Bentonville Bowlers Carry Momentum Into State Tournament

— Fresh off a sweep of the team titles at the 7A/6A-West Conference tournament, the Bentonville boys and girls bowling teams will look for much of the same success when they take their games to the state level.

The Tigers and Lady Tigers won in different fashions Thursday at Fast Lane Entertainment with the boys nipping pre-tournament favorite Fayetteville, 4,308 to 4,292, while the Bentonville girls had an easier time putting away the rest of the field with a total of 3,515.

“Bowling is kind of weird,” Bentonville coach Kyle Smith said of the Tigers’ win at conference. “No real standings or anything. The last few weeks, we've had three of our starters on the sideline and letting some of our others get some experience.

The Ticket

Class 7A State Bowling Tournament

WHERE: Bowling World, Fort Smith

WHEN: Today

FORMAT: Top five boys and girls teams and top six individual boys and girls from 7A/6A-West Conference Tournament advance to state tournament

“The best thing about our team is such a wide talent pool. The bottom four out of eight is within pins of each other.”

Dylan Eichler finished second individually at the 7A/6A-West tournament to lead Bentonville to the team title. Eichler and his Tigers teammates will now look to hold off Fayetteville once again when they face off at today’s 7A state tournament being held at Bowling World in Fort Smith.

The Bulldogs were undefeated in the regular season before the runner-up finish in the conference tournament. Senior Bryant Ezell did win the individual title at conference, edging Eichler 692 to 691 over three games thanks to six consecutive strikes to finish the match.

“The team has really stepped up more this year,” Ezell said. “Last year, I had my great matches; this year I haven't had the greatest year but the team helped us this year.”

While Bentonville’s girls — led by Kassidy Stanton and Lainey Lopez — appear to be a strong contender for a state title, Haley Williams of Rogers High should be tough to beat in the 7A individual girls competition. Williams, a junior and two-time state runner-up, scored 635 over three games at the conference tournament to win by almost 100 pins.

The top five boys and girls teams from the conference tournament advanced to today’s state tournament, along with the top six additional individual bowlers on each side. Along with Bentonville and Fayetteville, the Springdale Har-Ber boys will compete at state after a third place finish at conference. Rogers High and Springdale High will join the Bentonville girls at today’s state tournament as well.

Upcoming Events