Southwest District Bowling Tournament:
When: Boys – Friday, 9 a.m.; Girls – Saturday, 9 a.m.
Where: Eastern Lanes, 6942 Coles Road, Middletown
State qualifiers: Boys – top four teams and top four individuals from non-qualifying teams Girls – top five teams and top five individuals from non-qualifying teams
Admission: $6
It’s now or never for Eric Sacks and his Butler teammates, but if the Aviators are feeling the pressure, they don’t let it show.
“It would be nice to make it to state, but we really do take it one tournament at a time,” Sacks said. “We’ve got five seniors on the varsity team, so that definitely plays into it, but everyone has a shot at going to state.”
Sacks, 17, earned his second consecutive individual sectional title Wednesday with a 238-196-255 – 689 at Poelking Woodman Lanes. The senior-strong Aviators snagged the sixth and final Southwest District berth from the sectional site. Centerville, Beavercreek, Troy, Fairmont and Wayne took the top five team spots, respectively.
With only the top four boys teams and individuals qualifying to state from the competitive Southwest District, Sacks knows the Aviators will need a much stronger performance this week. The district tournament gets underway with the boys competition on Friday at Eastern Lanes in Middletown.
“We need to focus on making good shots and enjoy being there,” Sacks said. “Having five seniors helps, especially in Baker, because we have such good chemistry.”
That chemistry has been four years in the making as Sacks, Brian Knotts and Kyler McDonald have been varsity bowlers since they were freshmen. The Aviators aren’t the only team with strong senior leadership.
Eight of the top 10 individual placers at the Woodman sectional were seniors, and all of them were from the Greater Western Ohio Conference. Aron Franks (Wayne), Daniel McHugh and Justin Schroeder (Beavercreek) and Daniel Ashenbaum (Centerville) rounded out the top five placers.
“Within the school and within the area, these guys have been pushing each other for years,” Butler bowling coach Steve Sacks said. “This group of kids in the GWOC is one of the strongest groups as a whole that I’ve seen, and we saw that talent when they were only in the seventh grade.
“But the really neat thing is that these kids are all pretty good friends no matter what school they go to, and you don’t see that in every sport.”
Those friends will also be rivals when district play gets underway on Friday, and the Aviators know only too well how important every pin is as Butler missed qualifying to state last year by just 36 pins.
“That’s definitely motivation,” Sacks said. “And we also have to learn from that experience.”
About the Author