Bowling: Coral Springs Charter Girls Wins Fourth District Straight Title

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Coral Springs Charter's undefeated girls bowling team got its four-peat at the District 15 tournament and will make its fourth appearance at this week's state tournament in Orlando.

Brimming with confidence, the Panthers are ready to challenge perennial powerhouse and defending state champion Circle Christian School.

Before the season started, Coral Springs Charter finished runner-up to Circle Christian at the U.S. High School Bowling National Championship in July.

"For the regular season they met my expectations," said Coral Springs Charter coach Nelson Martin, who created and built the program into a high school powerhouse in South Florida. "I thought they would come away with another district title. The rest is yet to be seen."

The Panthers best finish at state is fifth in its nine-year history.

"The biggest thing for us is we have a year's experience under our belts," Martin said. "The last time they were just happy to be there. This year they are going in with expectations. For me the goal is to finish well and do better than they did last time. The goal for them is to come back as state champion.

"I am excited for them. I just don't want them to put so much pressure on themselves that it becomes a problem. I just want them to focus on the goal at hand."

At the District 15 tournament, the girls' scorers were junior Crystal Singh, 741; sophomore Harmony Romano, 623; sophomore Julia Galang, 532; and freshmen Madison Foster, 523 and Larkin Kramer, 513.

The boys will also be returning to state after finishing runner-up to Taravella. It will be their third state tournament appearance.

The boys' scorers were senior Ryan Hernandez, 730; sophomore Joey Galang, 609; senior Jacob Austin, 575; eighth grader Nathan Whaley, 479; and sixth grader Tyler Harris, 467.

"The boys did very well," Martin said. "They bowled some of the better teams we have in the county. They held their own pretty well."

Martin said the turning point of the season for the girls was when Singh rolled a perfect game of 300 the third match of the season. Galang upped her average from 164 to 190.

"After Crystal threw her 300 everyone else tried to elevate and improve their game," Martin said. "They all put in the work and they see where it gets them. Now that they had a taste of nationals and the state tournament, they want more for themselves. They know we can hang with these people and can compete with the best."

The Panthers broke several county records during the season. Singh broke the individual game (300) and two-game total (536). The team broke its Baker record of 230 to 233, four-game record with 2,956 and high average with 217.

"We feel we can hang with Circle Christian," Martin said. "No one is unbeatable. Nobody is perfect averaging 1500 series or 300 games. What's the point then, give them the title. We're going to give them a run for their money. It's going to take everybody being on the same page and not let anybody get down like it's been all season."

In other district tournaments:

DISTRICT 15 BOYS: Taravella won the team title with Anthony Cohen, 354; Gavin McCarthy, 582; Joey Watynski, 619; Tyler Mason, 558; Zach Conrad, 574; and Andrew Nezat, 172. Nathan Samuels (734) and Austin Albaradi (633) both juniors at Coral Springs were individual qualifiers.

DISTRICT 15 GIRLS: Taravella was runner-up behind Coral Springs Charter. The Trojans were led by Ashley Davis, 479; Mikayla Vanvoorhis, 234; Alanna Thompson, 561; Jennifer Oxman, 581; Rebecca Kaye, 439; and Erika Carrera, 147. Hannah Carbocci of Douglas (574) and Nia Grinion of Everglades (544) were individual qualifiers.

DISTRICT 16 BOYS: Miami Christian won the boys' team title with Igar Rodriguez, 741; Ricardo Mesa, 677; Cody Stevens, 587; Liam Reloba, 555; and Anthony Munoz. Reagan finished runner-up with Christopher Pena, 557 and Christian Feierabend, 443. Michael Kopel of Dr. Krop (552) and Mitchell Lorenzana (518) were individual qualifiers.

DISTRICT 16 GIRLS: Mourning won the team title with Elianny Alicea, Julibel Bencosme, Florencia Casabelle, Sareyah Dad, Maria Rodriguez, Lianeli Sanchez and Andrea Unzaga-Burgos. Reagan was runner-up. Individual qualifiers were Kaitlyn Guise of Dr. Krop (508) and K'la Corley of Hialeah American (477).

DISTRICT 17 BOYS: Killian won the team title with Joseph Crusan, 678; Jorge Ofile, 607; Christian Pozo, 544; Kyle Krtausch, 463; and Marcos Guerrero (372). Ferguson was runner with Jorge Herrera, 582; Josue Mena, 549; Andre Alpert, 536; Zachary Gayoso, 519; and Nelson Mariscal, 446. Individual qualifiers were Christopher Diaz-Silveira of Columbus (563) and Ethan Melendez of Southwest (560).

DISTRICT 17 GIRLS: Ferguson won the team title with Vanessa Perez, 515; Angela Chapman, 440; Kassandra Buell, 439; Emilia Alvarado, 425; and Diana Raveras, 156. Braddock was runner-up with Patricia Velasco, 551; Katrina Hernandez, 514; Scarlett Garcia, 449; Regina Montevaro, 439 and Eileen Garcia, 400. Veronica Junco of TERRA (476) and Cassandra Zuria of Coral Reef (456) were individual qualifiers.

BOWLING STATE SCHEDULE

Wednesday-Thursday: Florida High School Bowling State Championships, Boardwalk Bowl Entertainment Center, Orlando.