The Oxford Varsity boys and girls bowling teams are ready to start their second season on the right foot and compete for a conference title.
Coached by J.R. Lafnear, the boy’s team of seven and the girl’s team of six are bound to make their mark in the Northern Lakes Conference of High School Bowling.
Five of the bowlers on the boy’s team are returning seniors, but Lafnear said junior Tyler Heichel, senior A.J. Mclarty and senior Brendon Wheeler will be the ‘leaders on our team.?
The boys on Saturday had their first match of the season against Walled Lake Northern and beat them by only five pins, 2179 to 2174.
Mclarty, Wheeler, senior Kevin Compau and sophomore James Roberts were high scorers throughout the matches.
The girl’s team has six bowlers, with returning senior Amanda Tucker, sophomore Ashlee High and freshman Sarah Decker set to lead the team to victory.
‘We’re excited about our girls team,? Lafnear said. ‘We’ve got plenty of room for our girls program to grow, but we’ve got a good foundation.?
Even though the girls lost their first match against Northern, Lafnear said there was some great effort made by the team.
Decker lead the match with high games of 177, 212, Tucker had a high game of 181 and High with a game of 178.
Lafnear hopes his teams will improve this year because of the experience of each bowler, and that Clarkston seems to be the team to beat.
His goal this year is ‘to get a couple of our bowlers all-conference and eventually all-state mentioned.?
‘We feel like we should be able to be very competitive this year,? he said.
New to this year’s teams are assistant coaches Chris Mclarty and Fred Heichel. Steve Burgess is returning as a past assistant coach.
Captains for each team are Kevin Compau and Amanda Tucker.
The varsity bowlers will take on Waterford Kettering at Wonderland Lanes in Walled Lake on Sunday, December 10, at 1:30 p.m.