BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Great Bend's bowling team built momentum heading to Tuesday's Western Athletic Conference tournament by sweeping Dodge City Thursday at Walnut Bowl. The Great Bend girls won 10-1. The Panther boys rolled to an 11-0 victory. The WAC Tournament starts at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at Walnut Bowl.
Garden City's boys have already clinched the WAC title with a 63-3 scoring edge. Garden City's girls own a 56-10 scoring edge in WAC dual meets. Great Bend owns a 48-18 scoring advantage. A team can score 21 WAC points Tuesday.
"I was impressed today, both boys and girls," said Great Bend coach David Feldbauer. "Everyone stepped up and bowled like we wanted today. The girls have played consistent. The boys played the best they have all season."
Panther medalist Sahara Rhiza (635, 232-190-213) edged teammate Kaylin Wahlmeier (605, 226-178-201) for the first time this season. The Panthers cruised to three series wins and two of three Baker wins.
"I hit my marks today and had good luck," Rhiza said. "I was hitting quite a few strikes and spares.
Surprise medalist Caleb Murphy rolled season high games and series (644, 232-181-231) to achieve a season high score to finish ahead of teammate Jalen Daniels (625, 205-236-184).
"I hadn't been hitting my mark all year. It aimed at the right second mark — a pretty normal house shot — and hit the pocket the whole time," Murphy said. "I had a good mindset today. We've got a shot of playing well Tuesday."
Murphy's biggest bonus — he keeps his stylish-coiffed hair after a friendly bet where he'd get his hair cut if he didn't score 600 this season.
The Panthers swept three series and three Baker games.
GREAT BEND GIRLS 10, DODGE CITY 1
GREAT BEND 2,960, DODGE CITY 2,531
SERIES SCORES—GB 846-718; GB 725-750; GB 845-759; GB 2,416; DC 2,200 (GB 6-0); BAKER SCORES—GB 205-170; DC 193-182; GB 180-142; GB 567, DC 505 (GB 2-1)
GREAT BEND—1—Sahara Rhiza, 635 (232-190-213); 2—Kaylin Wahlmeier, 605 (226-178-201); 3—Aliyah Fryberger, 589 (190-177-222); 6—Emilee Nelson, 537 (198-159-180); 7—Jenna Dean, 526 (180-180-166); 8—Kristy Wittig, 520 (142-169-209)
DODGE CITY—4—Jaden Rabe, 564 (202-162-200); 5—Camryn Lenz, 551 (191-176-184); 9—Taylor Lenz, 506 (156-181-169); 10—Charlee Bitler, 500 (159-183-158); 11—Jasmine Moreno, 386 (155-115-116); 12—Chailyn Scott, 381 (130-125-126)
GREAT BEND BOYS 11, DODGE CITY 0
GREAT BEND 2,960, DODGE CITY 2,531
SERIES SCORES—GB 785-654; GB 774-694; GB 823-734; GB 2,382; DC 2,082 (GB 6-0); BAKER SCORES—GB 175-122; GB 223-157; GB 180-170; GB 578, DC 449 (GB 3-0)
GREAT BEND—1—Caleb Murphy, 644 (232-181-231); 2—Jalen Daniels, 625 (205-236-184); 3—Caleb McNett, 568 (159-196-213); 5—Jordan Manning, 517 (169-153-195); 8—Dylon Paden, 496 (179-161-156); 9—Dylan Ferguson, 493 (156-154-183);
DODGE CITY—4—Auston Barnett, 552 (155-202-195); 6—Kaden Webb, 515 (167-168-180); 6—Avonte Nichols, 515 (155-168-192); 10—Ethan Pogue, 473 (168-141-164); 11—Manuel Martinez, 453 (130-156-167); 11—Deonte Young, 453 (164-144-145)
GB JV GIRLS 10, DC 1
SERIES SCORES—GB 450-347; GB 476-344; GB 439-340; GB 1,365; DC 1,031 (GB 6-0); BAKER SCORES—GB 116-99; GB 122-119; DC 137-120; GB 358, DC 355 (GB 2-1)
PANTHER GIRLS—2—Rionna Rodriguez, 374 (114-152-108); 3—Paige Heine, 371 (130-115-126); 5—Vanessa Delgadillo, 320 (104-102-114); 6—Kacie Schroeder, 300 (102-107-91); 8—Kyra Calvert, 267 (94-101-72); DODGE CITY—1—Alayna Holecek, 398 (136-129-133); 4—Emma Trejo, 334 (116-107-111); 7—Ailyn Cabrera, 299 (95-108-96)
GB JV BOYS 11, DC 0
GREAT BEND 2,103, DODGE CITY 776
SERIES SCORES—GB 785-654; GB 774-694; GB 823-734; GB 1,740; DC 523 (GB 6-0); BAKER SCORES—GB 109-83; GB 155-81; GB 99-89; GB 363, DC 253 (GB 3-0)
GREAT BEND—1—Christian Mason, 517 (158-170-189); 2—Darian Sherwood, 462 (167-135-160); 3—Quinten Miller, 407 (149-160-98); 4—Tyler McKenzie, 354 (131-98-125); 6—Jordan Sander, 258 (94-79-85); DODGE CITY—5—Tallen Emerton, 285 (111-81-93); 7—Jon Romero, 238 (59-93-86)
