UNIVERSITY PLACE — Madi Bash not only had her best game at the end of a long day at Narrows Plaza Bowl, she also had the best game of the championship.
Bash, a sophomore from Prairie, moved up the standings and finished third Friday at the Class 3A state bowling championships.
“After my fourth game, I fell to something like ninth place. I was really worried,” Bash said. “But I came back and finished strong.”
Responding with a 215 in the fifth game, then that magical 239 in the final game, Bash totalled 1,170 pins, 19 behind the winner, Ashlyn Jamrog of Olympic.
Bash was the highest finisher among Clark County bowlers in both the 3A and 4A championships.
There were plenty of other Southwest Washington highlights.
Sophomores Shelby Chartrand of Camas and Shannon Bliquez of Evergreen finished in a tie for fourth place in the 4A event. Mountain View’s Tiffany Becker was right behind them in sixth place. And in the 3A, Reagan Lorey of Hudson’s Bay finished fifth.
The individual competition is over, but the event will continue today to determine team champions.
Evergreen is in second place, 39 pins behind Wenatchee. Skyview, meanwhile, is in fifth place. All teams will compete in 14 Baker games to determine a winner.
Hanford, with 5,229 pins, has a big lead in the 3A team competition. Prairie, at 4,917, is in third place. Hudson’s Bay is in fifth place.
For Bash, Friday’s result was special to her because she struggled at district. She was quiet after the awards presentation, but she was smiling.
“I’m kind of in shock, I guess,” she said.
“It’s just amazing. My teammates had to carry me just to get me here,” Bash said. “I proved to myself I could perform well after I had a bad experience at district.”
Bash did not make state last year, when she averaged a 139. Her average is up to 179 now.
“I worked on my game through league, tournaments, and high school,” Bash said.
Lorey had a strong start, leading the championship after the second game.
“I’m frustrated because I could have done better,” Lorey said of her fifth-place finish. “But it’s kind of cool.”
She also enjoys representing Hudson’s Bay.
“We don’t get recognition for anything ever,” she said.
The 4A championship was proof that while the bowlers might attend different schools, there is no rivalry. Southwest Washington bowlers stick together. Chartrand, Bliquez, and Becker enjoyed each other’s company at the awards presentation.
Chartrand finished eighth as a freshman and a sophomore.
“I’m not eighth. Amazing. I broke the streak. I’m so happy, you have no idea,” Chartrand said.
“This is incredible,” Bliquez said. “I didn’t expect to place. Today was mostly about the team. It wasn’t about me. Getting a tie for fourth is a huge bonus.”
Chartrand and Bliquez finished their six games with 1,188 pins. Cheyanne Greening from Eastmont of Wenatchee won the title with 1,272.
For Becker, this is her last appearance at state. The senior earned a special memory, too, with five strikes in a row to start her sixth game. She would finish with a 231 to climb into sixth place, a total of 1,151 pins.
“My goal was to come back here, have fun, and do better than 16th place,” she said, referring to where she placed last year.
The three Class 4A bowlers from Southwest Washington hugged and laughed and looked like they didn’t want to leave the bowling center.
Bash, Lorey, and Bliquez will return to Narrows Plaza on Saturday to roll with their teams, hoping to make more memories for Southwest Washington bowling.
