321preps 2023 Brevard County high school boys bowling preview

Four teams appear to be the standouts this season in Brevard County boys high school bowling, but the individual talent spans from north to south and is as deep as it has been.

Edgewood coach Valerie Lance returned her whole 2022 team and added two players. She got to test her depth on Tuesday when top bowler Ian Harmon was out.

"They were able to score well," she said. "I think we're kind of like the darkhorse in gym maybe. There are a couple of teams out there who roll huge scores, but I think, in the end, slow and steady wins the race."

The slow and steady approach references consistency, and Harmon has been among the county's most consistent this fall. His five games so far range from 228 through 257, and his average is 245.2 to lead the Cape Coast Conference's reported scores. Teammate Courie Husbands is at 200.71. Both Harmon, last year's District 10 tournament winner, and Husbands were first-team 2022 All-Space Coast bowlers.

One of the other teams among the favorites for a big 2023 is Merritt Island. One of the Mustangs made big news on Sept. 5, bowling a perfect game at Merritt Island Shore Lanes. That boosted ninth-grader Lincoln Moyer's average to 240. Teammate Christian Liquori, an All-Space Coast bowler a year ago, is at 221 with high games this season of 241 and 266.

Liquori was one of several Brevard youth bowlers with big summers. He was selected to Junior Team USA and placed in the under-18 top 10 at the Junior Gold tournament in Indianapolis in July. Husbands bowled a 300 game during Junior Gold, one of just six to do so. Gibson-Smith won the Bowl.com Youth Open Championship under-18 singles division, and Liquori followed to give the area a 1-2 sweep out of 318 bowlers from across the nation.

For Space Coast, Jonathan Udas posted an average of 219.3 to lead the Vipers through the early part of the season.

Out of the southern half of the Cape Coast Conference, Bayside was unbeaten through seven matches and had three bowlers with better-than-200 averages for the season. Another returning All-Space Coast first-teamer and last year's District 11 champ, Dominic Gibson-Smith, led them at 226.7, and he bowled a 290 on Aug. 31. Sean Williams was close behind, at 226.1. Wyatt Sylvester (204.4) followed.

There are other individual boys with averages of more than 200 thus far. Melbourne's Vic Nardone posted a 209.2. Both Caleb Klotz and T.J. Sarko at Heritage were at 206.3 after Tuesday matches. At Eau Gallie, Isaiah Soto held an average of 205.3 with a high game of 253. Titusville's Justin Osheim was at 203.8 through five matches, and Ian Giguere of West Shore was at 205.7.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 321preps 2023 Brevard County high school boys bowling preview