PA State Bowling Championships postponed because of coronavirus

By: Michael Love
Friday, March 13, 2020 | 2:07 PM

In a joint statement, Pennsylvania regional and state bowling tournament directors Dana W. Brown and Shawn Pilyih have announced the PA State Bowling Championships, set for Friday and Saturday at North Versailles Bowl, have been postponed indefinitely as part of the safety response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“It’s impossible to describe the roller coaster of emotions most of us have gone through in the past 24 hours,” the statement read. “We are extremely upset that we had to postpone this weekend’s state championships, but we are abiding by the PIAA mandate. In the end, this decision was made with the safety of our bowlers, coaches and spectators in mind.”

While acknowledging recommendations from the PIAA on the duration period for the suspension of the event, Brown and Pilyih said it is not known when the singles and team events will be rescheduled but that it will not be before the end of the month.

“We have both agreed that we want to wait and see how this plays out before we set a date,” Brown said in the statement.

“We will be in communication with Dr. (Robert) Lombardi, Executive Director of the PIAA, about our situation, so when we have further info, I will be sharing that with the coaches and league directors, as well as through our social media outlets.”

Last week’s Western Regional tournament produced the six boys and six girls teams and 12 boys and 12 girls individuals who were set to take part in the state competition.

Boys team qualifiers were Norwin, Penncrest, Franklin Regional, Greater Latrobe, Pittsburgh Central Catholic and Steel Valley; while the girls team qualifiers were Butler, Greensburg Salem, Erie McDowell, Hempfield, McKeesport and Shaler.

Earning spots to the boys singles state tournament were Blackhawk’s Adam Scruci and Brandon Sullivan; Norwin’s CJ Turek, Michael Fekete and Ethan Decker; Butler’s Chris Huff; Kiski Area’s Chase McDermott; Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s Charles Zahir; Steel Valley’s Trevon Scott; Penncrest’s Nick Archacki; Freeport’s Mark Livingston; and Greater Latrobe’s James Gatto.

Girls bowlers qualifying for states were Woodland Hills’ Johnna Hill, Freeport’s Julia Cummings, Burrell’s Lydia Flanagan and Ashley Smith, Apollo-Ridge’s Kristin Womeldorf, Plum’s Shannon Small, Hempfield’s Rachel Lundie, Greensburg Salem’s Mattie Mae White, New Castle’s Jayliana Foster, Butler’s Rachael Blose, North Allegheny’s Julia Jorden, and Kiski Area’s Ashley Debich.

“Again, we share in the disappointment that our event had to be postponed,” Brown said. “But be rest assured that Shawn and I will do everything we can to make sure the 2020 PA State Championships are held so that singles and team champions are crowned.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Blackhawk, Burrell, Butler, Central Catholic, Franklin Regional, Freeport, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Kiski Area, Latrobe, McKeesport, New Castle, North Allegheny, Norwin, Plum, Shaler, Steel Valley, Woodland Hills