First time appearance

The Indians have made it to new territory.

Yet they are not satisfied and are looking for more.

The Fort Recovery High School girls club bowling team will make its first appearance at the OHSAA Division II state tournament at H.P. Lanes in Columbus, Ohio at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.

This is the first appearance for Fort Recovery at the state tournament since Abigail Lauber, older sister of current junior Emily Lauber, made it as an individual in the 2020-21 season, and the first time ever as a team.

“I am so excited and proud of these girls,” coach Alison Rosegrant said. “We had a team a couple years ago that was state worthy, but we missed out. We got fourth in districts while they take the top three teams, so we came up just short.

“I’m over the moon and so excited because these girls deserve it. They practice hard every day and have a great support system with parents and family. I’m excited to see us perform at the state level.”

Competition will feature both individual and team play to determine who moves on to bracket play.

The day will start with bowlers throwing three individual games, followed by three games of baker. 

The eight highest finish of the 16 team field, scored by both individual and baker games, will move into bracket play, where teams compete in a best-of-5 baker series, to bowl for the state championship.

Despite being new to state, the Indians aren’t being shy when it comes to setting their goals. While Rosegrant recognized that making it to state is an accomplishment in itself, she has set the goal to try and make it to bracket play before focusing on each individual match to make a potential run for the title.

The Indians currently come in as the 10th seed at 3,567 pins based off of district results. Versailles, another Midwest Athletic Conference team, holds the No. 8 seed at 3,621, while Rootstown only trails by five pins.

Fort Recovery will feature a lineup consisting of senior Brooklyn Wyerick, juniors Emily Lauber, Ella Schoen and Kayla Heitkamp and freshman Deanna Brown, while senior Tiffany Taft and juniors Saidy Deroo and Jordyn Aisenbrey join as alternates. Wyerick, Lauber and Schoen made the first team All-MAC while Heitkamp was named as an honorable mention, supporting Rosegrant’s confidence in her team’s ability.

A big key to making the top eight will be mental toughness.

“Bowling is very much a mental game,” Rosegrant said. “You have to stay in control of your emotions, remain consistent and turn frustration into positivity. …

“The biggest thing we did at district is we all remained positive. We were cheering each other on and if someone had a bad ball we were there to bring them back up. The girls bowl better when we’re having fun, so we need to keep that mental strength up and just have fun.”

Along with the 16 teams at state, 16 individuals qualified as individuals. The top five bowlers medal from the individual competition.

Napoleon’s Carlee Hohenbrink comes in with the highest district results, as she rolled a 683 series. Lauber ended as the Indians’ top bowler from the district meet with 632, just seven pins behind deafening state champion Emma Yoder of Wooster.

Rosegrant believes that Lauber, Schoen and Wyerick all have the ability to finish in the 600s, giving them a chance to place high in the individual competition.

Regardless if Fort Recovery meets its goals for the tournament, Rosegrant wants the girls to revel in the moment and reflect on the history they made to make it to this point.

“I’m hoping by the end of the championship, the girls look back on the season and understand how amazing it is they broke so many records,” Rosegrant said. “We went undefeated, went second in the MAC tournament for co-champs overall, second at sectionals and district. These are accomplishments that no one can take away from them and they’re really hard to do.

“I want them to look back on this as something they’ll remember years down the road and remember how they performed as a team together.”

There will be plenty of time for remembering later. Now, it’s time to see just how far the Indians can go.