By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
NILES—The model of consistency.
That’s how Allegan bowling coach Don Lamb would describe Ryan Brinks’ performance at the Niles Individual Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 5.
In his six games, Brinks had a high game of 205 and a low game of 177 and averaged 190.7. That was good enough to earn him the top spot for Boys Division 1.
Teammates Trenton Nagelkirk and Andrew Snyder placed second and third, respectively, in Boys Division 1, while Leah Snyder emerged as champion in Girls Division 1.
“Ryan’s accomplishment of winning in Division 1 was the biggest surprise of the day,” Lamb said. “He has been bowling well all year long, but today was very consistent.
“Trenton and Andrew have also been solid all year long and it was fantastic to see the top three in Division 1 being all Allegan.”
The Allegan girls nearly matched that feat, as the Tigers had three of the top four places in Division 1.
In addition to Leah Snyder’s championship, Harleigh Wesche placed second and Savannah Bielfuss was fourth.
Leah Snyder had a high game of 260 and averaged 197.2
“She was just fabulous,” Lamb said.
Wesche fell to Leah Snyder 170-169 in the finals.
“Harleigh Wesche was the biggest surprise on the girls’ side,” Lamb said. “To get to the finals, she had to beat Chevelle Jaynes of Niles, who averaged 185 for the tournament.
Rainah Spohn provided a third championship for Allegan, as she took top honors in Girls Division 2.
“Rainah put together a very consistent performance,” Lamb said.
Lamb also praised the play of five freshman: Anderson Zoch had a 232 game and placed third in Boys Division 2; Sam Morse placed second in Boys Division 3; Breeze Keaton placed fourth in Girls Division 3; Aiden Letts bowled a personal-best 145 game and made it to the top six in Division 3; and Austin Emmons bowled a personal-best 138.
“The sportsmanship was the biggest thing that stood out as each and every kid rooted their teammates and the competition on with fist bumps and cheering all day,” Lamb said. “As coaches, we could not have been prouder of each of these kids.”
A total of 17 bowlers competed for Allegan, with 10 of them finishing in the top four of their respective division.
