FAYETTEVILLE — Logan Nielsen was first introduced to bowling like many young kids -- at a birthday party.

He quickly embraced the sport and never let it go.

For Nielsen, good times at the alley soon turned into serious focus and determination. He joined the Fayetteville High School bowling team as a freshman, joined a Saturday bowling league and went to work on his game.

This season, Nielsen's work paid off. With scoring averages above 200 per game, he was not only the top bowler on the Fayetteville team, but also the top in the 7A-West Conference. And that held true at the 7A-6A State Bowling Tournament, where Nielsen rolled a 651 over three games to finish fifth overall and tops among 7A-West Conference bowlers.

For his efforts, Nielsen has been named the All-NWA Media Boys Bowler of the Year.

"It grew over the year, but bowling is something I knew I wanted to do," Nielsen said. "My goal this year was to win (at state). My goal each of the last three years was to win."

Nielsen posted games of 217, 224 and 211 at the state tournament, consistent with his scoring averages this season. Reaching those numbers didn't come without plenty of hard work, and Nielsen credits former All-NWA Media Bowler of the Year Bryant Ezell of Fayetteville with playing a big part in helping him improve his game over the years.

"Bryant and me have known each other for a long time," Nielsen said. "He's helped me a lot. You really have to work hard at it. I started when I was seven and it was just for fun at first. But now I'm in the bowling alley three times per week. I'm in a Saturday league and I'm in tournaments once a month."

Ezell, who graduated from Fayetteville last year and is pursuing a professional bowling career, said he noticed a big change in Nielsen's game at a early age in his time with the Bulldogs.

"I think his biggest improvement was between his freshman and sophomore year," Ezell said. "That's when he really got better. He made improvements each year after that, but that freshman to sophomore year was the big difference."

One-on-one advice from Ezell is a big lift that not all high school bowlers enjoy. Nielsen can get personal tips on approach and strategy not afforded to others.

Having his former teammate around also provides competition, which has been there between these two friends for as long as they both can remember.

"I think it was good to have that competition," Ezell said. "Logan was always wanting to beat me and that made him better."

Sports on 03/26/2014