Butler’s Kriess battles her way to WPIBL girls singles title

By: Tribune-Review
Thursday, February 24, 2022 | 6:50 PM

Butler senior Harley Kriess battled her way to a WPIBL girls singles bowling championship Thursday, winning tight matches in the quarterfinals and finals to take home the crown.

Kriess defeated Burrell sophomore Leah McCandless in the finals, 178-174, at AMF Belle Vernon. The match came down to the 10th frame. Kriess threw a spare and a strike. McCandless just missed picking up a 3-6-10 spare.

In the quarterfinals, Kriess defeated Plum sophomore Mareana Pliyih in another close match, 190-185. In the semifinals, Kriess knocked off the No. 1 seed in qualifying, Norwin freshman Kali Siegel, 189-158.

Siegel topped the field in qualifying with a 666, hitting the 200 mark three times including a 243 game. McCandless was second with a 657, followed by Burrell senior Lydia Flanagan, the defending WPIBL champ, with a 641.

The fourth, fifth and sixth seeds in qualifying — Pilyih, Kriess and Greensburg Salem junior Reanne Record — all rolled a 618 series. Pilyih had a 247 high game, Kriess a 245 and Record a 241.

Record upended Flanagan in the quarterfinals, 197-163.

The semifinal between Record and McCandless turned out to be the marquee matchup of the step-ladder finals. McCandless won, 235-215, closing the match out with six consecutive strikes.

The girls singles competition at the Western Pennsylvania Regional Championships is scheduled for March 11 at the North Versailles Bowling Center.