COLUMBUS — Sidney’s boys bowling team captured the school’s first-ever team state championship by winning the Division I title on Friday at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.
The Yellow Jackets — which finished fourth in the Southwest district tournament in late February — beat Centerville 3-0 in the championship Baker match. Sidney beat the No. 1 seed Elks (which finished first in the district tournament) 237-196, 171-160 and 244-193 in the final.
Sixteen teams qualified for state. The top eight finishers in qualifying rounds on Friday advanced to head-to-head matchups.
Sidney finished third in qualifying rounds with a team score of 3,619 and matched up with sixth-seed Berea-Midpark.
The Yellow Jackets beat Berea-Midpark 3-0 and advanced to a semifinal matchup with No. 7 seed Mentor, which they beat 3-0 to advance to the championship matchup with Centerville.
Sidney’s Kaden Abbott finished third individually by rolling games of 227, 252 and 223 for a 702 series. Abbott, along with the other top five finishers, earned first team all-Ohio honors.
Jaxon Rickey finished 21st overall with a 632 series. Logan Finke rolled a 581.
THURSDAY RESULTS
• Girls basketball
Minster 58, Toledo Christian 50
A fast start for Minster set the tone in a Division IV regional semifinal on Thursday at the Elida Fieldhouse.
Minster, the two-time defending state champion, raced out to a 16-4 lead by the end of the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the way.
Ivy Wolf led the Wildcats with 15 points, including 6 for 6 shooting from the free-throw line. Janae Hoying and Ella Mescher each scored 12 points for the Wildcats.
Toledo Christian’s Madison Royal-Davis led all scorers with 28 points, including four 3-pointers.
Minster led 33-19 by the halftime break. But Toledo Christian (18-4) did not go away.
The Eagles cut the deficit to 39-30 on a fast-break by Cat Jones, with less then two minutes left in the third quarter.
Minster led 43-32 by the end of the third. With six minutes left in the game, Toledo Christian cut it to 43-36 on an inside move by Royal-Davis.
Then with 3:13 left to play, Royal-Davis hit two free throws to cut it to 45-40.
The Eagles cut it to five again at 49-44 on a 3-pointer by Royal-Davis with 1:36 left to play and cut it to 52-49 on a 3-pointer by Brynn Beard with 40 seconds left to play.
However, Minster was able to stave off the Eagles down the stretch for the hard-fought win.
“In the first half, we had double-digits in missed layups, especially in the first quarter. … I’m going to attribute most of those (missed shots) to nerves,” Minster coach Mike Wiss said. “We just have to make sure we have a little more patience, and get our legs set on our shots.
“What I was really happy with, was our energy, especially in the first quarter. I think we set the tempo early.”