By Chris Chaney
Sun staff

The Goshen boys’ and girls’ bowling teams are both off to hot starts over the first few weeks of the 2012-13 season as a result of an eclectic group of leaders that has both teams eying the possibility of a postseason run.

“We have had some good games shot already,” head coach Shirley Reynolds said. “We’ve had some 244s and 245s. The girls are up over 200, so everybody is shooting pretty good.”

Looking closer at the solid teams, Reynolds has two different dynamics taking place on both sides of the lanes. On the boys’ side, a trio of senior leaders are taking the team to the next level.

By average, Bryan Smith is leading the way for the Warriors with a 179.8, but Smith’s team-leading average and high game of 245 is not the first thing to catch Reynolds’ eye.

“The most impressive one is probably Christopher Quan,” the coach said. “He was shooting low last year, but this year, he’s up into the 160s and 170s.”

In fact, Quan is second on the team in average, checking in at about two pins less than Smith with a 177.2.

Not wanting to be left too far behind, Ryan Hicks is right there with his fellow seniors. Averaging games of 176, Hicks shares his high game total with Quan, both at 244.

While the top three bowlers are bunched with averages up around the high 170s, the Warriors team is pretty deep and consistent. Just a few notches down from the Big Three, Tanner Stewart, another senior, and Lucky Singleton, a junior, are busting it up pretty well, also.

Stewart is averaging games of 172.1 with a high game of 210 and Singleton is right there as well with an average of 171.9 and a high game of 216.

Ryan Saylor, yet another senior, has shown flashes of greatness with his 164.1 average and high game of 200.

With five seniors and three juniors making up the varsity roster, Reynolds and the Warriors have jumped out to an undefeated start.

“This year we had something like 30 kids come out (and we split the teams into) eight for varsity and eight on JV,” Reynolds explained. “The boys’ record is 7-0, so we’ve done pretty well this year.”

On the girls’ side, experience has not been much of a factor as a younger crop of talent leads the Lady Warriors. Headed up by junior Rian Adams, the girls’ team has enjoyed a successful start to the season as well.

Adams has a solid 166.3 average and a high game of 244, just one pin shy of the school high held by Bryan Smith.

Backing her up for the Lady Warriors is an even younger bowler, sophomore Hanna Schafer, who is averaging a 160.8 and has a high game of 206.

The next two highest averages on the Lady Warriors side are courtesy of another junior-sophomore combo in Alisha Bennett and Bailey Rodgers, both of whom have averages over 125.

The boys’ and girls’ teams have done well in their normal matches to kick off the season, but they have also performed well in the only tournament that they have taken part in. The Holiday Classic at Western Bowl on Dec. 8 saw both teams notch solid finishes with the boys’ team coming in 22nd, while the girls upped them, coming in 20th.

As it stands, the Warriors’ season is just about halfway over and they are in the middle of one of the biggest breaks of their year. With their last match coming on Dec. 18, the Warriors will not bowl again competitively until they face Southern Buckeye Conference newcomer Norwood on Jan. 9 at Eastgate Bowl.

The Warriors will have five more matches after that before they have to prepare for the sectional tournament.