After back-to-back intense and crucial league matches against rival Black Hills, the undefeated W.F. West Bowling team cruised to victory versus the Shelton Highclimbers on Tuesday, winning 2125 to 1322.
The Bearcats, who have now won 21-straight matches, used a balanced attack and showed their vast depth by bowling seven varsity bowlers against Shelton. Not only did the Bearcat varsity win by over 800 pins, their junior varsity team outscored Shelton’s varsity by over 500 pins, shooting 1854 total pins.
“Our coaches were extremely proud of our team and the way our entire team performed tonight,” W.F. West head coach Don Bunker said. “After coming down from the two great matches against the Wolves, I was a little concerned we might not bring the same level of intensity, but our entire program, c-team through varsity, brought their A-game tonight.”
In the first game, the Bearcats were led by anchor Piper Chalmers’ 227, while senior Anahbelle Lopez bowled a 171.
“I was so excited to see Belle step up and give us a great performance tonight,” Bunker said. “She is one of the hardest workers on the team, a great leader and an amazing teammate.”
Jessica Loflin (163) and Brianna Powe (160) also had solid first games for the Cats.
In the second game, Lopez had another strong 195 game and the Bearcats were led again by Chalmers’ 202 game. Sophomore Clara Bunker rolled a 155 while Cami Aldrich bowled a 165, giving the Bearcats a commanding lead heading into the final game.
In the final game, some of the Bearcats struggled a bit with the lane conditions breaking down, but the Cats adjusted to the conditions in the second half of the game.
Bunker and Chalmers, however, did not have any trouble with the lane conditions. Bunker bowled a solid 170 and Chalmers fired a match-high game of 232.
“Piper is red hot right now and is just getting better and better,” Bunker said. “She is really fun to watch, not only as a bowler, but seeing her grow into a leader on the team has been really exciting. Piper has a real chance of becoming the Evergreen Conference’s MVP because of that developing leadership and stellar bowling this season.”
Chalmers is currently carrying a 210.4 average this season for the Bearcats.
W.F. West takes on Tumwater at 3 p.m., June 1, at Westside Lanes in Olympia.
