James Clemens and Sparkman Advance To State Bowling Championships After Regional Competition
BIRMINGHAM- The Sparkman High girls and boys bowling teams along with the James Clemens’ boys squad have advanced to the Alabama High School Athletic Association State Bowling Championships scheduled for this weekend in Pelham after qualifying through the North Regional Championships held in Birmingham.
The James Clemens squad finished third in the team pairings competition falling to eventual regional champion East Limestone 1,442-1,366 in the semi-finals match. The Sparkman boys defeated Northridge in round one 1,424-1,168 before falling to East Limestone 1,308-1,372.
The Sparkman girls fell in the semifinals for a third place finish. Southside edged the Lady Senators 1,336-1,251.
“Our girls posted some of the highest scores after day-one of the competition and did just as well in the pairings action on the second day and have a lot of confidence going into the state event,” said Lisa Ivey head coach of Sparkman, who has Dianna Lindsey as the team’s assistant coach. “Our boys have lots of potential and if can get our three seniors to be leaders for our squad, they can very good.”
Day-one individual series action was led by Daejon McCray of James Clemens. The sophomore rolled a series of 672 to claim individual honors. In girls, Angela Webber, an eighth grader at Monrovia Middle School, led the Lady Senators with a fourth place score of 501. Daylin Tolgo, sophomore for Sparkman, finished eighth with a series score of 480.
“Daejon certainly carried our team the first day for the team seeding purposes,” said James Clemens head coach Todd Carter of McCray. “He wants to earn a college scholarship in bowling and he has the potential to do so.”
Carter said he feels his squad really doesn’t know how talented they are and have a chance to do very well at the State Championships. Carter added, “We need consistency that we lacked in the regional and need our two seniors, James Roberts and Michael Kosinski, to be leaders as the remainder of the team look to them for support.”
The Sparkman boys qualified behind the Cole Arsenault. The sophomore tallied a 588 series and led the squad despite taking up the sport just over a year ago. Dalton Tolgo, eighth grade brother of Daylin, finished second for the Senators.
