Hopewell Bowling

The Hopewell Vikings bowling program kicked off the second half of their season on Friday with a dominant showing against the Shenango Wildcats and Neshannock Lancers at Sims Lanes.

The Lady Vikings defeated the Shenango Wildcats 7-0 to continue their unbeaten run through the Northwest Division.

In a match featuring the section’s #1 and #2 ranked bowlers, the Lady Vikings were led by junior captain Annabeth Sembower, who shot a 446. Sembower finished second in the match behind section leader and current WPIBL league MVP frontrunner, Shenango junior Cassie Tucker, in a fun, back-and-forth contest.

Junior Eileen George contributed a 150 game, junior Marlee Page added a 136, and junior Danica Jackson shot a 137 in what was a breakout performance for her. Although the Lady Vikings threw their fewest strikes of the season, their spare accuracy was elite. They managed to put together their third-highest series of the year and their fourth consecutive 1900+ series.

Junior Krysten Clary received MVP honors for providing a steady pace from the leadoff spot, while freshman Fiona Zelechowski posted a career-high game of 128 and a career-high series of 313, besting the 310 she shot earlier this week.

The Boys Varsity team held serve, defeating the Neshannock Lancers 7-0.

Junior Ayden Gault shot a match-high 612 series, finishing an impressive week with a six-game total of 1198 (a 199.67 average). Gault rolled games of 226 and 204, recording two “clean” games—the first Viking to do so in a single match in several years. Sophomore Nolan Houy also notched a clean game in game three. Junior Aidan Heppner added a career-high game of 244, finishing with eight consecutive strikes, and junior Will Holland added a career-high game of 223 and a career-high 568 series.

MVP honors went to Gault for capping off a strong start to the second half of the season for the 6-0 Vikings.

The JV Boys earned a 7-0 victory while shooting their highest series of the year. They were led by junior Aiden Klette (440 series) and freshman Desmond Sembower (430 series). Freshman Caleb Hughes notched a career-high 371 series, and sophomore Diego Ocasio added a 335 series.

The Vikings will be back in action next Wednesday against the Beaver Bobcats at Sheffield Lanes.

LADY VIKINGS: Fiona Zelechowski High Game 128, High Series 313.

BOYS VARSITY: Aiden Heppner High Game 244. Will Holland High Game 223, High Series 568.

JV VIKINGS: Caleb Hughes High Series 371. Diego Ocasio High Series 335.

The Hopewell Vikings defeated the Rochester Rams 7-0 in a match on tougher than expected lane conditions.

The Vikings were led by junior Aiden Heppner who shot a Vikings high 234 game along with a 611 series. Junior Ayden Gault added a 224 and sophomore Nolan Houy added a 201 to the Vikings victory.

Special congratulations to Rochester junior Jace Crawford who shot 255-232-230 for a 717 series. The highest series recorded in the Northwest Section to date.

The victory extends the Vikings season record to 5-0 earning 31 of 35 possible points, sweeping the first half of the season. Junior Will Holland received MVP honors for the boys after shooting well above his average for the day. Holland, serving as the sixth man, is bowling more than twenty pins over his average when providing relief in varsity matches so far this year.

The Lady Vikings had a better day, managing to bowl above their average for the match en route to a 7-0 win over the Rams. Junior captain Annabeth Sembower shot 466 to lead all scorers. She was closely followed by junior Eileen George adding a 422 series to the effort.

Freshman Fiona Zelechowski added her career high game of 122 and series of 310 to the ladies.

George earned MVP honors for the Lady Vikings just missing out on both her career high game and series.

The Lady Vikings also swept the first half of the season with a perfect 7-0 record including going undefeated in every game of every match so far this season receiving a perfect 35 of 35 total points.

The JV Boys earned a 7-0 victory themselves including many of their team members posting career bests. Sophomore Joe Bulebush and freshman Desmond Sembower each shot their career high games and series for the Vikings with a 181 and 472 for Bulebush and a 165 and 469 for Sembower. Sophomore Sam Bologna added his career best series of 420 earning his first ‘top 8’ game of his career and freshman Frankie Taylor cracked 100 for his career high game of 116 and series high of 256.

The Vikings will be back in action on Friday against Neshannock/Shenango at Sims Lanes.

LADY VIKINGS: Fiona Zelechowski High Game 11, High Series 310.

JV VIKINGS: Desmond Sembower High Game 165, High Series 469. Joe Bulebush High Game 181, High Series 472. Sam Bologna High Series 420. Frankie Taylor High Game 116, High Series 256.

The Lady Vikings were back at full strength and came out firing to start the match. Game 1 saw Junior captain Annabeth Sembower roll her first clean game of the season for a match high 197 game and led the Vikings to a 40 pin victory.

Game 2 saw two new-comers shoot their highest scores as Vikings with Junior Marlee Page and sophomore Layla Biller shoot 137 and 152 respectively to lead the Lady Vikings to a 22 pin win to seal the match.

In the third game, junior Eileen George shot her career high of 151 and Page added a new career high of 148 to the effort that saw the Lady Vikings sweep the Tigers and start their season 3-0.

Sembower lead all bowlers with a 487 series and was follow by Page, George and Biller who added 389, 386 and 369 to the victory. MVP honors were shared by Page and George for their breakout series’ in the Lady Vikings sweep.

The Viking Boys also found themselves in a tough matchup on their quest to start the season 3-0. Game 1 saw senior captain Brayden Mowry shoot a match high 243 closely followed by junior Aidan Heppner with a 239 as the Vikings cruised to a game 1 victory.

Game 2 was a different story. Sophomore Nolan Houy led the Vikings with a 212 game but saw several of the Vikings shoot under their averages in root to a 7 pin loss to the Tigers.

Game 3 served as the match deciding game and saw Heppner shoot 208 and Houy shoot 194 to beat the Tigers and send the Viking Boys off to a 3-0 start with a 5-2 victory.

MVP honors went to Nolan Houy who shot his first high school 600 series with a 201-212-194 series for a 607 total in a much needed spot. Heppner continued his hot start with a 627 series to lead all scorers.

The JV boys finally met their match with a 2-5 loss to the Beaver Falls Tigers in spite of bowling their best scores of the season. Sophomore Jordan Jacobs posted the best scores of his young career with a 177 game and 452 series. Junior Revan Fazio added his career best 148 and freshman Desmond Sembower added his new high score of 157 to the effort.

Next week the Vikings host the New Castle Hurricanes in a massive early-season showdown. Hopewell will be underdogs in both varsity matches, with first place in the section on the line.

**The Vikings are proud to announce an enrollment of 26 bowlers this season – an impressive number after graduating 12 seniors last year. Hopewell Bowlers now boasts the largest winter sports program at Hopewell, a testament to the growth and excitement surrounding the team. Both the boys and girls’ programs expect to compete for playoff positions this year, setting the stage for an exciting season as the Vikings aim to build on a strong start.

Hopewell will be back in action on Friday as they take on the Beaver Bobcats at Center Lanes