A four-time state champion in high school sports is a rare thing.
You may expect to find some in track and field, swimming, maybe wrestling.
We could see one this spring in tennis with Skyview’s Sammi Hampton.
But try to find a high school athlete who was a member of four state championship teams in the same sport, and you could be searching for a long time.
That is, unless you know where to look.
This weekend, a good place to look is Narrows Plaza Bowl in University Place near Tacoma.
That’s where the high school state bowling championships will be held Friday and Saturday. And that’s where you can find Bailee Standley, Adrianne (A.J.) Schock and Jane Bergren, seniors on the Battle Ground girls bowling team.
The Tigers will be seeking their fourth consecutive 4A state team title this weekend, and Standley, Schock and Bergren were there from the start of the run as freshmen.
In 2012, Standley was Battle Ground’s No. 5 bowler when she placed 29th overall in the individual portion of the state tournament and when the Tigers captured their first 4A state title. Schock and Bergren competed in the baker game portion of the tournament.
In 2013, Schock placed fourth overall as Battle Ground repeated as 4A team champions. Standley split duties as the Tigers’ No. 5 bowler that year, and Bergren wasn’t on the state tournament roster because the Tigers were that deep.
And last year, Schock placed fifth and Standley was 12th overall as Battle Ground again won the state team title. Bergren again competed in the baker games.
Standley, Schock and Bergren will be there again as the Tigers go for four in a row.
Battle Ground easily captured the 4A district title on Friday, with Standley and Schock leading the way by placing third and fourth respectively.
The Tigers will be joined at state by individual qualifiers Tiffany Becker of Mountain View and Shelby Chartrand of Camas. Those bowlers will try to uphold the great run of success at the state tournament by the 4A Greater St. Helens League.
In addition to Battle Ground’s three consecutive teams titles, the 4A GSHL also had three consecutive individual state champions — Battle Ground’s Wylicia Faley in 2012, Skyview’s Madison Crockett in 2013 and Faley again (beating out Crockett) in 2014.
But Tigers’ run of championships is one of the great things about bowling.
It’s an individual sport that embraces the team aspect. In bowling, the entire team qualifies for state, as well as individuals. Cross country and gymnastics do the same thing.
In some individual sports, the teams are simply too big to do this — like track and field, swimming and wrestling.
Golf could do this, but chooses not to.
It’s too bad, because we can use more stories like the Battle Ground bowlers. It’s what makes high school sports great.
