Sidney bowlers step up in class for new season

With the move up from Class C to Class B, it's not just the competition that's became tougher for the Sidney High School bowling team. So too has long-distance travel become a challenge.

Despite playing in a conference with a group of eastern Nebraska teams, Sidney took a respite from the usual rigors of its travel schedule on Saturday by playing in its only home match of the season. Both the Sidney boys' and girls' teams split a pair of matches against conference foes at Cedar Lanes.

The girls lost to Adams Central, 686-554 and 701-568. Additionally, Central took the Baker-format games, 146-132 and 181-99. Sidney won in a walkover against York.

Meanwhile, the boys' team dropped their first game to York, 741-570, but won the second game, 743-686. Sidney lost the match on points (14.5-6.5), which included coming up short in the Baker-format rounds, 157-145 and 150-127. The boys earned a forfeit against Adams Central.

"Many of these players have never even bowled before this year," said Sidney boys' coach Jeff Ellwanger. "But they're all enthusiastic and want to get better all the time."

Girls' coach and the owner of Cedar Lanes Sean Doyle agreed.

"I'm not at all disappointed in their play or work ethic. They improve every day," he said.

While all the teams in the Nebraska High School Bowling Federation (NHSBF) are comprised of high school students from dozens of state schools, bowling is not yet a sport recognized by the NSAA. Instead bowling is more on the level of a club sport. Nevertheless, the league is competitive and holds district and state tournaments just as the NSAA does. Both Sidney teams qualified for state last season.

"Even though there are a lot of new guys on the team, we still want to try and make state again," said Tyler Miller who leads the boys' team in scoring average. "Most of all, I'm just glad we have a team this year. We had to do some recruiting to fill out the roster."

Miller, a senior, is just one of two veterans on the squad. Junior Spencer Ellwanger is the only other returnee and the only underclassman. The newcomers include Andrew Myers, Skyler Arent and Brett McConnell.

"We try to help out a little with the newer guys with a tip now and then, but mostly we leave it to the coaches," said Spencer Ellwanger. "There's really been a lot of improvement on the team since the beginning of the year."

The girls have a similar lack of experience as Mylisa Pennington and Zoey Mines are the only returnees. The the new bowlers include Dru Rowan, Gabby Addleman, Theda Parker, Dana Windsor and Savannah Miles.

While the veteran Pennington was the most consistent bowler for Sidney on Saturday, it was one of the newcomers who rolled the high game of the day.

"I haven't bowled much before this year, but I had a lot of friends who bowled so I wanted to learn," said Parker, whose 167 was the best of the day for Sidney. "For me though it's really about having fun. I really enjoy this."

Last season, both teams qualified for the state tournament held in Lincoln. Partly due to their success, they have moved up to Class B. While last season Sidney played in a conference with teams such as Scottsbluff, Ogallala and Chase County, Sidney now competes against teams in the eastern part of the state.

"It's a little tough on us especially when you consider we lose another hour with the time change," Jeff Ellwanger said. "But really, it's not something we dwell on."

Besides Sidney, the other teams in the NHSBF's B Western Conference are Hastings, York, Lexington, Adams Central, Aurora and Grand Island Northwest. Sidney has already visited Aurora. After the holiday break, the Red Raiders will make two trips to Grand Island with a ride to Kearney in between.