Top Of Her Game

MADRID STRIKES FOR STATE BOWLING TITLE

STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES 
Olivia Madrid of Springdale High is the NWA Media Girls Bowler of the Year.

STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Olivia Madrid of Springdale High is the NWA Media Girls Bowler of the Year.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

— Olivia Madrid didn’t use bumpers when she bowled for the first time as a 7-year-old.

It wasn’t long after her first trip to a bowling alley she competed in her first state tournament in Texas. She was hooked on the sport.

“I just kept bowling because I thought it was fun,” Madrid said

It didn’t hurt that bowling was basically a family pastime.

GIRLS ALL-STATE BOWLING

Bowler * School * State Tournament Score

Olivia Madrid * Springdale High * 612

Sammy Limbach * Bentonville * 600

Amanda Rardin * Lake Hamilton * 569

Haley Williams * Rogers High * 568

Allie Stallnaker * Cabot * 567

Kassidy Stanton * Bentonville * 561

Jennifer Poole * Conway * 559

Emily Koontz * Bentonville * 555

Jenny McFarland * Benton * 544

Alexandria Emms * Fort Smith Northside * 535

Meghan Beeler * Bentonville * 519

PROFILE

OLIVIA MADRID

SCHOOL: Springdale High

CLASS: Junior

SPORT: Bowling

NOTABLE: Class 7A-6A girls state champion. … Bowled a three-game score of 612 to win the state title in Cabot, including a career-best 254 in the clinching third game. … Average score of 186 in 19 games this year, a Springdale single-season program record. … Led Springdale to a third-place finish in conference and sixth-place finish at state, both program bests. … Bowls in a Springdale USBC junior league on Saturdays.

“Both of her grandfathers are bowlers,” said her mother, Melissa Madrid. “My father, Jackie Franks, bowled all over. Growing up, I remember going out of state to tournaments. Then he got my sister and I into it, and we bowled in the youth league. And my nephew bowled.

Olivia’s cousin, Cashe Franks, was at one time ranked No. 1 in the state by the United States Bowling Congress. Madrid earned a lofty title of her own this year as a junior at Springdale High.

She won the Class 7A-6A girls state championship in Cabot, bowling a three-game score of 612 to best Bentonville’s Sammy Limbach by 12 pins to take home the title. She was able to shake off a slow start and rise to the challenge under pressure in a climactic third game to win the title.

She bowled a 154 and a 204 for a combined 358 score through her first two games before getting in a zone and bowling a 254 in her third game to overtake the competition. It was her highest competition score ever and second-highest overall score behind a 257 she bowled in practice.

“I hadn’t bowled a score that low in a while. I guess I was nervous,” Madrid said of her first-game 154. “During the second game, I thought I could get the score up really high. During the third game, I thought I could do what I did last time and make it better.”

She did.

But she didn’t know she had won the state title when she finished. Not even when Springdale coach David McGinnis approached her.

“I found out before she found out, and I went up and congratulated her,” McGinnis said. “And she didn’t know what I was congratulating her for. I went and shook her hand, and she had a look like, ‘What are you … ?’”

It didn’t take long for someone to break her the news. Shortly after, she received the gold medal awarded to the state champion.

“I was really excited when I found out,” Madrid said.

Madrid’s strong performance helped Springdale finish sixth at the state tournament after placing third in conference, Springdale’s best respective finishes in the girls program’s fourth year of existence. Madrid averaged a team-best score of 186, which included bowling seven outings of 200 or better in 19 games.

“So far, her 186 is the highest cumulative average in the four years,” McGinnis said.

Her breakout season can be attributed in part to the time she puts into the sport, bowling three or four days a week and competing in a Springdale USBC junior league on Saturdays. She recently earned a $500 scholarship for winning a USBC tournament.

Several college programs have expressed interest in Madrid, including Wichita State.

“I do want to be on a college team,” she said.

The family pastime is paying off.