By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
High school bowling is a relative newcomer to the state scene, with the Kansas State High School Activities Association adding bowling as a state sport in 2005.
But local teams continue to make their mark, including three titles over the past two seasons.
Seaman's 2022 girls bowling team won the Class 5A-1A state championship by 29 pins, led by individual runnerup Makenzie Millard. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Washburn Rural won the 2023 Class 6A boys bowling state championship by 135 pins while putting three bowlers in the top 11 spots. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman's 2022 girls team and Washburn Rural's '23 boys team share the top spot on the TopSports.news Best of the Best bowling list while the Top 10 includes nine state championship teams.
Makenzie Millard finished second individually with a 697 series to lead the way as Bob Benoit's Seaman girls team posted a 29-pin win over Bishop Caroll in the '22 Class 5A girls state tournament while Jo Ricard's '23 Rural boys team put three bowlers in the top 11 places
individually on the way to a 3,711 team score and a 135-pin win in the 6A state tournament.
Seaman's 2022 boys bowling team was part of a Viking sweep of the '22 Class 5A-1A state titles. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Seaman's 2017 boys bowling team won the Class 5A-1A state title by 201 pins. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Shawnee Heights' 2010 girls bowling team was the first local team to win a state title, taking a 106-pin victory. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Topeka West won the Class 5A-1A boys state bowling championship by 12 pins. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Seaman was part of a boys/girls Class 5A-1A championship sweep in 2022, with the Vikings posting a team score of 3,483 to win the 5A-1A team title by 11 pins while the Vikings' '17 boys team, Shawnee Heights' '10 girls and Topeka West's '18 boys team round out the top five on the Best of the Best list.
Geoff Poston's 2011 5A-1A championship girls team was tapped for the No. 6 spot on the Top 10, followed by Benoit's '19 boys 5A-1A title team and Mike Thompson's '15 state-champion 5A-1A girls team.
Washburn Rural's '14 girls team and '12 boys team, which posted runnerup state finishes, round out the top 10.
Washburn Rural's '23 boys team received nearly 3,000 votes in Reader's Choice balloting, followed by Seaman's '22 girls with more than 1,000 votes.
Seaman's '11 girls team, Rural's '14 girls and Seaman's '22 boys team round out the top five.
Here's a look at the Top 10 and Reader's Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST GIRLS/BOYS BOWLING TEAMS
1. Seaman girls (2022) and Washburn Rural boys (2023) -- Individual runnerup Makenzie Millard led the way as Seaman's girls posted a team score of 3,173 to win the 2022 Class 5A-1A title by 29 pins while Washburn Rural's boys turned in one of the best performances in state tourament history this past season as the Junior Blues put three bowlers in the top 11 places individually on the way to a 3,711 team score and a 135-pin win in the 6A team race.
2. Seaman boys (2022) -- Seaman was part of a boys/girls Class 5A-1A championship sweep in 2022, with the Vikings posting a team score of 3,483 to win the 5A-1A team title by 11 pins as Ethan Burns finished 10th to lead a balanced Viking lineup.
3. Seaman boys (2017) -- Seaman won the Class 5A boys team championship by a whopping 201 pins as Ethan Cowen and Noah Belt placed three-four individually as the Vikings finished with a team score of 3,348.
4. Shawnee Heights girls (2010) -- Shawnee Heights was the first city team to win a state team bowling championship, with individual champion Jessica Thompson rolling a 715 series as the T-Birds put four bowlers in the top 10 and won the Class 5A-1A girls team title by 108 pins.
5. Topeka West boys (2018) -- Fourth-place Jordan Freed and seventh-place ylan Tidwell paced the Chargers to a 3,217 team score and a 12-pin victory in the Class 5A-1A boys team race.
6. Seaman girls (2011) -- Geoff Poston's Vikings won the Class 5A-1A team championship by eight pins over Buhler as fourth-place Alexis Hackler led three Seaman bowlers in the top 15 places.
7. Seaman boys (2019) -- Bob Benoit's Viking boys won the Class 5A-1A team title by 18 pins as Noah Belt posted a seventh-place individual finish and Koby Hoar placed ninth.
8. Topeka West girls (2015) -- Individual runnerup Renee Howland, who bowled a 689 series, paced Mike Thompson's Chargers to the Class 5A-1A team championship by a 43-pin margin over Eisenhower.
9. Washburn Rural girls (2014) -- Ashton Anderson won the Class 6A individual championship with a 662 series as Washburn Rural finished second as a team, just 11 pins out of first place.
10. Washburn Rural boys (2012) -- Third-place individual finisher Skylar Curtis bowled a 712 series as Washburn Rural posted a 2,750 team score to finish second in the Class 6A team race.
READER'S CHOICE GIRLS/BOYS BOWLING AWARDS
1. Washburn Rural boys (2023) -- No. 1 boys team on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
2. Seaman girls (2022) -- No. 1 girls team on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
3. Seaman girls (2011) -- No. 6 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
4. Washburn Rural girls (2014) -- No. 9 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
5. Seaman boys (2002) -- No. 2 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
6. Shawnee Heights girls (2010) -- No. 4 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
7. Topeka West boys (2018) -- No. 5 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
8. (tie) Seaman boys (2017) -- No. 3 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
8. (tie) Topeka West girls (2015) -- No. 8 on Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
10. Seaman boys (2011) -- Seaman took third in Class 5A-1A, with Tate Lawson placing eighth (665) to lead three Vikings in the top 18 spots.
Next up: Girls cross country Best of the Best Top 10 teams and Reader's Choice awards.
