Tuscaloosa News all-area high school boys and girls bowling teams for 2023-24
The high school bowling season concluded in February, and it was another successful season in the Tuscaloosa-area.
Of the 11 Tuscaloosa-area schools that compete, two girls teams: American Christian Academy and Sipsey Valley, and two boys teams: Holt and Sipsey Valley, saw themselves competing in the State Bowling Tournament, along with several individual performances finishing among the top of their respective classifications.
Here is The Tuscaloosa News' 2023-24 girls and boys high school bowling All-Area first teams and second teams along with The Tuscaloosa News' girl and boy bowlers of the year.
Boys all-area first team
Bowler of the year: Benson Colburn, Holt, sophomore
The sophomore averaged 213 throughout the season. He also finished fourth overall in the boys Class 1A-5A individual standings at state with a score of 560 at the state tournament.
Brian Huynh, American Christian Academy, junior
Huynh finished the season with an average score of 194 as the Patriots went undefeated during the regular season.
Jacob Conway, American Christian Academy, junior
The junior bowled an average score of 191 throughout the season.
Hudson Wade, Sipsey Valley, junior
Wade served as the No. 4 bowler on the Sipsey Valley squad in his fifth year competing with the team. He bowled an average score of 189 for the season with a strike and spare percentage of 53%.
Jon James, Holt, senior
James bowled an average score of 189 throughout the season along with a 12th place finish at state in Boys 1A-5A with a score of 507.
Dustin Hoskinson, Tuscaloosa County, sophomore
The sophomore bowled an average score of 183 on the season, along with bowling five games with a score of 200 or higher. His season-high score was a 258.
Boys second team
James Craig, Hillcrest, junior
Trent Frith, Paul W. Bryant, junior
Kyle Cooley, Paul W. Bryant, senior
Conner Cochran, Sipsey Valley, junior
Curtis Childs, Tuscaloosa County, freshman
Shawn Myers, Tuscaloosa County, freshman
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Girls all-area first team
Bowler of the year: Sierra Knight, Sipsey Valley, senior
The senior has served as the Lady Bears anchor bowler for five-years, with an average score of 160 throughout the season. She had a strike percentage of 45.4% and a spare percentage of 47.3% throughout the season along with a second-place finish individually at state in Girls 1A-5A with a score of 583.
Stormy Bender, American Christian Academy, junior
The junior averaged a score of 140 throughout the season and had a 15th-place finish at state individually in Girls 6A-7A with a score of 501.
Cate Olson, American Christian Academy, junior
Olson averaged a score of 180 throughout the regular season.
Kailyn Garner, Sipsey Valley, sophomore
The sophomore was the No. 2 bowler for Sipsey Valley who averaged 165 throughout the season to lead the team. She had an 11th place finish individually at state in Girls 1A-5A with a score of 487. In only her second-year bowling, she had a strike percentage of 32.1% and a spare percentage of 52.3%.
Kaitlyn Reece, Sipsey Valley, sophomore
Reece was the No. 4 bowler for the Lady Bears and averaged a score of 156 throughout the season. She finished the season with a strike percentage of 25.3% and a spare percentage of 47.4%. The sophomore finished No. 23 individually at state in Girls 1A-5A with a score of 417.
Leah Isaac Simpson, Paul W. Bryant, junior
The junior averaged a score of 162.7 throughout the season. The senior was a big piece of the Bryant girls team that finished the regular season 14-2 and was runner-up in Class 6A/7A Region 5 along with making its fourth straight trip to regionals.
Girls second team
Kyndall Bennett, Northside, freshman
Chloe Bennett, Northside, freshman
Allie Green, Tuscaloosa County, senior
Senna Erdman, Tuscaloosa County, junior
Zion Mitchell, Paul W. Bryant, sophomore
Blakeney Rice, American Christian Academy, junior
Coach of the Year
Jim Spitzley, Sipsey Valley
Spietzley led the boys and girls Sipsey Valley teams to appearances in the state tournament. He also had several bowlers finish among the top of their classifications individually: girls Sierra Knight (second place) and Kailyn Garner (11th place) along with boys Hudson Wade (17th place) and Conner Cochran (21st place).
Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama softball and football recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com. Follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @annaesnyder2
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa News all-area high school bowling teams
