Plum bowling teams wrap up season in playoff position

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 1, 2019 | 7:48 PM

Plum’s boys bowling team has proven its talent this season by having five of the top six bowlers, by average, in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League’s East Division. But the team’s success goes beyond stats.

The majority of the Mustangs have been bowling together since middle school, and some go back to their youth league days.

That time together has forged a bond that has helped deliver an East Division title and a spot in the WPIBL team championships Feb. 13 at the Mustangs’ home bowling alley, Nesbit’s Lanes in Plum.

“We show each other encouragement when one of us comes back from the lane,” Kirkpatrick said. “We’ll tell them to shake it off if they miss a spare, or we’ll give tips if someone is having trouble. We try to help each other as best as we can.”

The Mustangs (8-0) returned four of five starters and have the second-best team average in the league behind Norwin.

Kirkpatrick, a junior, is tops in the East Division with an average of 209.8. Sophomore Ethan Grainy, the lone new starter in the lineup, is second at 205.95, and junior Vincent Cocca is third with an average of 197.68. Matt Brown, the lone senior, is fifth at 185.5, and junior Owen Cirelli is sixth at 183.23.

All five are on pace to qualify for the WPIBL’s singles championships Feb. 20 at Lower Burrell’s Wildlife Lanes.

Kirkpatrick doesn’t look at his individual standing on the WPIBL website very often, but he regularly checks to see how the team is faring.

“I usually check the team standings, because I care more about the team,” Kirkpatrick said. “I want to see us as team excel more than just myself.”

Mustangs coach Darryl Pilyih, a 38-year coaching veteran, has worked with this group since it was in elementary school, and he’s thrilled to see it bowling to its full potential.

“Going into the year, we thought the boys would be pretty good,” Pilyih said. “They’re all experienced bowlers. They’ve all been bowling since they were little, so we had a pretty good idea of what kind of team they could be.”

Getting to bowl in the team championship at Nesbit’s is nice for proximity, but Pilyih and Kirkpatrick said the advantages stop there. Lane conditions are set up by the WPIBL, so the Mustangs won’t be rolling on familiar oil patterns.

“The pattern will be a little tougher than what they’ll be used to,” Pilyih said. “The surroundings will be somewhat familiar, but that will be different, too, because you won’t be able to move in there with all the people that will be there.”

Plum had a makeup match with Woodland Hills on Monday, which was postponed last Wednesday because of school closings for the frigid temperatures. The event ended too late for this edition.

The match with Woodland Hills is a big one for the Plum girls team (6-2), because with a win it could clinch second in the East Division and a spot in the team championships Feb. 14 at AMF Noble Manor Lanes in Pittsburgh.

“If we win the match we have second place, but there’s different scenarios should Woodland Hills beat us,” Pilyih said. “You’d have to go down the tiebreaker list to see exactly how it plays out. It’ll be a tough match. They have a pretty nice team down there, too.”

Mustangs junior Shannon Small is second in the East Division in average at 192.79 behind Woodland Hills’ Johnna Hill, who carries a 203.17 average. Brianna Pilyih, a senior, is third in average at 171.63, and senior Nicole Abrams ranks 12th at 149.29.

They also qualify for the WPIBL singles championship Feb. 21 at Sims Lanes in Beaver Falls. Freshman Haley Gabor has a 137.78 average and could work her way into qualifying position.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

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