Sidney bowlers qualify for state

There may have been a little nail biting going on before the word became official, but both the Sidney boys and girls bowling teams qualified for state.

By virtue of their runnerup finishes at the district tournament, held at Cedar Bowl in North Platte on Saturday, the Sidney squads will head for Lincoln where they will compete for state honors Feb. 7-8, at Hollywood Bowl.

It's the second year in a row that both teams have qualified for state.

Last year the girls team was the Class C2 district champion, while the boys finished as runnerup in district C4 for the second straight year. Only the top two teams at districts qualify for state.

"I had the expectation of that we would qualify for state," said boys team Coach Jeff Ellwanger. "But you never know. A lot of it depends on how good the other teams are and how our team is going to handle the lane conditions."

Additionally, girls team Co-captain Natausha Holtz finished third individually and would have qualified for state as an individual bowler had her team not already punched her ticket.

"It was really close and we actually thought we we lost," said junior Mylisa Pennington who is in her second year with the team.

In addition to Pennington and Holtz the other team members that will represent the Sidney girls team are Jeniffer Cochran and Co-captain Kylie Ellwanger. Zoey Mines, who recently suffered a concussion, will also attend if cleared by doctors.

For Ellwanger and Holtz, it's the fourth straight year they've qualified for state, either with the team or as an individual. The girls are coached by Chris Holtz.

Representing the boys team will be Captain Michael Sukup, Spencer Ellwanger, Tyler Miller, Chance Harmon, Scott Bagnell and Dillon Grabowski.

Though the boys qualified as a team for just the first time last season, Sukup is making his third trip to states in as many years. The Sidney High School senior qualified as an individual when he was a sophomore.

"This year I'll try not to take it too seriously," said Sukup. "I just want to go and have fun and relax this year. But I would like for us to win. It would be nice to go out on a high note."

The girls team earned their way when they out pinned third place Hartington 1,979 to 1,908.

Going into the Baker rounds, however, Sidney was still behind. The five Baker games, which include four teammates taking turns to complete a single game, followed the round in which each of the four players bowl three of their own games.

"The Baker games are what pulled us through," said Pennington. "But I left North Platte thinking we had lost."

Pennington had to leave before the final results were announced. After pulling over for on I-80 for a break she received a Facebook message from her teammate Holtz that Sidney had qualified.

"I was really surprised but really happy," recalled Pennington. "I'll be nervous at states but I'll be going with the idea of having fun."

The boys were also not sure if they qualified until the final announcement was made. The boys experience, however, was somewhat the opposite of the girls. The boys did their best bowling early.

"We started out (the Bakers) with a 194 and then went down to the 150s," said Sukup. "It was a little nerve wracking after that. When I found out we qualified though I was pretty excited."

One of the challenges for the Sidney teams when they reach state will be the synthetic bowling surface at Hollywood Bowl. Cedar Lanes in Sidney has wood lanes.

"I've bowled on synthetic lanes in Scottsbluff and some other places, but most of my experience is on wood lanes," Sukup said.

While the synthetic surface will add a twist to Sidney's experience, more specifically, none of the coaches or players have ever bowled at Hollywood Bowl before.

The Class C tournament is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., CST, on Feb. 7.