READING — They’ve both been in this situation before. The results haven’t always been the same.
But Saturday at Hiester Lanes in Berks County, Garden Spot junior Gavin Courtney and Warwick senior Taylor Miller captured District Three bowling titles.
The championship was the fourth in the last six postseason events dating back to last year for Courtney, including last year’s district championship and this year’s the Lancaster-Lebanon League boys crown.
“I like to say I built myself up to this,” said Courtney, who rolled a 300 in his first match of the single elimination finals. “I just try to fill frames as much as I can and just focus on me and no one else.”
“It’s awesome that I actually threw one,” he said of the 300. “It’s a good feeling, like everyone behind me is just watching that. It feels really good and finally seeing that my practice has paid off. It’s exciting.”
For Miller, it was actually her second district girls title after she won in 2023. However, it broke a string of four second-place finishes, including a runner-up spot in this year’s L-L girls event.
“It felt so nice, being able to be in the final again and actual winning, and not getting second for how many times,” said Miller, who’s had plenty of postseason success, but not a lot of championships. “It was nice.”
Both bowlers were the top finishers in qualifying, something Miller has done often, just to fall a bit short. Both also were top qualifiers in the L-L championships.
Courtney totaled 1,213, besting Elizabethtown junior Mason Moore by 33 pins. That earned him a bye into the semifinals, where he rolled the 300 to beat Blayze Denny of Spring Grove by 113 pins.
In the final, he settled for a 258 to beat Blake Jeitles of Daniel Boone, who nearly matched Courtney’s six straight strikes and a nine-count, closing with five strikes — he had an 8-spare in the seventh — and nine for a 231.
“He is just amazing, when the pressure is at its highest, he’s at his calmest,” Garden Spot coach Lloyd Steinmetz said. “I think it’s just because he’s been there before. He’s done so many tournaments and it just comes very natural to him, and that’s been great to watch.”
Miller had a 23-pin edge in qualifying, then started out on a sour note with an open in her semifinal against Aailyah Hall of York Tech.
“It didn’t feel good to miss that … so I should have reset myself,” said Miller, who went on to close out the 238-210 victory with seven straight strikes.
But in the final, she was in control most of the way after Lower Dauphin’s Skylynn Phillipy missed a 10-pin in the first frame, winning 191-170.
“I don’t sweat when she has a bad game or frame,” Warwick coach Neal Vital said. “She is just confident she is not going to do it again.”
There were plenty of chances for district gold for L-L bowlers, with three more earning medals.
For the boys, Moore’s second-place finish in qualifying sent him to the semifinals, but he fell short against Jeitles, 225-159. That earned Moore a third-place finish.
Conestoga Valley senior Josiah Casler was fourth in qualifying with 1,163 pins and bowled Denny in the quarterfinals. Casler was a tough-luck loser, dropping the match despite rolling a 236 and finishing fifth. Denny had a 242.
Elizabethtown senior Ella Eberle qualified sixth among the girls with 1,009 pins. She kept that sixth-place finish after falling 191-190 in the quarterfinals, needing a strike to win and nine pins to tie on her final ball, but leaving a 2-10 split.
Next up is the Eastern Regional championships, scheduled for Feb. 28-March 1 at Leisure and Clearview Lanes, with 24 boys and 20 girls from the L-L earning berths, along with one boys team — others can get at-large bids.
“Obviously win everything; I’m already two-for-four for that,” Courtney said of his season goals. “Hopefully I can keep this momentum going in regionals.”
