There was an opening — and Gavin Courtney took advantage of it.
It was actually an open frame that helped the Garden Spot junior capture the Lancaster-Lebanon League boys bowling title Friday at Leisure Lanes.
“Ecstatic; super excited,” said Courtney after his win. “One shot at a time, because that’s the best I can do.”
Courtney, who is no newcomer to bowling titles after winning the District Three and Eastern Regional crowns last year, defeated Donegal junior Mike Berg 249-224 in the final.
“It’s been a joy just to watch him this whole season,” said Garden Spot coach Lloyd Steinmetz. “He’s just super talented, hard worker. … You can tell there’s just something different when he bowls compared to everybody else. He’s something special.”
Courtney was the top bowler in qualifying, meaning he got to wait and practice while the rest of the field in the 10-man stepladder finals was whittled to one.
That ended up being Berg, who received a bye into the semifinal match after qualifying second. There, Berg was able knock off defending champion Josiah Casler of Conestoga Valley after starting off with seven straight strikes and cruising to a 246-185 victory.
“There were a lot of great bowlers out here, and I was trying my hardest to win, but I came up short against Gavin,” said Berg. “He’s a great bowler.
“I was just taking my time (during the qualifying games), focusing on where I wanted to throw it and just do it.”
Courtney totaled 1,500 pins in qualifying, with nothing less than a 227 in his six games, outdistancing Berg by 49 pins.
“To watch him today, he was pretty much locked in,” Steinmetz said of Courtney. “Super consistent.”
Courtney didn’t get off to a great start in the final, with two spares and a strike in the first three frames, including leaving four pins before converting a spare in the third. But that frame is where the opening came as Berg, after rolling two straight strikes, left a 10-pin and failed to pick it up.
“I was like, ‘OK, it’s better to take advantage of this now, instead of later,’ ” said Courtney.
He finished the match with eight strikes, clinching the title with his second in the 10th.
“I was kind of concerned because (Berg) just came off a great game,” Courtney said. “I can only control what I can control, and I can’t control what he does. So what happens, happens.
“Obviously, this year, I want to clean sweep everything. I won districts last year and regionals last year, so I’m hoping to win those tournaments … and hopefully win states instead of finishing second.”
Finishing behind the third-place Casler were Warwick’s Landen Kahler, Hempfield’s Priest McKenzie (who came in with the league’s top average of 234), Donegal’s Dalton Sauder, Hempfield’s Blake Garman, Warwick’s Kaleb Bracken, McCaskey’s Andre Colabucci and Elizabethtown’s Mason Moore.
Kahler, who only appeared in eight varsity games for the Warriors but qualified sixth, beat Colabucci 234-212 in the first round, then rolled seven strikes to open against Sauder and held on for a 240-235 win. He then fell to Casler 277-183.
Kahler’s teammate, Bracken, appeared in just 21 varsity games this season, but qualified fourth. He fell to McKenzie 257-214 in the first round.
Warwick freshman Logan Good missed qualifying by one pin, despite rolling a 300.
Next up is the L-L girls championship, which was postponed Thursday. That is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday at Palmyra Bowling Center.
