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One-for-one. In just its first trip to the Kentucky Bowling Proprietors Association State Bowling Championships in its inaugural season for the bowling team at Graves County High School, junior Nathan Hackel has brought home the program’s first state championship title. After qualifying as an individual in the regional tournament held at Campbellsville three weeks ago, Hackel joined three individual qualifying girls and the GCHS girls team to compete in the state finals at Eastland-Collins Lanes in Lexington over the weekend. One year ahead of the sport becoming a sanctioned sport of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, the KBPA has participation from over 60 high schools across the Bluegrass State and hosts the state finals for the top 16 teams and top 32 individual qualifiers. The GCHS junior began his Sunday morning championship run with the highest score of the tournament at 268. His second game was equally strong, as he finished with a 258, carrying a 21 pin lead over the closest competitor, Parth Parekh from Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School in Lexington. While Hackel appeared to tire a little and fell off to a 215 and 180 in his last two preliminary games, Parekh seemed unstoppable as he finished with a 256/256 for a 1017 series and secured the top seed for the step-ladder championship series. Hackel’s 921 series earned him the No. 2 seed and a shot at the title. The No. 5 seed, Chris Hignite from Rowan County advanced past the No. 4 seed, and then the No. 3 seed, to reach the semifinals against the GCHS bowler. Hackel defeated Hignite 212-180 and earned a one-on-one opportunity to take down Parekh for the state championship. In that final match, Hackel found 212 to be his magic number, as he matched his semifinal score in the pressure of the championship. That was good enough to out-duel Parekh – whose previous low game had been 246 for the day – who could only manage a 198 in the championship round. Hackel’s victory earned him the large state championship trophy, a $500 scholarship from the United States Bowling Congress, and scholarship offers from several college coaches in attendance. On the girls side, the GCHS ladies capped a strong first season with several solid performances. Freshmen Kelsey Latta finished tops for the Lady Eagles at 10th overall with a 750 series (204/205/172/169). Senior Ericia Beasley finished 13th overall with a 715 series (212/177/155/171), and 7th grader Sarah Watts finished 25th with a 635 series (163/159/143/170). The state champion in the girls competition was Stephanie Thieneman from Louisville Pleasure Ridge Park High School. Latta and Beasley will each receive a $75 scholarship from the USBC upon enrollment in college, and Watts a $50 investment from the USBC as an additional reward for their efforts. In the team competition on Saturday, the six GCHS ladies bowled a 907 combined score to earn the 9th seed in the tournament. In their first match against the 8th-seeded Mercy Academy team from Louisville, the Lady Eagles lost the first game, won the second, and tied the third. That forced them to play the final two games in the best-of-five competition. The GCHS team won each of those games to advance to the Elite Eight against the top-seeded Taylor County Lady Cardinals. The Lady Cardinals had defeated the Lady Eagles in the regional finals at Campbellsville and had qualified as the top seed via a 1134 team score, compared with the Lady Eagles’ 907. The Lady Cardinals, who eventually were upset in the state finals by Pleasure Ridge Park, proved too much for the Lady Eagles again, defeating them 3-0. Still, GCHS coach Mike Delaney was elated by the events of the weekend. “I just never would have imagined that we would have been able to accomplish all that we did in our first year. We were hoping to lay a foundation to build a strong program for the future, and these kids just stepped up and performed beyond what we could have hoped for,” shared Delaney. “We are so proud of the mental toughness and accomplishment of Nathan. It was obviously a special day for a great young man.” And the Graves coach hopes this is the start of a great tradition for the Eagles, “Our kids all performed well and had so much fun in an environment they had never experienced before. We hope that this will be contagious, that many more will join our team next year, and that bowling will become a ‘connection’ for many students. It is a great sport.”

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