Winter Park bowls for glory | Observer Preps

There is no greater story than that of one in which obstacles are overcome and battles are won by the good guys — or girls.

In the case of the boys and girls bowling team at Winter Park High over the last few years, adversity started early — before last season even started.

After helping to save Aloma Bowl from being sold last year, the Winter Park bowling teams were told there unfortunately wasn’t room for them to host games.

With no place to call home, the teams shifted to Colonial Lanes last season, where they had an average year until it, too, was made unavailable for play. That alley closed.

“It was a rough year,” head coach Cynthia Allison said. “I’ve been doing this since 2009, and we have been a winning team every single year. Last year, we (the girls) still won Metro, but for district, we finished third for both boys and girls, so we didn’t make it to states, unfortunately.”

And because of the change in location, there were a handful of kids who quit simply because they couldn’t make the trips out for practices and games.

In fact, on this year’s rosters, Allison only has five returners on the girls team and three on the boys. 

One would think that with such an inexperienced team — which is also just getting settled into a new home at Boardwalk Bowl on East Colonial — this new season would start off with a loud “thud.” 

Instead, the opposite has happened.

Although they are only one game into the season, the Wildcats have led off with a bang.

In a matchup with Lake Nona, the boys team handed the Lions a 2,310-2,043 loss, while the girls team also picked up a win in a 2,157-1,830 blowout.

The strong start is something the Wildcats needed after last year, and it begins with one aspect that had been lacking in the past — team chemistry.

“They seem to be bonding together a lot better,” Allison said. “They’re high-fiving each other, they’re talking to each other on the lanes — which they need to be — and they’re becoming a really great team. They’re becoming one, and that’s we need to win and that’s what we’re going to do.”

On the girl’s side of the lanes, the Wildcats are led by senior Danielle Allison — a natural leader who has the average to impress.

Voted as captain by her teammates, Danielle Allison acts as the anchor on the five-girl squad thanks to her poise.

“They seem to be bonding together a lot better. They’re high-fiving each other, they’re talking to each other on the lanes — which they need to be — and they’re becoming a really great team. They’re becoming one, and that’s we need to win and that’s what we’re going to do.”

-Cynthia Allison

In the matchup with Lake Nona — which is not really known for its bowling program — Danielle Allison only bowled a 160, as she and the other girls mixed up playing time because of the blowout nature of the game. But during a more competitive game, Danielle Allison has been known to toss some mean balls down the lane as she has averaged an impressive 180 to 190 average.

“Not only does she have the highest average, but she handles pressure the best,” Cynthia Allison said. “And if the girls need something, they go to her. If they want any kind of advice about bowling, they go to her.”

Seniors Sarah Bastian (170 average) and Sarah Dougherty (150 average), and juniors Brooklyn Butner (170 average) and Kiomarie Courser (160-170 average) give the team depth.

As the girls continue over their success from last season, the boys team is looking to start fresh with its own big-league bowlers who have found their stride.

Although there is no one true leader who has stepped up as of yet, there is a surprising amount of talent on this year’s team — some of which comes in the form of freshman Ashton Angel.

“He walked in the door — and this kid has to be 6 feet tall — he is a freshman, and I’m thinking, ‘OK, ninth-grader. Tall. He’s just going to be all over the place,’” Cynthia Allison said. “He walks out onto that floor, and he has a vertical backswing, and it’s amazing.”

Another surprise player for Allison is senior Troy Whitehead — who, as a first-time bowler, averages between 180 to 190.

As the new guys help push the program forward, established players such as seniors Emilio Garcia (150-160 average) and Jonathan Cabezas, and junior Nick Colquitt (170-180 average) are helping with both their arms and expertise.

Cynthia Allison hopes to get her team ready for the games to come this season, although she is eying a specific match against the vaunted Apopka bowling team.

“They (the boys team) bowl very well individually — my main goal right now over the next couple of weeks is to get them to bowl together as a team,” Allison said.