Sweeping a team in any sport is one of the hardest things to do. But doing it in nine out of the ten matches in a year is unheard of. The Shaler Area Boys Bowling team went 10-0 in the regular season and in those games they managed to only lose two points (or one set) the whole year.
After a successful 2023 season in which the Titans qualified for the PA State Championship, they had a lot of high hopes going into this season.
“My expectations for the team this year were for us to make a run for states again. We had most of our starters from last year returning, so there was a good feeling going into the start of the season,” senior Braden Scott said.
Of these returning players, the Titans had an experienced senior class that led the team throughout the season.
“The senior class was amazing. Our captain Braden Scott has been in that role for a few seasons now and he is a great vocal and spiritual leader,” coach Mr. Brenan Jackson said. “Josh Turner and Aaron Manuel improved as bowlers this season and earned starting positions on the varsity roster this season. Plus they bring great humor to the team.”
These expectations were backed up with a ton of hard work from the Titans throughout the off-season and in-season.
“The success goes 100% to the work put in by the boys. They work hard at practice and many of them put in extra time on their own. They keep positive attitudes and they are all very coachable,” Jackson said.
The Titans certainly met these off-season expectations as they would start the season 8-0. A big factor that played into the team’s success was their chemistry.
“The chemistry stayed consistently positive and everyone was able to keep a level head throughout the season. This contributed to the team working very well together,” junior Liam Creagh said.
In their final home game of the regular season and senior night, the undefeated Titans looked to do something that hasn’t been done in school history: win a section championship. The Titans dropped the first set against Deer Lakes, but would battle back to win the next two sets and clinched the 1st section title in school history.
“It felt really good knowing that we did something no other team in the past has done. It just made all the work everyone put in feel so much more worth it,” Scott said.
The Titans would wrap up the season with a 7-0 victory over Riverview. Going into the postseason, the section championship clinched the Titans a berth in the Western PA Team Regionals. Before they went to the regional championships, the Titans had to take care of business at the WPIBL Team and Singles Championships.
In the team championships, Shaler Area found themselves in 11th place after two games. They needed a strong game three to get them into the finals. The Titans scored a 1031 in their final game to qualify them for the finals. In the finals, the Titans would come in 3rd place out of 24 teams.
During the singles championships, the Titans were highlighted by junior Noah Lang who finished 20th out of 118 bowlers. Although no Titan bowlers qualified for the Western PA Regional at the WPIBL Singles Championship, sophomore Tyler Woistman, Lang, Creagh, and Scott already qualified for the Western PA Singles Championship based on their successful regular season.
At the Western PA Regional Singles Championship, the Titan bowlers would need to make the top 12 out of 78 bowlers to qualify for the state finals. Creagh would finish in 67th and Woistman would finish in 54th. Scott would have a great day rolling a 970 5-game series which finished him in 13th place.
In the Western PA Regional Team Championship, the Titans would need to be one of the top six teams out of 20 to qualify for states. Following the first two games, the Titans found themselves in 6th place. In game three, the Titans had a rough stretch which dropped them out of the top six by 34 pins. The Titans would need a big rally in the baker games but unfortunately came up short and finished in 10th place.
Although the Titans season missed their expectations of making it to states, this team was one of the best in Shaler history. They collected the first section championship in school history while only losing one set all regular season.
“I can’t quantify the emotions that I had this season, but I can say I can’t be more proud of these boys. Coach Pilyih and I spend a lot of time thinking of ways to keep the kids moving forward. There are a lot of life lessons to be learned in sports and bowling is full of adversity like many other games,” Jackson said. “It is a privilege to be their coach, and although our season didn’t finish how we intended, it was a great one and we have a lot to look forward to next season.”
