Lady Tigers win third state title

The Hardin County Lady Tiger bowling team won their third state title last week in Smyrna in the TSSAA State Tournament. Hardin County started their bowling program in 2002, and the girls’ team has made the trip to the state tournament in each of those seasons.

The Tigers also had a successful run this year. The boys’ team won their first match in the state tournament before losing to the eventual state champion in the semifinals. The Tiger bowling team has reached the state tournament in nine of ten seasons while competing at the high school level.

The HCHS teams also had several players who competed for the individual state championship. There were 71 bowlers in both the girls and boys competition. The top 24 bowlers advance to the semifinal round. After the semifinal round, the top six bowlers advance to the finals. Hardin County had two players – senior Emma Long and sophomore Chase Smith – who advanced to the finals.

Joining Long for the Lady Tigers were junior Jessica Kimbel and senior Jerrica Stricklin. Smith competed in the individual competition with sophomore Rodney Lewis, junior Kyle Hunt, and freshman Logan Umphrey.

Long finished fourth overall at the event with a total pin fall of 2,557 in the three rounds of competition. The state champion finished with a total pin fall of 2,705. The senior bowler had an average of 192.5 in the quarterfinals and 185 in the semifinals.

Kimbel also advanced to the semifinal round of the event with an average of 186.25 in the quarters and a 154 average in the semifinals. Kimbel finished 13th overall in the semifinal round. Stricklin had an average of 172.25 in the quarterfinals to finish 25th overall in the state.

Smith finished third overall in the boys’ side of the individual tournament. The sophomore bowler had an average of 229.5 in the quarterfinals and a 186.25 average in the semifinals. Smith had a total pin fall of 2,729 in the three rounds. The state champion finished with a total pin fall of 2,837.

Lewis also made the semifinal round for Hardin County. The sophomore bowler had an average of 218 in the first round and had a 153.75 average in the semifinals. Lewis finished 21st overall in the state.

Umphrey and Hunt were each eliminated in the quarterfinals. Umphrey had an average of 182.25 in the first round to finish 50th overall. Hunt had an average of 177.5 to finish 54th overall.

The HCHS coaching staff of David and Jennifer Channell were very pleased with the performance of their teams in Smyrna at the state tournament. “It was a great season. I really think that this time the road to the championship was a lot harder than in the past. The girls faced two really strong teams and won to get to the finals,” said Lady Tiger coach Jennifer Channell. “I am proud of them. They all bowled great together as a team.”

The Hardin County bowling teams proved that their depth was one of the strengths of this year’s team. In the sport of bowling, a team needs to be consistent from the first through the sixth bowler to compete at a high level.

The HCHS coaches were also proud of several individuals at the event. “Emma fought hard all weekend during the tournament. She had hurt her knee in practice the week before, and she fought through a lot of pain. She had to dig deep to finish,” said Jennifer Channell. Channell also pointed out the play of Ally Sanders in the state tournament. Sanders bowled with a torn meniscus in her knee. She finished with the high game in the state title match.

The Lady Tigers finished the season with a record of 21-3. The Tigers finished with a record of 22-3.

Lady Tigers 14, Hendersonville 13 (state quarterfinals)

Hardin County got the last laugh in their season series against Hendersonville in the first game of the state tournament. Hendersonville had given Hardin County two of their three losses during the regular season.

The Lady Tigers came back from an 11-5 deficit after the first two games to pick up the win. Hardin County won four of the six individual matchups in the third game and won by a total of 71 pins. That pin total would prove to be pivotal to the outcome of the match.

In high school bowling, the team with the highest pin fall in the match receives three points. Those three points proved to be the difference in the match against Hendersonville. The Lady Tigers finished 40 pins ahead of Hendersonville in the final pin count.

Emma Long had the highest series for Hardin County with a total of 579. Mallory Stanley was second with a score of 577. Jessica Kimbel was third with a series score of 543. Long also had the highest game total of 246 in the match. Stanley posted a 231, and Kimbel had a 201.

Lady Tigers 15, Smyrna 12 (state semifinals)

Hardin County led 12-4 after the first two games, needing only two more wins in the third game to secure the victory. Jerrica Stricklin, Ally Sanders, and Hayley Miller each picked up wins in the decisive third game.

Stricklin had the highest series in the match with a total of 628 for Hardin County. Jessica Kimbel was second with a series score of 581. Miller was third with a series total of 580.

Stricklin also had the highest game score of 237 in the match. Miller was second with a game score of 230. Kimbel was third with a 216.

Lady Tigers 21, Columbia Central 6 (state finals)

Hardin County led the match 13-3 after the first two games and iced down the championship with three wins in the final game and also secured the points for total pin fall with a total of 3,159. Ally Sanders and Hayley Miller won all three of their games in the match for the Lady Tigers.

Miller had the high series for Hardin County in the title match with a score of 565. Sanders was second with a total of 551. Jerrica Stricklin was third with a series total of 535.

Sanders had the high game for the Lady Tigers with a score of 222. Miller was second with a 199, and Kimbel was third with a score of 195.

Tigers 23, Cherokee 4 (state quarterfinals)

Hardin County led 14-2 after the first two games to assure a trip to the semifinal round of the state tournament. They won by a total pin fall count of 3,732 to 3,005. Logan Umphrey, Rodney Lewis, and Gage Bishop each won all three of their games in the match. Lewis had the highest series for Hardin County in the match with a score of 711. Chase Smith was second with a total of 663. Bishop was third with a series total of 638.

Lewis also had the highest game score in the match with a 290. He also had a 255 in the match. Smith had the third-highest game score with a 246 and also added a score of 236. Umphrey had a game score of 238, and Kyle Hunt secured a game score of 234.

Smyrna 23.5, Tigers 3.5 (state semifinals)

Klay Crotts had the top series for Hardin County in the match with a score of 627. Chase Smith was second with a series total of 615. Rodney Lewis was third with a series score of 594.

The Tigers had seven games of over 200 in the match against Smyrna. Smith had the highest score with a 224. Smith also added a 213 in the match. Crotts had game scores of 221 and 212 in the match. Gage Bishop had a score of 212. Lewis and Logan Umphrey each had a game score of 207 in the match.