By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Sophomore Cody Spangler would have loved to have had his Washburn Rural bowling teammates alongside him for Thursday's Class 6A state bowling tournament at Bowlero-Northrock.
But as the lone Junior Blues state qualifier, Spangler did what he could to make the program proud, bowling a 702 three-game series to earn the sixth-place individual medal.
"At first I was nervous, but I was talking to friends and I just locked in I guess and I started bowling really well and I just kept hitting my mark,'' Spangler said. "I was really proud of myself.
"I didn't know I was going to bowl this well at state considering last year I bowled a 188 average (on the season). To average 234 at state, that's a 46-pin jump, which is just crazy.''
Spangler rolled games of 225, 248 and 229 to finish just four pins out of the top five.
"This definitely inspired me to work a lot harder in bowling,'' Spangler said. "I don't know if I'm going to bowl as well as I did this year because it was just a great year all over. I had a 300 game and this (state finish) will be kind of hard to beat. I'm going to try though.''
Topeka High senior Thomas Patterson also competed at state as an individual, bowling a 642 series, which was just eight pins away from a state medal.
Patterson started his day with a 232 game, followed by a 192 and a 218 in his final game.
CLASS 6A STATE BOWLING TOURNAMENT
At Bowlero-Northrock
BOYS
Team scores
Derby 3,722, Olathe South 3,589, Olathe Northwest 3,506, Olathe North 3,502, Garden City 3,491, Mill Valley 3,490, Campus 3,355, Olathe East 3, 270, Gardner-Edgerton 2,857.
Individual results
1. Joseph Ouellette, Olathe North, 737; 2. Andrew Kouris, Mill Valley, 725; 3. Evan Clark, Derby, 720; 4. Graesyn Hoss, Lawrence, 710; 5. Christian Lahey, Shawnee Mission East, 706; 6. Cody Spangler, Washburn Rural, 702; 7. Dawson Baumgartner, Derby, 690; 8. Kaden Strasser, Garden City, 687; 9. Anthony Dokolas, Olathe South, 684; 10. Brandon Andino Umana, Campus, 681; 11. Braden Morrow, Wichita South, 681; 12. Kane Burns, Garden City, 672; 13. Ethan Diehl, Mill Valley, 670; 14. Ian Caudillo, Olathe South, 661; 15. Davis Best, Blue Valley West, 657; 16. Tyler Huffman, Derby, 653; 17. Eli Nathan, Blue Valley North, 652; 18. Brent Stockwell, Mill Valley, 651; 19. Tanner Hagg, Olathe South, 650; 20. Athen Villarreal, Garden City, 650.
Other city -- Thomas Patterson, Topeka High, 642.