Windsor wins states

The Vermont Principals' Association recognized the top five bowlers by grade level at the state team championships Saturday, including Springfield’s Haley St. Louis.

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2016-03-07 / Sports Windsor wins states By TIM TAYLOR sports@eagletimes.com Windsor captured the VPA team bowling championship on Saturday. Left to right, front row, Devon Campney, Elizabeth Moses, Katey Comstock, Tristan McMullen, Carlos Moncayo; middle row, assistant coach Rusty Comstock, Tatyana Malikowski, Sami Poland, Troy McCabe; back row, head coach Steve Bly, Casey Husband, Brandyn LeBarron. Windsor captured the VPA team bowling championship on Saturday. Left to right, front row, Devon Campney, Elizabeth Moses, Katey Comstock, Tristan McMullen, Carlos Moncayo; middle row, assistant coach Rusty Comstock, Tatyana Malikowski, Sami Poland, Troy McCabe; back row, head coach Steve Bly, Casey Husband, Brandyn LeBarron. BARRE, Vt. — When you have the top two bowlers in the state on your team, it's easy to put the weight on their shoulders. To win a state championship, however, you need a total team effort and can't look to a couple of stars to carry you all the time. A team effort is exactly what Windsor received as it won its second VPA Team Bowling championship in three years Saturday, defeating Springfield, Hartford and South Burlington at Twin Cities Lanes. Katey Comstock, Vermont's top-ranked bowler, marked 16 times in 23 chances in a 4-2 win over South Burlington in the championship match, including turkeys (three strikes in a row) in the 10th frames of the first and fifth games. Tristan McMullen, ranked second in the state and winner of the VPA individual championship a week earlier, posted nine marks in 12 chances. Their efforts were bolstered by senior classmate Devon Campney and first-year junior Brandyn LeBarron, who contributed nine marks apiece. And while most teams compete with a five-person lineup in the Baker format, the Yellow Jackets go with six with seniors Sami Poland and Casey Husband, rolling the first and sixth frames, respectively. Husband marked in each of his six opportunities and Poland added a pair of strikes. “Every team needs five good bowlers and they really filled those slots well,” McMullen said of his and Comstock’s teammates. “We came together well as a team today and we worked really hard to get here,” Comstock added. “[it] definitely paid off.” Throughout the day, Windsor coach Steve Bly reminded his charges to The VPA recognized the top five bowlers by grade level at the state team championships Saturday. Left to right are local honorees Tristan McMullen, Katey Comstock and Brandyn LeBarron from Windsor, and Springfield’s Haley St. Louis. - TIM TAYLOR The VPA recognized the top five bowlers by grade level at the state team championships Saturday. Left to right are local honorees Tristan McMullen, Katey Comstock and Brandyn LeBarron from Windsor, and Springfield’s Haley St. Louis. - TIM TAYLORfinish strong — the message came through loud and clear. Windsor marked 19 times in the first five frames of the six games in the finals and 16 times in the next four frames. In the 10th frame, where there's an opportunity to score three marks in each game, Comstock notched 11 marks. The strong finishes, as well as the team effort, were keys to the title, Bly said. “That's what made a difference,” said Bly. “We had a couple games where we struggled in the front half, but they finished strong in the second half. We were talking earlier in the week, if you have a big second half you can still win the game. “With Casey and Sami stepping up, it helped a lot. Devon and Brandyn, they've been pulling their weight all year long. And what can I say about Katey and Tristan? One-two in the state. I didn't expect anything less out of them.” Winning this title meant a lot to Bly, who also coached the Yellow Jackets to a state championship in 2014. “It's extra special, because I've gotten it with a couple of them a couple of years ago, and to have some of these new kids come in and be able to experience the same thing, it really means a lot,” he said. The opening game of the of the best-of-seven Baker format finals may have been the most nerve-wracking as Windsor rallied behind five straight strikes from Campney, McMullen and Comstock (rolling a turkey) to squeak out a 192-191 victory. And those Xs on the scoreboard were ever-so-big as South Burlington closed out the game with four strikes and a spare. In game two, after opening in three of the first four frames, the Jacks finished off a 173-161 win with seven consecutive marks. In game three, Windsor managed just two strikes, rolling four spares and four opens for its second lowest score of the day, and the Rebels prevailed 180-156. The Jacks found their groove again in game four, posting four strikes and four spares in the final eight frames for a 201-178 victory, moving themselves within a win of the title. And they would post their second highest score of the day in game five, only to be denied a state championship victory celebration by the resurgent Rebels. South Burlington struck out in each of the first five frames to build a big advantage, leading to a 221-212 triumph and trimming Windsor's overall lead to 3-2. Despite falling short, the Jacks did battle back furiously, closing the gap with seven strikes and a spare only to have SB clinch the win with a strike in the 10th. In the final game, Windsor opened in the first two frames, and the Rebels opened in the second and third