On Saturday, March 16, the Milton Boys Bowling team won the school district’s first Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championship at Leisure Lanes in Lancaster.
Milton Boys Bowling Coach Mark Artley was thrilled with being the first Milton athletic team to bring home a state championship. “In high school bowling, there is no greater achievement than winning the state title as a team. The next step would be to go back-to-back as state champions, along with an individual champion,” he said.
“It was great to watch them stay composed and handle the pressure in the State Championship match. All of our boys stepped up and performed in the most intense moment of their season. We are very proud of them all as a district,” added Milton Athletic Director Mr. Rod Harris.
“It feels great to have been part of such an amazing team. It’s awesome to have the honor of being a state champion,” added Senior Varsity Team Member Chance Benshoff.
Coach Artley added that scores are accumulated during matches in the regular season. There are three regular games where each of the five starters bowl a traditional bowling game, and then the team bowls two baker games, he said.
“A baker game is when each starter bowls one frame(or round) at a time. So the first person bowls the first and sixth frame.The second person bowls the second and seventh frame, and that continues for all five bowlers,” he explained.
“At Regionals and States, the teams had to bowl the three traditional games and six baker games,” said Coach Artley.
To make it to States, Coach Artley said that the top 36 boys teams and the first top 20 girls teams in the East Region had to compete at Regionals; whoever ended the top six at Regionals would make it to States.
“In the semi-finals, teams bowl a best of three baker matches. The Milton boys won 2-1 against Eastern York. In the state finals, the Boys would take home the championship prize with 2-0 against Elizabethtown,” he added.
“This group has made many improvements over the last couple of years, and we couldn’t be prouder. Three members of the team had not bowled before high school, yet now play a huge role in the team winning a state title,” Coach Artley added.
“Personally I needed to overcome some nerves. At the Regional championships I was subbed out because I was too nervous. But at States I stayed calm and did what I could. As a team, we had to learn to be comfortable around each other and keep each other accountable,” Chance said.
“Sophomore Peyton Schley was the tournament MVP for Milton with a 782 series for his traditional games. Peyton finished third in the individual competition as well,” Coach Artley said.
According to Mr. Harris, Peyton attends school in the Tri-Valley School District in Hegins, which has no school bowling team, so he plays for Milton through a co-op program.
“The entire team worked extremely hard together, supporting each other as they progressed throughout the year. As a coaching staff, we are proud of all the hard work they put in throughout the year,” said Coach Artley.
Chance offers advice for newcomers and those who are interested in joining our school bowling team: “Bowling is a very accessible sport. At Milton, our school takes very good care of our team, paying to let us use the bowling alley and fully paying for the trip to Regionals and States.”
