EMHS Bowling Team Wins Unprecedented Third Consecutive State Championship
Posted March 12, 2010
On the first weekend of March, the Ten Pins and More Bowling Alley in Rio Rancho filled with the sounds of strikes and spares as the fifth annual bowling state championship competition got underway.
The East Mountain High School Bowling Team entered the state tournament with the top seed in qualifying and received a first round bye. In their first game, they defeated St. Michael’s 2 games to none. The followed that victory with a victory against Pojoaque, also 2-0. Finally, they swept McCurdy 2-0 for the state 1A-3A championship for the third consecutive year.
Led by Team Captain and senior Trevor Crombie, the EMHS bowlers did not lose a single game on their way to the state championship. Crombie won the high game award with his score of 266 and was also named to the All-State Team, along with teammates Greg Stottlemyer and Ryan Knight.
Coach Floyd Belden couldn’t hide the pride in his voice as he described the team’s achievements. “Crombie, Stottlemyer, Knight and Michael Kalan also won high series awards,” he said. “We took home lots and lots of hardware.”
Looking forward to next year, Belden knows that repeating for a fourth straight year will be tough. Crombie and Stottlemyer will graduate this year, along with Alex Poli. “St. Michael’s was young this year so they will be tough next year,” Belden said. However, for the moment, the team will savor their victory. “There were two things I told the kids,” said Belden, “focus and execution. They did exactly that.”