Cherokee Sweeps to Region I Bowling Titles, D-B Advances to Sectional
by STEVE WILMOTH
TriCitiesSports.com
January 10, 2018
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Cherokee Chiefs and Lady Chiefs swept to Region 1 Bowling Titles Wednesday afternoon at Holiday Bowling Lanes.
The Lady Chiefs (20-0) continued their season-long domination of the region with a 25-2 victory over Dobyns-Bennett while the Cherokee boys needed every pin to slip past the Indians, 14-13.
Cherokee (18-2) had already snapped Dobyns-Bennett’s eight-year run as regular season champs and Tuesday victory in the Region 1 Finals ended a streak of four straight titles by the Tribe.
Cherokee advanced to the boys’ final with 23½-3½ win over Chuckey-Doak in the semi-finals while the Lady Chiefs blanked the Black Knights, 27-0, in the girls’ semis.
Dobyns-Bennett’s teams faced a much stiffer test from Greeneville in their semi-final match.
The Lady Indians (11-9) and Lady Devils split the series of games, but total pinfall gave D-B the early 5-3 advantage. Behind rolls of 126 from Nealie Lackey and 124 from Melanie Lane, the Lady Tribe stretched the advantage to 11-5 after the second set.
Joannie Burke’s 142 game and Fench’s 131 in the third series sealed Dobyns-Bennett’s 20-7 triumph that sent the Lady Indians back to the sectional round after a one-year hiatus.
Jared Vermillion’s 266 along with a 204 from Michael McClain and a 193 from Trevor Legassie gave Dobyns-Bennett (14-6) a crucial 6-2 lead after the first series in the boys’ semi-finals.
Vermillion and McClain stayed hot in the second round, rolling games of 235 and 212, and along with Ethan Bumgarner’s 195, pushed the D-B advantage to 11-5.
Greeneville, however, refused to fold and pushed the issue before Trevor Legassie produced a 199 and McClain a 190 to finally clinch the match, 17-10.
The Lady Chiefs were easy winners in the girls’ final over the Lady Indians, but the Cherokee boys needed every pin to produce the one point victory in the boys’ final. In the end, the Indians were five points better in total pinfall, 3411-3406, but Cherokee had already compiled a four-point lead, enough to clinch the match.
Both Cherokee and Dobyns-Bennett advance to the sectional round with a chance to advance to next week’s TSSAA State Bowling Tournament in Smyrna.
Cherokee will host the Region 2 runner-up while the Region 2 champs will host Dobyns-Bennett. The girls’ sectional matches will be Saturday while the boys’ sectional matches will be rolled next Monday.
The Lady Indians will be seeking a 13th trip to the state tournament and the Indian boys a third-straight and 12th overall since the Dobyns-Bennett bowling program began in 2001.
Invidivual state tournament qualifiers were determined by regular season averages.
Region I will be represented by Cherokee’s Logan Mallory (207.65) and McClain (194.71) of Dobyns-Bennett on the boys’ side and Cherokee’s Shelbie Garrison (197.17) and Dobyns-Bennett’s Burke (158.57) on the girls’ side.
The All-Region 1 Bowling Team was also recognized on Wednesday. D-B’s McClain and Cherokee’s Stephen Brault was selected as Co-Region 1 Boys’ Bowler of the Year while the Lady Indians’ Burke was the Region I Girls’ Bowler of the Year.
2017-18 All-Region 1 Bowling Team
Boys
Co-Region I Bowler of the Year - Stephen Brault, Cherokee
Co-Region I Bowler of the Year - Michael McClain, Dobyns-Bennett
Trevor Legassie, Dobyns-Bennett
Jared Vermillion, Dobyns-Bennett
Logan Mallory, Cherokee
Andrew Perry, Cherokee
Stephen Smith, Cherokee
Lane Bolton, Chuckey-Doak
Danny Edgell, Chuckey-Doak
Josh Carpenter, Greeneville
Ethan Inscore, Greeneville
Dustin Owen, Greeneville
David Painter, Greeneville
Girls
Region 1 Bowler of the Year - Joannie Burke, Dobyns-Bennett
Cadence Finch, Dobyns-Bennett
Nealey Lackey, Dobyns-Bennett
Melanie Lane, Dobyns-Bennett
Shelbie Garrison, Cherokee
Emerald Greene, Cherokee
Rylie Housewright, Cherokee
Bethany Minor, Cherokee
McKinna Shortt, Cherokee
Miranda Delbridge, Greeneville
Michaela Eisenhour, Greeneville