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Wagner sparks Panther bowlers
girls
Great Bend Panther 5A state bowling qualifiers (from left) -- Aliyah Fryberger, Lexy Fox, Paige Wagner, Zues Garcia, Nichole Griffin and Kristy Wittig.

BY JIM MISUNAS

jmisunas@gbtribune.com

HUTCHINSON – Great Bend's Paige Wagner showed that unique sparkle in her eyes. Her Panther bowling teammates know what that means.

"I've got this."

Wagner ignited the Panthers' 5A regional bowling championship Monday with a 249 game that captured medalist honors at 645 (224/172/249) at The Alley. Wagner played spectacularly in Baker games as the Panthers rallied for a 804 total (225/219/180/200) that erased a 43-pin deficit. Wagner capped off a 5A regional title with four consecutive strikes in the final Baker game.

The Baker lineup of Lexy Fox, Nicole Griffin, Aliyah Fryberger, Zues Garcia and Wagner worked its magic again. Garcia, 531 (156/181/194); Fryberger, 528 (163/152/163); Fox, 524 (152/203/169); Griffin, 516 (181/199/136); and Kristy Wittig, 417 (170/136/111) rounded out the Panther lineup.

"We always play well in Bakers," Wagner said. " We shot 200 almost every game. We were nervous to start, but pushed through it and got it done."

The Panthers' 3,122 pin total beat Salina South (3,032) by 90 pins after the Cougars led by 42 pins after three series games. The Panthers picked up 26 pins in the third Baker game (180/154) and earned a 63-pin advantage in the final game (200/137). The 5A state qualifiers compete March 6 at Wichita's Rock Lanes.

Great Bend coach David Feldbauer said the girls kept their poise and played at a high level. Wagner (529) placed 15th last year and Great Bend finished seventh in 5A.

"The girls were phenomenal. They are a great Baker team," Feldbauer said. "They keep on batting and worked right to the top where they needed to be. They kept knocking down 7 and 10 pins all day long. That's what we work out in practice every day. You've got to earn your spares." 

Great Bend's boys qualified three players for the 5A state championship – fourth-place Bryce Moore 687 (215/213/259); sixth-place Corbin Stanley,  625 (213/191/260) and 11th-place Dalton Murphy 625 (165/202/258). But the Great Bend team finished a disappointing fourth place. Moore was the 5A state runner-up (643) in 2018.

Maize High (3,443) Salina Central (3,422 and Salina South (3,367) claimed the 5A state team berths with Great Bend 22 pins behind (3,345).

The Panthers' final series game of 978 featured Stanley (260), Moore (259), Murphy (258) and Ashton Ensley (201). The 978 game was the second-best score in school history and worked the Panthers five pins behind Salina South. However, Salina South gained 22 pins in the third Baker game (167/145).

"The last series game the guys stepped up and shot 978, which was impressive and got us right back into it,' Feldbauer said. "The boys did OK in Baker games. Our last Baker game, we had two bad splits." 

Great Bend's Ashton Ensley, 519 (151/167/201); Evan Shell, 500 (188/185/127) and Dalton Dicks, 485 (131/209/145) rounded out the Panther lineup.

5A HUTCHINSON REGIONAL

GIRLS STATE QUALIFIERS–1–Great Bend, 3,122, SERIES–2,318 (738/755/825); BAKER–804 (225/199/180/200); 2–Salina South, 3,032, SERIES–2,360 (753/796/751); BAKER–732 (219/222/154/137); 3–Buhler, 3,029, SERIES–2,280 (794/725/761); BAKER–749 (188/213/179/169)

4–McPherson, 2,917, 2,234, 683; 5–Maize South, 2,440, 1,864, 576; 6–Maize, 2,414, 1,846, 568; 7–Cheney, 2,328, 1,687, 641; 8–Salina Central, 2,313, 1,804, 509; 9–Holcomb, 1,742, 1,375, 367; 10–Solomon, 1,726, 1,335, 391.

TOP 10 MEDALISTS–1–Paige Wagner, GB, 645 (224/172/249); 2–SQ–Heidi Allen, Mc, 613 (209/230/174); 3–Aviana Ordonez, SS, 605 (167/236/202); 4–Alyssa Herl, Buhler, 600 (225/170/205); 5–SQ–Naomy Aquilar, Mc, 591 (191/196/204); 6–Nina Frees, SS, 581 (193/186/202); 7–Courtney Kitchen, 574 (205/179/190); 8–McKenzie Billings, SS, 569 (25/172/172); 9–Mary Chambers, Buhler, 561 (200/202/159); 10–SQ–Mary Rozner, Maize, 557 (214/175/168); SQ–Kadee Martinez, Maize South, 523 (173/189/161); SQ–Kylee Busch, Mc, 520 (171/188/161)

GREAT BEND–Zues Garcia, 531 (156/181/194); Aliyah Fryberger, 528 (163/152/163); Lexy Fox, 524 (152/203/169); Nichole Griffin, 516 (181/199/136); Kristy Wittig, 417 (170/136/111)

BOYS STATE QUALIFIERS–1–Maize High, 3,443, SERIES–2,642 (785/993/864); BAKER–801 (220/200/142/239); 2–Salina Central, 3,422 (875/837/858); BAKER–852 (222/212/200/218); 3–Salina South, 3,367, SERIES–2,579 (864/830/885); BAKER–788 (193/213/167/218).

4–Great Bend, 3,345, SERIES–2,574 (781/815/978), BAKER–771 (203/197/145/226); 5–Maize South, 3,176, 2,393, 783; 6–Buhler, 3,135, 2,305, 830; 7–McPherson, 3,055, 2,353, 702; 8–Cheney, 2,935, 2,249, 686; 9–Andale, 2,861, 2,178, 683); 10–Holcomb, 2,278, 1,730, 548.

TOP 10 MEDALISTS–1–Grayson Graham, Maize, 730 (232/279/219); 2–Griffin Peterson, SS, 711 (235/252/224); 3–SQ–Jared Armstrong, Mc, 688 (269/258/161); 4–SQ–Bryce Moore, GB, 687 (215/213/259); 5–Chase Young, SC, 682 (256/194/232); 6–SQ–Corbin Stanley, GB, 664 (213/191/260); 7–Andy Froetschner, SS, 653 (196/202/255); 8–SQ–Conner Eastman, Cheney, 637 (191/212/234); 9–SQ–Trent Sheridan, Buhler, 635 (215/214/206); 10–Aaron Watkins, Maize, 628 (115/279/234); SQ–Dalton Murphy, GB, 625 (165/202/258).

GREAT BEND–Ashton Ensley, 519 (151/167/201); Evan Shell, 500 (188/185/127); Dalton Dicks, 485 (131/209/145).