Hanford bowling team wins 1A/2A/3A state championship
The Hanford Falcons returned home from University Place on Saturday after helping to establish a new era of Eastern Washington bowling dominance.
Hanford won the WIAA Class 1A/2A/3A state tournament at Narrows Plaza Bowl, beating the Everett Seagulls by 103 pins for its first state title.
“We were just hoping top three this year, the same thing we said every year,” Hanford bowler Megan Bean said. “But when we saw how close we were, we were like, ‘We’re gonna get it. It’s our time.’ ”
The Falcons and 4A tournament winner Wenatchee made history. Never before had two east-side bowling teams won state championships in the same season.
Hanford, which has made three state appearances in its four seasons as a program, also became the first Tri-City bowling team to win a state title. Kennewick finished second in the 4A tournament in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
The Falcons started Day Two with a 241-pin advantage over Everett that they built across six scratch games. They bowled a 225 in the first of 14 baker games, but they faced a scare in the fifth game, when Everett outscored them 232-135.
“The team got together and did cheers to lift each other up, and really, when it got down to it, we just tried to have fun,” Hanford coach Tim Faix said. “It doesn’t do any good to sit and stare at the other team and see how they’re doing.”
Hanford regained 39 pins over the next two games. Everett chipped away at its deficit as the tournament wound down, but it wasn’t enough to affect the final standings. The Seagulls ended with a 176 baker average, 10 pins better than Hanford.
The Falcons move up to Class 4A next season, and they will be equipped to make another go at a state title. Of the seven girls that went to state this year, six of them — Bean, Sara Harris, Danyelle Moore, Emily Goodnight, Bryanna Decker and Kylee Horner — will return. Amanda Knowles graduates this year.
In another encouraging sign for the Falcons, they finished with a pin count of 7,548, higher than Wenatchee’s total of 7,473 in the 4A tournament.
“It makes me feel pretty good,” Faix said. “We’re going into 4A, and hey, that’s OK. We would have been competitive there, too. We could easily have gone over there and ended up with the same result.”
Walla Walla finished eighth among 4A teams with a pin fall of 6,143.
Class 4A team scores (pin total): 1, Wenatchee 7,473; 2, Evergreen-Vancouver 7,448; 3, Rogers-Puyallup 7,124; 4, Curtis 7,054; 5, Skyview 6,898; 6, Thomas Jefferson 6,654; 7, Spanaway Lake 6,630; 8, Walla Walla 6,143. Class 1A/2A/3A team scores: 1, Hanford 7,548; 2, Everett 7,445; 3, Prairie 7,207; 4, Wilson 7,094; 5, Hudson’s Bay 6,916; 6, Central Kitsap 6,722; 7, Klahowya 6,526; 8, North Mason 5,867. Class 4A baker games (14-game average): Spanaway Lake 164; Curtis 164; Evergreen 163; Wenatchee 162; Skyview 157; Rogers 154; Thomas Jefferson 146; Walla Walla 126. Class 1A/2A/3A baker games: Everett 176; Hanford 166; Prairie 164; Wilson 157; Hudson’s Bay 153; Central Kitsap 153; Klahowya 152; North Mason 124.
This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Hanford bowling team wins 1A/2A/3A state championship."