By Chris Chaney
Sun staff
The Milford bowling teams are just now getting into the groove of the season, heating up on the lanes inside the bowling center as the weather cools down outside.
“The team, as a whole, we’re pretty good from top to bottom in terms of average,” head coach Frank Ritzmann said. “I think everyone can pick someone up if one person is having a bad game, the other four will pick them up pretty well. That’s one of our strengths; our overall starting five are pretty solid.”
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams are off to stellar starts with the boys sitting at 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, tied for third place and the girls a hair better, sitting at 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the league, good for solo second.
Ritzmann said he’s been a bit underwhelmed with the boys’ start, but has seen the improvements necessary to keep the Eagles in the hunt heading through the turn of the calendar.
“Right now, (the boys) are not bowling how they should be,” he explained. “It’s still early in the season, but I don’t know why it takes them so long to get started, but they’re coming along now.”
Ritzmann has three returning starters on the boys’ side, headed up by Kyle Chance who has the team’s highest average at 178.4 in all games and also boasts the high series of the season for the Eagles at 415.
“(Chance) was the team MVP last year,” Ritzmann said. “He’s down from his average of 187 last year, but he just had his high series of 415 against Colerain (on Dec. 5), so he’s coming back.”
Nick Tringelof, a fellow senior, is nipping at Chance’s heels, just 0.4 behind his average at an even 178.0 and he has a high series of 404. An individual district qualifier last season, Ritzmann hopes that he can continue to build up his average to get back to where he was last season.
Steven Gillespie, the final returning starter, is the only one who has improved upon his average from last season at this point in the season. Gillespie is averaging a 162.8 and has a high series of 379.
Joining the three returners are Timmy Goodyear, a junior, and another senior in Dave Shelton. Goodyear currently boasts the third-highest average on the team behind Chance and Tringelof with a 172.3. Shelton has the fourth-best average with a 168.2.
Currently in third place in the league, Ritzmann sees his Eagles likely to hold that position, saying anything lower would be a disappointment.
On the girls’ side, returning junior starter Brandi Norman leads the way for the Lady Eagles.
“(Norman) was the most improved player on the team last year,” Ritzmann said. “She improved 38 pins on her average, which is tremendous, so she’s one of our top bowlers coming back.”
The other returning starter, senior Madison Canada, is returning from an injury and should be back to full strength in the next week or so. Canada’s 137.2 is the third highest on the team behind Norman’s 141.4 and Racheal Mitchell’s team-high mark of 147.7.
Lauren Best and Sarah Schmidtgesling round out the starting lineup while Savannah Kennedy and Leobeliz Pedromo had added some depth to the team.
“We should be second or third in the league,” Ritzmann said. “We’re shooting for second because Glen Este has a very strong program, so they’re going to be tough.”
Even with Glen Este ahead of both teams in the standings, Ritzmann still thinks both of his teams can grab spots in the district tournament and maybe even get a few individuals further up state.
“The coaches and I feel that districts are attainable for both the boys and girls,” the coach said. “And I would say we have two guys and two girls who have a shot at state: Kyle Chance and Nick Tringelof and Racheal Mitchell and Brandi Norman.”
Not only are state appearances possibilities for the bowling Eagles, but some school records have a chance to fall. Both the boys’ and girls’ single game average records are within reach, Ritzmann believes.
The boys’ record of 192 by Eric McMullen could fall if Chance and Tringelof get hot, while the girls’ record of 154.9 set by Kara Bough is attainable, in Ritzmann’s view, by Mitchell or Norman.
The Eagles can enjoy a little respite following their Dec. 11 match against Mason with nothing on the schedule until Dec. 17 versus Anderson.