No wild card needed -- Wayne bowlers roll their way to B-3 district title

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NORFOLK — When you have a spot secured in the state tournament before district play begins, a team can go one of two directions — take it easy and save themselves, or win districts and carry some momentum into the state tournament.

Both Wayne High bowling teams chose the latter approach.

The Blue Devil keglers decided they didn’t want to use a wild card to get to next week’s Nebraska State Bowling Championships and rolled their way to dominating efforts to take the B-3 district championship Tuesday at King’s Lanes.

There was little doubt as to what Wayne’s plans were after singles action, as the Blue Devils secured three spots in the state singles competition and had nine top 10 medalists between the two teams, and that carried over into the five-game Baker series that left both teams with considerable spreads between them and the rest of the five-school field.

“We had been talking all week about not getting complacent and thinking we can just bowl good enough to get in,” coach Josh Johnson said after the tournament. “We like to come home with district championship trophies so we wanted to come out sharp and do what we could.”

Both teams were challenged by a particularly oily set of lanes and had to adjust their approaches, and Johnson said they were able to find a way to have some success.

On the boys’ side, senior Brogan Foote had the hot hand on the day and earned medalist honors with a three-game total of 609.

“When we showed up for warmups, I saw there was a lot of oil out there and I was able to find a line quick and tried to help my teammates out with it,” Foote said.

Three of Wayne’s five Bowlers finished among the five medalists who qualified for next week’s singles competition, with Alex Rodriguez taking runner-up honors with a 494 and Shayne Geidner placing fifth at 472.

Jaden Dramse was the first bowler out among the state qualifiers but finished sixth with a solid series of 463. The only disappointment came with senior Calvin Starzl, who was looking to make a third trip to the state singles tournament but struggled and finished 11th with a 426.

“I feel bad for Calvin, because he’s a senior and a two-time qualifier who medaled as a sophomore,” Johnson said. “It just wasn’t his day today, but he battled all the way through.”

All five Wayne girls were among the top 10 and three will compete in the singles tournament next week. Jensen led the way with a 573, senior Riley Haschke was second at 481 and Nina Hammer placed fourth with a 453.

“I had to take my ball inside because it was so oily and the ball kept sliding out and into the gutter when I went outside,” Jensen said. “It was a hard setup today and I was able to bowl well, so I’m really proud of myself.”

Lindsay Niemann and Jordyn Johnson finished seventh and eighth, respectively, to give Wayne half of the 10 district medal-winning performances. Niemann shot 405 while Johnson carded a 395.

Wayne will likely be the favorite in the girls competition and the boys are set to battle with York for the team title when best-of-five Baker action begins Tuesday morning at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, followed by individual competition on Wednesday.

Johnson feels both teams have a very good chance of being in the hunt for both team and individual titles in the first year of Class B bowling.

“With the Baker games, it’s about taking care of your frames and picking up those spares, and if we can do that I think we’ll be OK,” he said. “There are some challenging Class B schools and some great teams all over the state, so we know we’re in for a battle. We’ll give it a whirl and see what happens.”

B-3 District Bowling
Boys Team Scores (Winner to state)
Wayne 3327, Thurston-Cuming County 2967, Hartington-Newcastle 2856, Plainview 2544, Norfolk Catholic/LHNE 2257.
Boys Top 10 Singles (Top five to state)
1. Brogan Foote, Wayne, 609; 2. Alex Rodriguez, Wayne, 494; 3. Barret Bruning, H-N, 491; 4. Alex Hathaway, TCC, 480; 5. Shayne Geidner, Wayne, 472; 6. Jaden Dramse, Wayne, 463; 7. Andrew Hallock, Plainview, 462; 8. Logan Kramer, TCC, 460; 9. Avin Dean, TCC, 455; 10. Logan Mosser, TCC, 431.
Wayne Results
WAYNE — Brogan Foote 609, Alex Rordiguez 494, Shayne Geidner 472, Jaden Dramse 463, Calvin Starzl 426.

Girls Team Standings (Winner to state)
Wayne 3058, Hartington-Newcastle 2440, Thurston-Cuming County 2340, Plainview 1355.
Girls Top 10 Singles (Top five to state)
1. Jersi Jensen, Wayne, 573; 2. Riley Haschke, Wayne, 481; 3. Rebekah Pinkelman, H-N, 477; 4. Nina Hammer, Wayne, 453; 5. Paige Schuster, TCC, 431; 6. Jordyn Siebrandt, TCC, 413; 7. Lindsay Niemann, Wayne, 405; 8. Joslyn Johnson, Wayne, 395; 9. Meredith McGregor, H-N, 387; 10. Alexis Ferris, TCC, 384.
Wayne Results
WAYNE — Jersi Jensen 573, Riley Haschke 481, Nina Hammer 453, Lindsay Niemann 405, Joslyn Johnson, 395.