Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month: River Valley's Alexis Manning meets her expectations

rob mccurdy, marion star

Sun, Apr 14, 2024, 5:06 AM·5 min read

MARION — As a conference champion, a two-time state qualifier and a former All-Ohioan in girls bowling, Alexis Manning had lofty expectations entering her senior year at River Valley.

Needless to say, those expectations were met.

"She’s a force to be reckoned with. Anything she puts her mind to, she just goes and does it," said River Valley coach Cheryl Manning, who doubles as her mother.

More on Manning: River Valley's Alexis Manning gearing up for third state berth in four bowling seasons

How she earned her state medal: Wrap of the Week: RV's Alexis Manning earns a state bowling medal to highlight the area

Wrapping up D-II state bowling: State bowling wrapup: Baker games push Pleasant to title as does fast start for Manning

Handling expectations

Considering her resume, Manning had pressures most of her peers did not. She was expected to be the best bowler every night.

"It was not easy, but having my team have my back through everything was definitely a big help," Alexis said. "They helped me stay out of my head. There’s always some sort of pressure, whether it’s nerves or anything else. It’s always going to be there. As the years go by, it’s not as nerve-wracking."

She burst on the scene as a freshman phenom and ended her career as arguably the best high school girls bowler in Marion County history. She unequivocally lived up to the hype.

River Valley's Alexis Manning smiles after a shot during a girls bowling match with Pleasant at Bluefusion Entertainment this season. Manning was named Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month for March among Marion County girls.

"The fact that she’s been bowling since she was 2, it becomes second nature to her," Cheryl said. "She always knows she can throw a good ball. She had a couple of down times where she felt she let the team down when they didn’t win. She started crying and was all upset at herself, but she has learned to take it in stride. If she screws up one or two frames — bowling is made of ten frames — she gets back up there and keeps on going until she gets it right."

She was built to handle the expectations that come with high-level bowling. Her father Rob was the proprietor of the former Buckeye Lanes downtown, and now with Cheryl, both manage Bluefusion Entertainment on the east side of Marion. Rob still competes in senior PBA events, while her older brother Nick is a former state qualifying bowler at River Valley who also bowled collegiately at the University of Northwestern Ohio.

"I had the goal of going out with a bang my senior year, and I think I did just that," Alexis said. "I had every intention of going to state, and I was not going to let anything get in my way."

The bang of a senior season

Making All-Ohio as a freshman at the state tournament and leading the Vikings to their first-ever girls state tournament berth as a team as a junior, Manning was determined to be even better in 2023-24.

And she was.

Manning became a four-time first-team All-Mid Ohio Athletic Conference pick and a three-time MOAC Tournament winner, shooting a 597 this winter to take the title. She dominated the league as an individual, shooting the MOAC's highest game with a 288, highest series with a 521 and its highest average at 222.88. She helped the team to a share of the regular season championship with Pleasant. She was the MOAC Girls Bowler of the Year because of it.

In the postseason, Manning rolled a 587 over three games to claim the Division II sectional runner-up spot, then rolled to a 610 to take the district championship days later to claim a third state tournament appearance.

River Valley's Alexis Manning reacts to a split during a girls bowling match with Pleasant at Bluefusion Entertainment this season. Manning went on to be the Division II state runner-up as an individual.

With state moving from Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl to HP Lanes this season, site of her sectional and district successes, she used her local knowledge and put it to use. Manning shot 246-234-182 to finish as a first-team All-Ohioan and the D-II state runner-up with a 662, three pins from a state championship.

"I wasn’t surprised, but you can tell by my voice that I was tickled to death with every accomplishment," Cheryl said. "Not surprised, because I knew she could do it, she’s been performing all these years, so it’s in her nature."

The state tournament medal and dominant senior year led her to a third Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month Award, winning it for March among Marion County girls.

"It’s pretty nice for what I did in going to state and getting second. It’s a cool way to go out I guess," Alexis said of winning another Fahey Award. "I think it’s awesome everything I was able to accomplish with getting athlete of the month and getting it three out of four times, that’s pretty good and something a lot of people can’t say. That’s pretty awesome."

The future

Manning has no plans to continue bowling at the next level. She is an honor roll student with a 4.0 grade point average specializing in computer technology, and she is the valedictorian of her class at Tri-Rivers Career Center. She works at Bluefusion with her family and also as a computer technician at Shrader Computers.

"I plan to do a tournament here and there. I plan to do a league or two so that I still have that, but it’s not going to be the same," Alexis said.

During her career, she was the vocal and emotional leader of the Vikings. When a teammate needed a pick-me-up, she delivered. When the team needed a jolt, she did it, too. All the cheers and chants — and Oh Yeah! Kool-Aid Man yells — likely won't be needed in the women's leagues going forward.

So she will cherish the memories of her high school career.

"Definitely finishing second at state, that will always be the best part of it because that’s something you don’t really forget," Alexis said.

rmccurdy@gannett.com

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