Last week from the outside of the B & B Lanes bowling alley, one could hear the sounds of crashing pins, roaring cheers, and catchy chants coming from players. The regional tournament took place through Jan. 25-27 for hundreds of well-trained high school bowlers. Although the outcomes of these matches were unpredictable, many were still shocked by the following news. For the first time in Central Hardin history, the boys’ and girls’ bowling teams took home first place together and are both headed to state.
Girls’ Regionals, Jan. 27
“Before the competition, I was very nervous, yet excited,” sophomore Faith Miles said. “I had a good attitude and walked in telling myself we were gonna win.”
Fear and excitement would be the only two words to describe the feeling that the Lady Bruins had as they walked into B & B lanes the next day after a successful turnout for the boy’s team. Although it was difficult to shake off their nerves, the girls were determined to make a memorable win.
The first game was against Fort Knox, which the Lady Bruins had previously beaten. With fear beginning to subside and confidence taking root, the girls were ready to start their tournament.
However, the tournament began to take a turn for the worse when gutterballs led the girls to lose their first two matches.
By the third match, the Bruin bowlers were incredibly emotional as they felt themselves losing hold of the winning title for the tournament.
“If we lost this next one, we were going home.” junior Lily Williams said.
Just when they thought they were on the road to losing, a lineup switch in their game was their answer. The girls got their first win beating Fort Knox 3-2.
The girls, although celebrating their win, knew that they needed to perform better if they wanted to win against their next two competitors North Hardin and John Hardin.
North Hardin was the first seed in the line-up. They won pre-regionals the week before, therefore, many predicted that they would win Regions too. Despite the assumptions, the Lady Bruins still played their hardest. As a result of their efforts, they shocked the alley by knocking out North Hardin 3-0 and quickly advancing to the finals.
“It was crazy,” Williams said. “Our girls were celebrating so hard because we could go to state.”
Following this, the Lady Bruins had one more match as they made it to finals. John Hardin was a big competition for the Lady Bruins as they had been previously defeated by them several times before. Although chances seemed slim for a win, the Lady Bruins won 3-1 making them the Region 2 Champs.
“I didn’t think we’d come this far,” junior Selest Sutton said. “But I’m so glad we did.”
The Lady Bruins are competing at state today, Feb. 5
Boys’ Regionals, Jan. 26
Based on their high averages and numerous wins throughout the season, it was no surprise when Central came strong into the competition. The boys succeeded in their first matches with win after win. Although many team members claimed to be confident throughout, there were still some moments when the nerves kicked in.
“The biggest competitor was no doubt North Hardin,” senior Carley Shrader said. “When I heard they qualified for fourth, I’m not gonna lie – I got a little nervous.”
Throughout this year’s season, CHHS and NHHS repeatedly had the most entertaining matches with one another. Whether this meant they were always neck and neck with each other or one team would dominate the other, everyone knew that the anticipation between Central and North was at a high level. The Bruins couldn’t let these worries discourage them, however. Instead, they used these feelings as fuel to light fire down the lanes.
“I just knew we had our work cut out for us when we had to face them,” Shrader said.
Once it came down to the big game against North in the semi-finals, the Bruins took the crown. The Bruins quickly beat the Trojans 3-0 and finally advanced into the finals to face their last competitor: John Hardin.
The Bruins had a clean sweep on John Hardin winning 3-0 leading the Bruins to go undefeated the entire tournament. Cheers echoed throughout the alley as this was never done in Central Hardin history. Although the boys’ team won many times in years past, they never won as dominantly as this.
The Central Hardin boys advanced to state and compete tomorrow, Feb. 6.
