Boys bowling: Highland earns sixth straight semistate trip

MICHIGAN CITY — After starting the day in fourth after two games, Highland caught fire in the Baker block of Saturday’s Michigan City Regional and qualified first for the final match.

Then the Trojans, primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores, defeated Crown Point 343-318 to secure a sixth consecutive trip to semistate.

“We might be young guys, but we’re really good,” said Tyler Trombetta, one of those young bowlers. “We’re a good team and we really connect on the lanes.”

Highland grabbed the early edge 167-163 then won the second game by 19 pins.

“Going to semistate wasn’t in my mind at the beginning of the season, but it is now.’’ said Taylor Peters, who transferred to Highland from Andrean.

Crown Point avenged last week’s sectional loss to defending regional champ Lake Central 360-328 in the semifinal match. The Indians had an uncharacteristically high six opens, while Crown Point had just three in the Semifinal match.

“The kids wanted that match (against Lake Central),” said CP coach Dwayne Locher. “But we’re also glad that both of us are advancing because the two teams get along so well. We just weren’t sticking to the basics in the championship and the kids were just nervous and uptight.”

The fifth qualifying team was Lake Station, advancing to its first semistate. The Eagles closed out the Baker block with games of 201 and 183 to seal the spot.

“We finished strong in the last two games,” Lake Station Coach Bill Morton said. “Reaching semistate is a great accomplishment for the school — especially with only five boys.”

In the singles division, Andrean junior Jake McCoy captured his first regional title a week removed from winning his first sectional title. He defeated Chesterton’s Jacob Hollingshead 192-146 in the championship. In the semifinal match, McCoy was pushed to the limit by LaPorte’s Nate Nieto before rolling the first two strikes in the 10th frame for a 192-188 win.

“I knew they were taking 15 bowlers, so I definitely knew I had a good chance of reaching semistate,” said McCoy, who also qualified last year. “But to win the regional gives me that much more confidence for next week.”

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