Gazette MVP: Wadsworth's Hayden Eagon-Mohlmaster keeps cool on the lanes

Wadsworth junior Hayden Eagon-Mohlmaster is not only the best high school bowler in Medina County, he's one of the nicest. Now a three-time All-Gazette choice and two-time reigning Gazette MVP in boys bowling, the humble, polite, 6-foot-3, 253-pound gentle giant will never be seen kicking a ball return, pouting after leaving a ringing 7 pin or even pumping his fist after he starts a game with 10 strikes. "I try not to do anything that makes me look out there or cocky, especially when I am winning," the soft-spoken left-hander said. "At the end of the day, there's another team or another bowler who wants to accomplish the same thing. "I have to put that in perspective when I'm bowling. Everyone has feelings. I don't want people to go, 'Oh, shoot, we're bowling Wadsworth. They have the meanest people on that team. Their anchor (Eagon-Mohlmaster) is so rude and cocky.'" The way Eagon-Mohlmaster tells it, he wasn't always so calm and under control, but it's hard to imagine that the quiet young man who went out of his way to thank all his teammates and coaches, as well as everyone at Kolony Bowl, where he works and which serves as Wadsworth's home lanes, ever acted too badly. "Before high school, I wasn't super hot-headed, but I would get mad a lot," he said. "It wasn't the best thing to do, but I was not always so calm. As soon as I got into high school, knowing I had a team there and I was one of the youngest bowlers, there wasn't that much pressure. I've been trying every year to get better at, whenever I have an open or leave a split, just laugh it off. It's just one frame. Move on. I wish I was like that all of my life." Eagon-Mohlmaster certainly has had his share of success on the lanes. In addition to being the only county bowler to qualify for the boys state tournament, he finished second at the Northeast Division I District with a 716 three-game series, third at the Stark County Sectional with a 674 and fourth at the Suburban League Postseason Tournament with a 705 as the Grizzlies captured their second straight league crown. Tops in the area in average (214.4), high game (289) and two-game series (534) and second in three-game series (716), one of the 17-year-old's toughest days of the season came in his first appearance at the state tournament at HPL Bowling Center in Columbus, where he struggled to a 531 series on games of 191, 165 and 175 to tie for 64th place. A casual observer would not have noticed the slightest difference in Eagon-Mohlmaster's conduct or demeanor. Some of those who are always around him, however, could tell he was growing tired of bad luck and tough conditions because he had the nerve to do the unthinkable: He smiled a lot. "He will normally laugh when he gets ticked off on the lanes," Grizzlies coach George Steele said. "Or he just puts a grin on, doesn't say a word and takes care of business. He is who he is. Who you see and who you talk to is genuine. The heart he has really shines through in his personality. "His demeanor is just calm and he's very thoughtful about his intentions. Bowling is a very mental game, and you have to be able to control your emotions, be level-headed and make adjustments. What would cause anxiety with some bowlers doesn't with him. It may sometimes, but if it does, he has the ability to stay calm and roll with the punches." That Friday in Columbus, Eagon-Mohlmaster tried four balls and threw them pretty well, but nothing worked for long. When he made the slightest mistake, the results were frequently disastrously large splits or incredibly hard spares when his ball hooked violently before getting to the pocket, but he never stopped grinding. "I've never noticed him get angry," senior teammate and fellow All-Gazette pick Nate Weyand said. "Even at states, he didn't get angry. Me personally, I can't tell (when he is mad), but sometimes he'll smile like, 'I've done everything. What else can I do?' "Since his freshman year, he's been team captain material. He's always been a person that if you need help with throws or technique, he's the guy. He's so aware of what is happening. If he can stay healthy, I feel like he could easily bowl in college and possibly past that. He could make the pro leagues." Eagon-Mohlmaster burst onto the prep scene locally by shooting what is still a career-high 748 series to win the Medina County Tournament as a freshman. He won the tournament again as a sophomore, but didn't get the opportunity to three-peat when the event was canceled this season. "He's worked harder than any of us," Weyand said. "He's put in the most time. He's always down at the lanes and he's just so focused. He's emotionless, but in a good way. He just knows how to control everything he can. He's 100% focused on the lanes. He knows what he's going to do and he does it." The owner of a 3.9 grade-point average, Eagon-Mohlmaster is planning to major in education in college and become a teacher. He currently spends half his school day at Wadsworth and the other half in the teacher academy program at Norton that is offered through the Four Cities Compact. Through the latter, Eagon-Mohlmaster recently spent eight weeks working in a sixth-grade classroom at Norton Middle School and eight more in a third-grade classroom at Wadsworth's Valley View Elementary. For 1 hour, 40 minutes each day, he was a teacher, not a student, but he still learned. "Going into my first field experience, I was nervous and scared, but before that we had a whole quarter of practicing for it, so it wasn't as bad as I thought," he said. "It was nerve-racking going in front of everyone, but the more I did it, the easier it got." The son of Nikki Eagon and Mark Mohlmaster, Eagon-Mohlmaster hasn't ruled out bowling in college or competing in regional tournaments and perhaps even attempting to get his PBA card as an adult. "It's the hardest thing to do in the sport," he said of competing at the pro level. "To bowl consistently well is very hard. If I get there, I get there. If I don't, it's not the end of the world. Life goes on." The insurance policy will be the education degree he plans to get. Eagon-Mohlmaster hasn't decided whether he wants to teach at the grade school, middle school or high school level, but he's already leaning toward having his students call him Mr. Eagon because it will be easier for them to say. Regardless, Eagon-Mohlmaster will continue to learn, on and off the lanes, even if he's sometimes the person giving lessons. "He's going to perform, and he's going to help you perform," Steele said. "He can see things within the game that not everyone can see. He can notice something quickly that one of the boys on the team is doing or not doing and he can help them, but he doesn't do it in a condescending way. It's more, 'Have you tried this?' or 'Have you thought about using this ball?' "He would be a great addition to any (college) team. Every college coach who has watched our team, and I can count at least nine of them, they've all been interested in him. Right now, he could bowl in regional events and be successful. It all depends on what his intentions are." What's indisputable is that Eagon-Mohlmaster's intentions have always been good. That's been true whether he was throwing 10 strikes to start his third game at the Northeast District to secure an individual state berth or struggling once he got to Columbus. "It was nerve-racking, honestly, but here I am bowling a pretty good game and stringing strikes at one of the hardest tournaments of the year," he said of his district performance at Rebman Recreation. "Just having (Steele) talk to me the whole darn time, it made it so much better. "It was fun. It was fantastic," he added of the state tournament experience. "I might not have bowled as well as I wanted to, but at the end of the day that was OK. I made it there and did something I wasn't used to doing. I had a fun season, so it was fantastic. I'm looking forward to doing it again next year." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.