before the Jacks settled into a rhythm. McMullen came through with a pair of strikes, and Campney, Husband, LeBarron and Comstock added one strike each as Windsor closed out a title-clinching 203-175 victory with nine consecutive marks. Even though the Yellows Jackets went into the tournament as the top seed, they knew they couldn't overlook neighborhood rival Spirngfield. The eighth-seeded Cosmos would sweep past Lyndon Institute 4-0 in the opening round and battle back to tie Windsor at 2-2 before bowing out of the tourney. Springfield rolled its best score of the first round in a 176-104 opening game victory over the Vikings. The Cosmos took game two 150-102, and would complete the sweep as Lyndon struggled to mark in games three and four. Springfield cruised to wins in each of those games, 144-91 and 152-77. That set up a showdown with Windsor. The Jacks looked poised to make it a quick quarterfinal as they opened with a 185-118 victory, but the Cosmos weren't going to roll over and put up a much stronger fight in the second game. Back-to-back strikes by Haley St. Louis and Matt Power in the second and third frames, and by Power and Alex Richardson in the eighth and ninth would ensure a battle to the finish. However, as Windsor seems to do frequently, McMullen would strike in the ninth and Comstock followed with a turkey in the 10th to give the Jacks a 175-157 win. The Cosmos had no intention of going down without a fight, however, battling back to tie the series at two games apiece. That rally was something Springfield head coach Mike Mullins was happy to witness. “I'm really proud of them,” he said “Heather [Morse] brought us together each time, being the team captain, and she just told them that she was proud of them and that we knew that we could do it, and they went out and took two to stay in it. They just fell short there at the end.” In game three, Richardson and freshmen St. Louis and Meghan Power combined for a turkey in the fourth through sixth frames. Matt Power added a strike in the eighth and that gave St. Louis an opportunity to pick up the win in the 10th. Comstock would roll a turkey and St. Louis a spare, and the freshman anchor would need nine pins on her final ball to get the win. She laid down a strike ball and the Cosmos prevailed 179-177. Game four would be a struggle for Windsor — just five marks (only one strike). Springfield would collect seven marks and even the match at two games apiece with a 158-140 win. The key, however, was a pair of strikes and a pair of spares over the final four frames for the Cosmos. Windsor bounced back to take game five 200-128 behind four consecutive strikes in frames two through five while the Cosmos managed just two strikes. Springfield had six frames where it knocked down nine pins on the first ball, but was unable to pick up the spare. The sixth game was tight through the first six frames, but Windsor marks in the final six frames to four for Springfield in the same span proved to be the difference in a 185-165 match-clinching win. “They're definitely our Achilles' heel,” Mullins said. “They just get in our heads. They want to beat them so bad I think they just over-try instead of just relax like we did the first set. Some day we will figure out how to beat them. Despite the loss, Mullins was proud of his team's efforts while battling some adversity this season. “We started off with seven, we ended up losing a couple because of academics and so we ended the season with the final five that we had,” Mullins said. “They fought through some tough matches. We won some tough matches. We lost some close ones. I'm super proud of them. They did good. I'm looking forward to this next season if they'll have me back.” Windsor would move on to face fourth-seeded Hartford. The Hurricanes would come out hot in game one and hold on for a 187-182 victory. The Jacks rebounded nicely in game two and another 182 would better Hartford's 141. The Yellow Jackets would put together their highest score of the day in a 215-151 game three win, and follow it up with 202-170 and 183-164 victories. With two state titles now in his possession, McMullen reflected on the recent accomplishments. “It juts feels amazing,” he said. “It's like the best thing that could happen for my senior year. “Last week was amazing because I felt so good that one day of bowling, but this is a real team effort. We all came together. That was really exciting for all of us, so I think this one was better.” Windsor received its championship plaque and medals in a special moment — the awards were presented by their former athletic director, Bob Hingston. Awards were also presented to the top five bowlers at each grade level. Comstock and McMullen finished 1-2, respectively, among the seniors. Lebarron, a rookie, was fourth among the juniors, and St. Louis was fourth among the freshmen. Windsor will have to replace five seniors next season, but has a deep roster to work with. Springfield, on the other hand, loses just one senior (Morse), but doesn't have any depth to work with. Mullins is already setting his sights on building the program for the 2016-17 season. “I'm trying to get the kids to talk to other kids at school,” he said. “I'm hoping that when Matt does his little greenhorn report thing I'm going to ask if anyone wants to join the team and try to sell it. “We had a great time. We had fun.” Of course, the season isn't quite over for Comstock, McMullen and Campney., who will compete in the Vermont vs. New Hampshire senior all-star match Saturday at Maple Lanes in Claremont.