Bowling: Brother Martin ties own record with nine state singles qualifiers

BOYS SINGLES QUALIFIERS (.pdf) | GIRLS SINGLES QUALIFIERS (.pdf)

For the second consecutive year, five-time state champion Brother Martin has qualified a record nine bowlers for the singles event of the Ochsner LHSAA State Bowling Championship April 1 at All Star Lanes in Baton Rouge.

Crusader senior Dylan McDonald had the high average in the New Orleans region – and second-highest in the state – at 225, and teammates Ricky Carmona (219) and Carson Colletti (215) ranked second and third, respectively, in the region.

Brother Martin, Jesuit, Archbishop Shaw and Archbishop Rummel combined to produce 23 of the 24 qualifiers in boys singles from the New Orleans area. Gary Sims (210) tops the group of six Blue Jay qualifiers and ranks fourth in the region, Jonathan Freeman (206) leads the five-bowler Eagle contingent and Hayden Cantillo (193) had the top average among three Raider qualifiers.

The other area qualifier is Patrick Taylor’s Preston Jones (209), who ranks fifth in the region in average.

Dutchtown sophomore Preston West broke a decade-old state record for season average at 238. Former Jesuit standout Cory Ledet held the previous mark of 234, set in 2012.

On the girls side, Mount Carmel senior Taylor Hunn leads a group of seven singles qualifiers from the New Orleans region. Hunn’s 178 average was four pins better than Laney Sasso of district champion Academy of Our Lady.

Gabrielle Fischer (160) is the high qualifier from defending state champion Archbishop Chapelle, which produced a region-best three singles qualifiers. AOL has a pair, while Mount Carmel and Cabrini each have one.

Hammond senior Jayden Hauck, who set a state record for average in anchoring the Tornadoes’ co-ed team in 2021, obliterated her own mark this season with a 227 average.

Hauck and Central Lafourche’s Connor Domangue each return to defend their singles state championships from 2021.

The singles finals – which are bowled in a four-game, total-pins format – come one day after the boys and girls team champions are crowned, also at All Star. The 2022 event will be the final year of the current singles format, which changes to a qualifying round and modified stepladder finals for next season.