Fifth place finishes Brady’s run

SMYRNA — A fifth-place finish at the TSSAA Division I Boys Bowling State Championship didn’t dampen Trevor Brady’s spirits.

It took a strong effort from Chuckey Doak’s Lane Bolton to eliminate the Santa Fe senior in Friday’s ladder match finals.

“I feel like I rolled the ball well,” Brady said after falling by just five pins, 223-218, to Bolton in a contest where neither bowler had an open frame.

“I had the one ball back in the fifth frame, and I pulled a couple of shots early in the game. But I’m pleased with that game.”

Brady, who finished third in last year’s state tournament, opened Friday with a 180-149 win over Dickson County’s Dusty Malone to advance.

“I threw (a urethane ball) in that first match. I wanted to see how it would work for me,” Brady said. “It worked pretty well.”

After eliminating Brady, Bolton fell to Hardin County’s John Smith, 202-180. Smith went on to defeat Brentwood’s Coleman Bryant (231-200) and Greenbrier’s Hunter Hardaway (180-171) to win the state title.

Consecutive berths in the state finals, after placing 25th in the state his sophomore year and 37th as a junior, left Brady feeling a bit sentimental.

“It’s my last year. I won’t be doing this next year,” he said. “I’m going to miss it, for sure.”

Pope John Paul II’s Matthew Mesecher won the boys Division II championship. Bartlett’s Jordan Mundt (DI) and Lipscomb’s Jenna Hedgepath (DII) took girls honors.

In the team competition, Hardin County and Lipscomb won girls titles in Division I and DII, while Bartlett and Notre Dame — coached by former Columbia Central mentor Mike Ransom — won boys championships.