Pearl City Spares No Expense In Bowling Tourney Prep
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usPearl City bowler Ashley Shoemaker is at her best on the biggest stage, to hear coach Millie Gomes tell it.
That can only be good news for Shoemaker as she travels to Kauai to take part in the Billy Tees 2008 Hawaii
State Bowling Championships Thursday and Friday at Lihue Bowling Center.
“She likes the competition,” Gomes said. “She’s definitely a ‘tournament’ bowler. She does much better in the big competitions. When there are the better bowlers out there, she rises to the occasion.”
That was the case Oct. 18, when Shoemaker’s output of 1,130 gave her a fifth-place finish at the OIA finals. Kalani High’s Dara Ajimine (1,224), a two-time defending state champion, finished first in the league and is the favorite this week on Kauai, although she faces stiff competition.
As at the OIA finals, Shoemaker hopes to be in the mix at the state championships.
“I saw her (last year) averaging 130 to 140, and now she’s in the 160-170s (range), so she’s made a big improvement. She works hard on her game. She’s hard on herself, and she listens. She takes things in stride and keeps trying.”
Pearl City senior Teale Thornburg, the team captain, also qualified for the state tournament. She fought off an injury to her finger in game one of the finals.
“I was very impressed,” Gomes said of Thornburg. “She pulled it off and did very well at OIA. I expect her to do a little better in states, and I think she will.”
Both the OIA finals and the league’s regular season were held at Schofield, so Gomes said her bowlers welcome the opportunity to travel to Kauai to compete.
“They’re definitely looking forward to it. It’s something different, and it will just be bowling - that’s the only reason.”
Kapolei also will be well-represented at the girls championships, led by Kimie Roller, the 2007 OIA individual champion. She finished second this year and was joined by both Raelena Mattos (fourth, 1,132) and Christalynn Bonifacio (sixth, 1,108). All three will be bowling in the state tournament this weekend. Aiea’s Ariel Pang also has high hopes, after finishing 8th in the OIA.
The Charger boys team, meanwhile, can’t help but regard this week as a chance to finish some unfinished business after narrowly missing out on winning the OIA title Oct. 18 when Pearl City lost by a mere 23 points to Mililani. The Chargers showcased its depth with three players - Derek Suefuji (fourth, 1,257), Robert Nakanishi (ninth, 1,158) and Jordon Ono (10th, 1,131) - finishing in the top 10.
Unlike at the OIA finals, when the final outcome was decided in a best-of-three series, total pin-fall will determine the final standings at the state tournament, which is good for the Chargers, whose pin-count exceeded Mililani’s during the OIA’s event.
Freshman Micah Lee also qualified for the state tournament from Pearl City along with sophomores Evan Hayashi and Jon Carino.
The Chargers’ preparation is all about the mental side heading into this week, according to Jimmy Hayashi.
“The main thing is not to focus on the score and to make the effort and play the alley,” he said. “They have to get their minds ready and always think like it’s the beginning of a game.
“We have a good team, and the boys bowl a lot, so they know how to handle the situation. Although we’re a veteran team, we’re still a young team. We need to throw a lot of strikes, pick up our spares and stay relaxed.”
Pearl City was to leave for Kauai early Wednesday morning and plans to practice twice that day at Lihue Bowling Center.
“It’s a different situation with the travel,” coach Hayashi said. “We’ll have to get used to it and learn to read the alley.”
Also among the hopefuls from the West side are Devin Perry (Kapolei), Christopher Besas (Waipahu), Christopher Lee (Waipahu), Kyle Duncan (Campbell) and Kevin Ornellas (Campbell).
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