7 Polk County high school girls bowlers looking to strike during the 2023 season
It was a historical year last year for Polk County bowling as four new programs were introduced: Lake Gibson, Lakeland girls, Bartow and George Jenkins. Now it’s that time of year that these fairly new programs get to gear up for the 2023 FHSAA bowling season with the rest of Polk's teams.
Lakeland girls is one of seven programs preparing for the new season. There’s only been one week of tryouts and practice, and some of Polk County’s best, of course, have been involved. Below are some of the best girls’ bowlers in the county.
Grace Davis (Lake Wales, senior)
Davis finished first in individual districts for District 8 in 2022. And she had the highest average score (168) among all girls in Polk County in 2022, and for that, she was The Ledger's Girls' Bowler of the Year. For this year, she has been working on her approach and to be more balanced overall.
Olivia Fesenmeyer (Lake Wales, senior)
Fesenmeyer has been bowling for five years. Spending a lot of the off-season volunteering, schooling and being a part of the explorer's program with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, she always loves spending time in the gym working out gearing up for the Lake Wales bowling season.
Time to Strike: Meet Polk County's top boy bowlers for the 2023 season
New: High school bowling: Four new teams in Polk County must remain independent for 2 years
We are the best: Meet The Ledger's 2022 All-County Bowling Team
Selenia Shoffner (Lakeland, junior)
Shoffner is the top female bowler at Lakeland. Bowling since she was a young child, she currently competes in a morning youth league at Cypress Lanes in Winter Haven where she averages 160-170. Heavily involved with dance at Harrison School of Arts at LHS, she hasn't thought about taking bowling into the collegiate level because she is such a talented dancer. Still, with bowling season approaching and LHS having a very competitive team this season with a full five-girl team, bowling fans will see the competitive side of her come out.
Manderley Barthel (Bartow, senior)
Barthel averaged around 160 last season and is showing some improvement. She is ready to lead a fairly new program in Bartow through the 2023 season.
Caylee Mitchell (Bartow, freshman)
New to the Bartow team this year is Mitchell, and she's already averaging around 150. Playing in leagues before, she brings experience to the fairly new program, which started just last year as one of four new bowling programs in Polk County.
Bri Ross (George Jenkins, junior)
Ross was an all-county member last year and had the overall highest average for girls bowling in the county. Her highest in a match was a 240. She is looking to continue a great year working on the finer parts of her game.
Alyssa Currie (George Jenkins, senior)
Currie was also highly recognized last year as a junior with the highest score in a girls' match with 230. She is working on perfecting her game in order to have a strong senior year.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk's best girl bowlers prepare for 2023 season
