Arbor View’s Collins, Palo Verde’s Kowalski roll to Division I titles
Arbor View’s Cameron Collins shook his head in disbelief Feb. 11 when his Aggies lost the boys state bowling title by just four pins to Coronado.
It was at that moment the senior decided he wasn’t going to let another marginal loss defeat him.
Collins got his redemption Thursday, rolling a 761 series to capture the Division I individual state championship at The Orleans.
“I just didn’t want to come up short again by as little as we did,” he said. “I was in the zone and was just getting a lot of carry today. I was consistent and almost every single ball was in the pocket.”
Collins felt the pressure early on after Desert Oasis’ Matt Dobbs rolled a perfect 300 in the opening game. But he stayed the course, and reminded himself that bowling is all about consistency.
Collins went on to roll a 255, 259 and 247 in succession to top Coronado’s Sergio Torres (710). Dobbs finished third with a 689.
Boulder City’s Randall Berkheimer took the I-A boys title with a 686 series, 40 pins ahead of Chaparral’s Houston Hughes.
In Division I girls, Palo Verde’s Natallie Kowalski won with a 632 series, edging Bonanza’s Ashlee McKenna (619) and Bishop Gorman’s Leah Glazer (615).
“It feels great,” Kowalski said. “Winning individual was my main goal (this year) because I knew we didn’t have a strong team to begin with. But I still bowled great each and every match because I knew I needed to get a high average for myself coming into the individuals. It worked out in the end.”
Tech’s Emi Leong captured the I-A individual title with a 584 series, 19 pins ahead of Sierra Vista’s Leeann Reyes.
