Stephanie Croston

    For the second time in three years, the Seward girls' bowling team is the Class B state champion.
     The team defeated Scottsbluff/Gering 3-0 in a best-of-five bakers competition in the finals Feb. 9.
     Coach Roger Wilke said the true championship match came Feb. 8 against Alliance, which went down to the wire.
     "Reba (Wilke) needed two strikes to win, and she got it," he said.
     In the championship match, Scottsbluff/Gering started out hot, throwing two consecutive strikes, Wilke said. But Seward didn't give up and worked its way back into the match, eventually winning 191-164, 171-159 and 167-135.
     In fact, Reba Wilke and Micaella Radke, both seniors, came up big for Seward, Wilke said. Wilke needed a strike and a spare to win, and she threw three strikes. Radke threw two key strikes earlier in the match to give Seward some momentum.
     Radke also hit a strike in the ninth frame of the third game to seal Seward's victory. Wilke was able to then let a substitute throw the final frame, giving everyone a chance to participate in the championship match.
     "They were pretty excited," Wilke said of his team.
     Wilke said bakers games have been the team's Achilles heel throughout the season, but Seward was able to come together as a team and use the team format to win.
     Katelyn Schulz only missed one spare in the two days of competition, Wilke said, and Amanda Hemsath was also consistent.
     Felicia Benes and Stephanie Radke rounded out the team.
     To get to the finals, Seward defeated Plattsmouth in the opening round 3-0 and then got past Alliance 3-2.
     Wilke said the support from the boys' team and the crowd made the atmosphere even better. For example, a group of four young men-Derek and Brad Pohlmann, Mitch Bloebaum and Tyson Hostetler-painted themselves yellow and work t-shirts that spelled Jays.
     Wilke praised the way both the boys' and girls' teams supported each other throughout the season.
     "As a club, they are all together," he said. "It's just fantastic. There was nothing negative."
     He described this year's team as the best he's seen in his seven years of coaching, adding that although the averages weren't as high, the bowlers were positive and supportive of each other.
     Although the Seward boys' team didn't advance to the finals, Stan Benes finished with the high series, bowling a 647 and becoming the third Seward bowling in four years to win a singles title. Reba Wilke won twice.