The Lady Panther bowling team is pictured from left, front row, Grace Koenig, Lily Vollrath, Emma Milleson and Katie Dingledine; back row, Madelyn Headings, Elizabeth White, Julia Dingledine and coach Stephanie Fairchild. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The boys bowling team from Fairbanks High School is pictured from left, front row, Jaycer Blevins, Chase Shope, Adam Burke, John Carter and Zach Koenig; back row, Nate Russell, Hayden Bucholtz, Drew LaFon and coach Steve Dellinger. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The Fairbanks girls bowling team is led by returning lettermen Elizabeth White, Grace Koenig, Katie Dingledine and Emma Milleson.
The veterans are joined by newcomers Julia Dingledine and Lily Vollrath.
They both bowled during a high school league in Plain City during the fall and gained valuable experience.
“The girls are working on consistency from one game to the next,” said coach Stephanie Fairchild. “We leave too many open frames and have spent some time in practice focusing on spares. “Everybody wants to throw a strike, but what they don’t always understand is how important those spares are in boosting your score.”
Fairchild said picking up the spare game should leave the Lady Panthers somewhere in the middle of the rankings for the Ohio Heritage Conference this winter.
“Elizabeth White has come such a long way in her four years on the team,” said the coach. “She is a great lead-off bowler and has really improved on spares this year.
“Grace Koenig is a good leader for the team,” said Fairchild. “She is always so cheerful and helps motivate anyone not having a great game.”
The coach said the Lady Panthers are doing a better job of figuring out the lanes when they travel.
“The girls have been able to adapt to the oil and surface of the lane within just a few frames,” she said. “Their confidence is up this year.”
Milleson has capitalized on her strike game, with a solid tenth frame.
As the anchor bowler, that has really helped FHS’ score in baker games.
“Katie’s strike game is on point as well this year,” said Fairchild.
The Panther boys are under the guidance of second-year head coach Steve Dellinger.
“This year we had a good turnout for tryouts,” said Dellinger. “We had to make a few cuts, but that is how we build a successful program.”
The returning lettermen are Adam Burke, John Carter, Drew LaFon and Chase Shope. The newcomers to the varsity team are Hayden Buchholz and Nate Russell.
“We had a good year last year and I feel like we are getting better with every practice,” said Dellinger.
“I feel like we will improve this year and should be able to finish in the upper half of the conference.”