LIHU‘E — Kapa‘a bowler Gabby Buist’s explosion of joy was well-deserved, Thursday at the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation bowling matches. After overcoming issues with malfunctioning lanes, the first game came down to the final frame between the Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a. But
LIHU‘E — Kapa‘a bowler Gabby Buist’s explosion of joy was well-deserved, Thursday at the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation bowling matches.
After overcoming issues with malfunctioning lanes, the first game came down to the final frame between the Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a.
But Buist, honed by the pressure of driving Junior Dragsters, remained cool in the final frame, rolling a strike.
Only then, did the petite bowler explode in elation.
But there were two more balls to roll and Buist settled down. Another focused release and Buist exploded in jubilation as the second strike put the game out of reach for Kaua‘i by a mere four pins, 723-719.
The Kaua‘i girls rebounded in the second and third games with scores of 745 and 783 to capture first place on a 2247 pinfall and 11 points based on its second finish in the first game.
That first place finish gave the KIF bowling title to the Red Raider wahine with just one more match remaining in the season.
With the win, Kaua‘i collects 3.5 points in the standings with Kapa‘a, finishing second with 9 points, sits at 1.5 points in the standings. The Warrior wahine ended the day with 2110 pinfall (723-706-681).
Waimea, getting a personal high score of 177 from Lacie Montemayor in the final game finished with 4 points (656-627-649-1932)) with third place.
Overall, Darcie Vea of Kaua‘i, rolling a game-high 190 in Game 1, edged out Joanna Chang of Kapa‘a for the leading bowler in the individual standings, Vea tallying an average of 171.5556 over nine games to Chang’s 169.
Kelsey Cadiente, getting a personal high roll of 180 in Game 3, sits third in the individual standings with a 164.7778 average over nine games, more than four pins ahead of Angelika Questin (160.1111) of Kapa‘a. Bronte Acosta of Waimea is in the fifth spot with a 155.4444.
Kaua‘i boys, clinching the KIF title with a sweep last week, finished like the Red Raider girls, with a second finish in Game 3 for 11 points.
The win improves the Red Raiders to five points in the league standings, led by John Quisel, fourth in the individual standings with 160.8889.
Kaua‘i boys finished with a 2096 pinfall on games of 675, 745, 676 followed by Kaqpa‘a with a 2078 pinfall (654-710-714) and Waimea with 1712 (441-612-659).
Waimea’s Chase Ueno, rolling under the handicap of a different ball, leads the individual standings with a 181.6667 followed by Kapa‘a’s Randy Iloreta Jr. with a 177. Justin Uegawa of Kapa‘a is in third with a 164.2222 followed by Quisel, the only Raider in the Top Eight.
Kaua‘i’s Kyle Balisacan (160.375) and Ammon Ho‘opi‘i-Akau (151.125) fill in the ninth and 10th individual standings, respectively.
The KIF concludes its regular season play on Oct. 14 starting at 5 p.m. at the Lihu‘e Bowling Center.
This sets the stage for the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association state bowling championships which will be hosted by the KIF at the Lihu‘e Bowling Center, Oct. 28-29.
