ROGERS -- Lake Hamilton coach John Utley was unsure of his team's chances following a poor practice round prior to the Class 7A/6A State Bowling Championships on Tuesday.
"After we practiced (Monday), I told our kids to just walk away from it because we were bowling horribly," Utley said.
CLASS 7A/6A STATE BOWLING
Boys Teams
Top 5
Team^Score
Lake Hamilton^4,271
Fort Smith Southside^4,253
Cabot^4,221
Van Buren^4,016
Siloam Springs^3,953
Girls Teams
Top 5
Team^Score
Cabot^3,664
Mountain Home^3,470
Rogers^3,451
Silom Springs^3,131
Bentonville^3,084
Boys Individual
Top 10
Name^School^Series Total
Josh Imhoff^Cabot^703
Seth Morgan^Benton^703
Colby Harger^Fort Smith Southside^701
Taylor Thompson^Van Buren^660
Ben Webber^Fort Smith Southside^634
Logan Rogers^Little Rock Catholic^632
Jackson Wood^Rogers Heritage^630
Keaton Hayes^Cabot^628
Tyler Braswell^Texarkana^623
Tristen Blythe^Lake Hamilton^622
Girls Individual
Top 10
Maddison Zollcoffer^Greenwood^598
Caitlyn Kill^Mountain Home^581
Kelsey Stevens^Jonesboro^567
Olivia New^Cabot^558
Hayden Sexton^Van Buren^557
Ann Catherine King^Searcy^555
Hayleigh Baugh^Cabot^544
Madelynne Hardister^Benton^538
Dani Frenci^Mountain Home^518
Krnzi Eicher^Bentonville^511
Lake Hamilton regrouped and won the boys team title in a field that included Cabot, which was denied its sixth consecutive state championship. Cabot (4,221) finished third behind runner-up Fort Smith Southside (4,253) and Lake Hamilton (4,271), which won back-to-back state championships in 2006-2007.
"The kids came back today and did a fantastic job," Utley said. "It was a team effort and everybody played their role."
The Cabot girls (3,664) won their third consecutive state championship in the tournament that featured more than 20 boys and girls teams from across the state at Fast Lane Entertainment. Mountain Home (3,470) finished second and Rogers (3,451) was third.
"Our girls did awesome," Rogers coach Greg Sandlin said. "They actually bowled for a better average here than in the conference tournament, but the competition was tougher. We only lost second place by 19 pins and it just came down to one game where (Mountain Home) bowled a little bit better."
Cabot got off to a fast start when junior Josh Imhoff rolled a 279 in the first game. Imhoff followed with a 195 and 232 to capture the individual championship with a 706 series total. He edged Seth Morgan of Benton, who finished with a 703 series total.
"Staring with a big game like that really boosted my confidence," said Imhoff, who made 11 strikes and picked up a spare after leaving one pin in the opener. "It got my energy up and helped me to get into a rhythm."
Maddison Zollcoffer of Greenwood won the girls championship with a 598 series. She was followed by Caitlyn Kill of Mountain Home with a 581 and Kelsey Stevens of Jonesboro, who rolled a 567 series.
The Cabot girls grabbed an early lead and held off Mountain Home and Rogers to complete a three-peat of the state championship. Hayleigh Baugh rolled a 544 series to lead the Lady Panthers.
"We had some girls who had consistent days and that's what carried us through," Cabot coach Clark Bing said.
Sports on 02/15/2017