Champs: Triway girls win bowling title, Yoder takes individual gold
Emma Yoder led Triway to the state bowling championship and also captured the individual title with a 718 series.
The Triway girls bowling team earned an extraordinary place in school history by winning the Div. II state championship at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl on March 5.
A program that had to prove itself just to get recognized as a varsity sport a decade ago earned the first team title in Triway history.
Making the day twice as nice, sophomore Emma Yoder won the individual state championship.
“It's a pretty crazy feeling,” said Vince Yoder, founder of the program, boys coach and girls assistant. “It’s always been a goal of ours to win a state title.
“We watched the (state runner-up) softball team last year and figured that was gonna be the first one. Our boys team got really close in 2015. We thought all season that our girls could do it, even though we have a really young team. They performed awesome in the postseason, and everyone came through when we needed them. It was collectively just a great, amazing team to watch.”
Yoder thanked everyone who has helped the bowling team get to where it’s at, from school administrators to past coaches and bowlers.
“It took us about a year and a half to sell the idea to start a bowling team at Triway,” Yoder said. “We had a group of friends with kids who grew up bowling here and were all in the Triway district. Turns out we had some really good bowlers.”
The first Triway boys team competed in 2012, and a girls team was added two years later. The first big milestone was accomplished when Vince’s son, Jacob Yoder, qualified for state in 2014.
The Titans boys were state runners-up in 2015 and fifth in 2016. The girls finished fourth in 2020 and sixth last year.
With Corby Anderson moving from girls assistant to head coach this year, the Triway girls peaked at just the right time to have a phenomenal state tournament. The Titans blanked top-seeded Napoleon three games to zero in the state title match, winning Baker games 175-146, 137-124 and 204-149.
The 16 best Div. II teams in the state competed at Wayne Webb Lanes, and Triway earned the No. 2 seed after the qualifying rounds.
Emma Yoder, Vince’s daughter, rolled a three-game qualifying series of 718 (237-255-226) to edge Napoleon senior Spencer Schwaiger (699, 264-210-225) for the individual title.
Triway sophomore Addy Meshew tied for 10th to repeat as an All-Ohioan. She rolled a 570 series (200-193-177).
“I always say ‘bowlers aren’t robots that can throw it perfect every time,’ but Emma was close to doing that,” said Vince Yoder, the former owner of Triway Lanes and a standout bowler himself. “During the Baker brackets, I think there was ice in her veins. I am so darn proud of her.
“Addy was amazing. She did a great job while the other teams were cheering and trying to get into our heads. It was a great crowd, especially in the final match. The other girls stepped up big-time too. Hats off to all of them.”
Also placing in the top 50 for Triway were juniors Lindsay Miller (30th, 507, 140-178-189) and Danielle Densmore (38th, 496, 158-136-202). Freshman Kennedy Finley contributed games of 200 and 121 while junior Sydney Wile added a 167.
“It still feels like a dream,” said Emma Yoder, who also plays softball. “It’s still really hard to believe that we won. It’s just really amazing that it happened.”
After the qualifying rounds and with the individual state title in hand, Emma Yoder and the Titans entered the single-elimination Baker game championship bracket.
In the Baker format, team members bowl frames in a repetitive order to complete a single game. Meshew rolled frames one and six, followed by Finley (two, seven), Miller (three, eight), Densmore (four, nine) and Yoder (five, 10).
Anderson, a former bowling rival and teammate of Vince Yoder on the men’s tournament circuit, previously coached at Cuyahoga Falls and Notre Dame College. After Chrystal Way stepped down as head coach in the off-season, Anderson was happy to take over. Many people have credited him as a big part of the Titans’ success over the last couple years.
“I still feel like everything is in slow motion,” Anderson said. “We told them from the start of the season the goal was a state championship.
“It was an unbelievable feeling to see the girls as focused as they were, considering the atmosphere and the pressure of the situation. My emotions went crazy. I was even bawling when I watched the livestream replay the next day.”
Triway beat St. Paris Graham three games to zero in the quarterfinals and then topped Liberty Center 3-1 in the semis before taking down Napoleon.
It was nerve-wracking waiting their turn to bowl in the Baker games, but the Titans found a way to calm themselves.
“Pinkies and pudding,” Emma Yoder said.
The Titans interlocked pinkies while waiting to bowl. If anyone was feeling nervous, someone would say “pudding” — the relaxation word they had decided on beforehand.
Without a single senior, many more big moments are in store for the Titans.
“The sky’s the limit,” Anderson said. “The goal now becomes win another one.”
Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at aarondorksen24@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AaronDorksen.