Fort Recovery sweeps major MAC awards

FORT RECOVERY — When Alison Rosegrant took over the Indians, the Tribe struggled to get above .500 in the conference.

When Deanna Brown joined the high school team, she filled in the lead spot for Baker and averaged 151.1 pins per game.

Nine years later for Rosegrant, the Indians have put together back-to-back title seasons in the conference.

One year later for Brown, the sophomore averaged 183.7 pins per game and has taken over the top spot for her team.

Those improvements resulted in the Fort Recovery High School girls bowling team sweeping the big Midwest Athletic Conference Awards, with Brown named Bowler of the Year and Rosegrant Co-Coach of the Year. The rest of the starting lineup got recognized through the All-MAC teams as well.

This was the second consecutive season that Rosegrant was named MAC Co-Coach of the Year after leading the Indians to back-to-back conference championships. In both years, Fort Recovery had perfect regular-season MAC records but fell to Versailles in the tournament to split the title with the Tigers and Rosegrant’s award with Tyler Phlipot.

“It’s something I did not ever expect to have received,” Rosegrant said. “I started this just as something fun. They were getting a team together and I liked to bowl in high school and said, ‘Well, I’ll help out,’ Nine years later it’s turned into MAC championships, coach of the year and going to state. It’s kind of mind blowing to see where we’ve ended up and I’m excited to see what we can do in the future.”

Brown had a more casual approach to the MAC honors.

“It’s been a really fun year,” Brown said. “My teammates (support me) and being anchor in Baker is really neat. Especially me being a sophomore and there’s seniors out there. … But it’s just another trophy. I (treat it) as just another match just like sectionals. I don’t get too worked up about it because when I’m a little more nervous I don’t do as good, so I have to treat this as just another (trophy).”

As a freshman, Brown averaged 151.1 pins per game, which ranked 15th in the MAC, and her season high came in at 187. She had the 22nd-highest series among the MAC bowlers at 331 pins. Both her high game and series came against Coldwater at Speedway Lanes in New Bremen on Jan. 6, 2024.

This season, Brown’s average nearly eclipsed her season-high game as she rolled 183.7 pins per game. She set her new career-high game of 256 (69 pins better than her previous mark) against Versailles again at Speedway Lanes on Jan. 4. She coupled that game with a 235 to smash her previous high series by 160 pins with a total of 491.

Her 491 series was the highest of any MAC bowler on the season, with teammate Ella Schoen coming in second at 447. Brown’s 256-pin game was only outdone by one pin by Schoen. The Indian sophomore’s average ranked third in the MAC behind Schoen (187.4) and Danielle Francis of Versailles (184.9).

Brown attributed her big jump to the work she has put in at Miracle Lanes and an equipment upgrade that better suited her release style.

“Coach is helping me out a lot and I’ve been able to get up here more and practice,” Brown said. “Getting better by the day. I got a new ball and after that I was bowling in the 200s more consistently. … (With the old ball) I used to have a lot more reaction in the pins and they actually scattered instead of breaking right through, so it was leaving me splits.”

Brown previously threw a Brunswick Ethos, but picked up a Storm Ion Max prior to this season. The break point for the Ion Max compliments Brown’s ball path better, creating a better angle of entry and allowing the pins to take each other out more naturally.

Brown can often be found at Miracle Lanes after school, practicing between five and six days a week for two to three hours.

“I think Deanna over the last half of the season has really stepped up in terms of her commitment to the sport,” Rosegrant said. “She is here practicing every single day and the other girls see that and see where that practice has gotten her.

“She is a great representation of what practice can do for you and the other girls are seeing that and are following her lead and our scores are improving all around. … She shows that practice does make perfect.”

The Tribe has now won back-to-back Co-MAC championships with Versailles and is starting to prove to be a powerhouse in the conference. Under Rosegrant’s leadership, Fort Recovery has clawed from 0-9 conference record in 2016-17 to consecutive perfect conference records.

The Indians have now tied Coldwater for two MAC titles, while Versailles leads the conference with four. (Prior to the 2020-21 season, the MAC schools bowled in a larger conference that included Fort Loramie, Russia, Ansonia, Mississinewa Valley and others.)

“(The success) comes down to, they have the drive for it, especially my seniors this year,” Rosegrant said. “We’ve bowled against Versailles and Coldwater when they were at the top, we took a lot of losses against them early in their career and we always wanted to be those teams. … We took that drive and turned it into success. To be compared to those teams as powerhouses is exciting and where we want to be.”

Along with Brown and Rosegrant, Schoen, Emily Lauber, Lilah Thien and Kayla Heitkamp all were recognized by the conference as well.

Schoen and Lauber both made the All-MAC first team alongside Brown. Lauber finished fifth in the conference with a 177-pin average.

Thien made the All-MAC second team, while Heitkamp was an honorable mention bowler. Thien’s average of 175.2 was good for sixth in the conference, while Heitkamp came in at 12th knocking down 161 pins per game.