High school bowling: Highland's Kyle Dunne second-team all-state

Kyle Dunne didn't win the Division I state bowling title he coveted, but the Highland senior did earn second-team All-Ohio honors Saturday at Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl. Making his second straight appearance at the state tournament, Dunne finished 10th — he lost a high-game tiebreaker for ninth — with a 622 three-game series (227-211-224). "The scores were pretty tight, but I got lucky," the 18-year-old said of his second-team honor. "The day didn't go quite the way I wanted, but overall I bowled well." Beavercreek junior Carson Shroyer won the individual title with a 707 series (233-245-229), while the Beavers also beat Kettering Fairmont 3-2 in a thrilling best-of-five Baker game set for the team crown. Using a urethane ball and starting the morning on lanes 37 and 38, Dunne rolled a clean game but had some difficulty carrying — he had four 9-counts — while shooting 227. Moving to lanes 41 and 42 for his second game, Dunne left two splits early and switched to a Storm Phaze II ball, then tried a Storm Fate for one frame. He then went back to the Phaze II and closed with five strikes to salvage a 211. The reigning Gazette MVP went back to lanes 37 and 38 for his final game and used the Phaze II throughout. Dunne missed his only spare of the day — besides the two splits — in the eighth frame but still shot 224. "I missed a few moves (on the lanes), but physically I bowled really well," he said. "My first game was probably the best game I've thrown the entire season. They just didn't fall because I couldn't get the ball through the pins the right way. The second game I struggled early but pulled it together. The last game could have been a 270, but I didn't make the move soon enough." There were a pair of 700 series shot in the group Dunne was bowling with, so the three-time All-Gazette pick and Highland coach Brian Esterle knew scores were going to be fairly high. "Had he had a little better carry, he might have shot 680 or 700," Esterle said. "He made good, quality shots. It was just a matter of getting the ball to go through the pins and getting the right ball in his hands. "I thought he did very well. He made really good shots and picked up all his spares but one. He just struggled a little bit with the transition in the second game, but overall he had a solid day." Dunne, who finished his final high school season with a 219 average, shot 585 and placed 33rd in his first state appearance. In both trips to Columbus, he was coming off an individual championship at the Northeast District. "I was definitely more comfortable because of the experience I had last year," he said. "I knew it would go quick, so I had to make quick adjustments." In the girls D-I tournament Friday, Suburban League member Nordonia beat Fairmont 3-0 in the best-of-five Baker game final. Fairmont sophomore Danica Roseberry was the individual champ with a 661 series (183-227-251). Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter.