing them win, it was great. That was a push of extra motivation for us.''
Seaman coach Bob Benoit said the boys and girls have a friendly rivalry between the two teams.
"They compete against each other all year long,'' Benoit said. "It's been that kind of atmosphere all year so when (the boys) won that's the first thing (the girls) thought, 'Now we've got to go do the same thing the boys did or we'll never hear the end of it.'
"I'm just super, super proud of all of them.''
Seaman went into the 2021 state meet undefeated before finishing fourth and Millard said Friday's title was a great bounce back.
"It really is redemption,'' Millard said. "We work very hard at practice, we have been working hard all season, this just pays off. It just shows.
"I'm just very happy with what we did. I'm excited to go home with a trophy.''
Seaman ended the three American Tenpin games with a slim nine-pin lead over Salina South in a crowded team battle and briefly fell behind after the first of four Baker format games before using a pair of 200 games (202 and 211) to take control.
"It was so relieving to know, 'OK, we're back to what we usually are doing,' '' Turkin said. "And we just set the pace for the rest of the time.
"Baker is one of our strongest suits I think as a team.''
Millard finished as the individual runner-up to lead the Vikings with a 697 three-game series, highlighted by a opening 279 game, while Turkin finished 14th with a 590 series.
Millard recorded her third straight top-five performance after finishing fifth as a sophomore and fourth as a junior.
Millard was happy with her series Friday although it wasn't enough to overtake Great Bend's Kaylin Wahlmeier, who bowled a career-best 752.
"I was proud of myself overall,'' Millard said. "I was in a pretty good groove.''
Turkin medaled for the second straight season, finishing 16th as a freshman.
"It's higher than last year, so I'm happy with it,'' Turkin said.
Sophomore JaeLinn Thetford narrowly missed an individual medal, finishing 22nd with a 553 series while junior Katie Price added a 538, senior Kaitlyn Evans a 534 and sophomore Kayla Mize a 509.
Topeka West finished 10th as a team at 2,102 while sophomore Megan Wood finished 13th with a 593 to lead the Chargers.
Topeka West sophomore Megan Wood placed 13th in Friday's Class 5A-1A state bowling tournament with a 593 series. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Karli Gilliland qualified for state as an individual with a 525 series.
CLASS 5A-1A STATE BOWLING
GIRLS
Team scores
Seaman 3,173, Bishop Carroll 3,144, Great Bend 3,143, Salina South 3,059, Buhler 3,007, Lansing 2,966, Augusta 2,955, Maize South 2,765, Topeka West 2,724, Bishop Miege 2,692, Andover Central 2,527, Leavenworth 2,503.
Individual results
1. Kaylin Wahlmeier, Great Bend, 752; 2. Makenzie Millard, Seaman, 697; 3. Aviana Ordonez, Salina South, 693; 4. Kaylee Back, Wichita Carroll, 641; 5. Kaylee Laha, Goddard, 640; 6. Allison Eastridge, Augusta, 629; 7. Katie Limon, Bishop Carroll, 626; 8. Cynthia Phillips, Lansing, 624; 9. Olyvia Choura, Eisenhower, 611; 10. Nina Fress Salina South, 610; 11. Kassidy Miller, Augusta, 608; 12. Olivia Fonseca, Bishop Miege, 593; 13. Megan Wood, Topeka West, 593; 14. Cheyenne Turkin, Seaman, 590; 15. Rylee Surritte, Lansing, 581; 16. Teigan Nielsen, Buhler, 573; 17. CJ Reno, Bishop Miege, 568; 18. Aliyah Fryberger, Great Bend, 565; 19. Jewel Pham, Bishop Carroll, 561; 20. Adria Huiett, Buhler, 560.
Other Seaman -- JaeLinn Thetford 553, Katie Price 538, Kaitlyn Evans 534, Kayla Mize 509.
Other Topeka West -- Brenna Rutschmann 539, Reagan Kell 491, Kendra Umschied 453, Chase Kell 417, Hannah Allen 415.
Shawnee Heights -- Karli Gilliland 525.
