More than a decade later, bowling is paying off for the Butler High School sophomore. The Vandalia 15-year-old recently was awarded the William DeHaven Scholarship by the Greater Dayton United States Bowling Congress Bowling Association. The scholarship is presented to the top local male and female placers at the Junior Masters tournament. Sacks won the tournament and Shayna Kanemoto, the girls’ scholarship recipient, placed 11th overall in the girls division.
“Bowling is challenging,” Sacks said. “And it’s never easy.”
Sacks, however, makes it look easy. He led the Aviators varsity team with a 213 average as a freshman last year. He also maintained a 205 average in league play during the 2008-09 season. He has a career-high game of 289 and a 762 high series.
While high scores are nice, they aren’t Sacks’ favorite part of the sport.
“I love competing in tournaments because there’s more pressure and I seem to perform well under pressure,” he said.
The proof is in the titles as Sacks won both the Junior Masters and Dayton Youth City Singles tournaments this year. He also earned a Morehead State Scholarship by winning the Junior Masters. His goal for this season, however, is not an individual one.
“I want my school team to do well, hopefully make it to district and state,” he said.
The Aviators, who were one spot out of district qualification last season, lost only one bowler to graduation.
“We should be pretty good and I’ll do whatever I can to get us to state,” Sacks said.
Raiders tryouts
The Wright State club bowling team will hold tryouts at 9 p.m. on Sept. 14 at Beaver-Vu Bowl and at 9 p.m. on Sept. 15 at Poelking Woodman Lanes. Tryouts are open to all Wright State students.
There is a $20 fee to try out. For additional information, visit www.raidersbowling.com.
The Raiders open their season Sept. 26 in the American Heartland Conference Tournament at Beaver-Vu.
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