UNIVERSITY PLACE — Kerissa Andersen didn’t need her final-frame strike to count in the pin totals — it was that kind of dominating day for Evergreen’s girls bowling team — but it certainly made for a fitting finish anyway for the Plainsmen at the Class 3A girls bowling state tournament Saturday.
Teammate Lexi Henderson, last weekend’s district champion, leaped over teammates to be the first to celebrate with the junior, followed by Dakota O’Neil joining in the celebration.
That strike, said Henderson, a senior, “it meant everything.”
Then came a cheer that Andersen frequently starts.
“Everybody clap your hands,” Andersen shouted.
A fitting end to a familiar scene from a year ago at Narrows Plaza Bowl, too: The Evergreen Plainsmen won the Class 3A state title. The Plainsmen topped Hudson’s Bay, which rallied from third place, to win the title by 328 pins (7,974-7,646).
Evergreen entered the tournament as a favorite, and didn’t disappoint. The Plainsmen occupied half of the medal winners in Friday’s individual competition, then dominated Saturday’s baker games to become the first Clark County team to win back-to-back team titles since Battle Ground won four straight in Class 4A from 2012-15.
Now, coach Robin Bailey, coaching at Evergreen since 2010, said she hopes it’s the start of something special.
So does Andersen, the 2017 3A individual champion who placed seventh Friday. Don’t expect Evergreen’s momentum to stop anytime soon, Andersen said. She’s only a junior.
“I think it’s going (to go on) for a while,” she said.
Of the 14 bakers Saturday, Evergreen rolled nine games of 182 or higher; its 223 in the 12th game was a tournament-best.
That came after a hefty pin cushion from Friday — 228 pins — to work with on Wilson of Tacoma, thanks to fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth-place finishes in Friday’s individuals from Dakota O’Neil, Jessica Dufrain, Andersen and Henderson, respectively.
But while the Rams of Tacoma fizzled, Evergreen only picked up steam. Right on their tails was Hudson’s Bay, which placed second.
For the Eagles (7,646 pins), it’s back-to-back state runner-up trophies to their 3A Greater St. Helens League rivals, and Saturday’s field day made it happen.
Bay trailed by as many as 118 pins and stormed back to take the lead by finding consistency early.
That came courtesy of teamwork and motivation, sophomore Rin Birchfield said.
“And we were having fun,” she said. “That’s the most important part.”
It was all part of a big Saturday for Vancouver and Southwest Washington bowling that included Columbia River placing runner-up in the 2A/1A team race. The Chieftains fell 26 pins short of achieving its first state title since 2015. Mark Morris repeated as 2A/1A state champion (7,205 pins), despite River’s late charge in the final two baker games.
A week after defeating Mark Morris for the district title that included a 268 baker game, River began Saturday with a 24-pin lead on its district rivals. The two went back and forth until Mark Morris’ 191-132 advantage made it a 76-pin deficit with four games left.
River bested Mark Morris, 191-150 and 177-130 the final two games.
Senior Maddy Getz said while disappointing, the Monarchs bring out the best in River.
“We’ve always been super competitive with each other,” she said. “We bowl really well against them.”
Another plus, too, she said, was the surprise team lead behind how well she and her teammate bowled Friday to put the Chieftains in title contention.
“It’s a step up from last year when we took fourth,” she said.
