Jonathan Alder bowlers Drew Damron (left) and Grant Headings (right) are pictured with Pioneer coach Rusty Walter at the national tournament.
(Photo submitted)
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The recent high school national bowling championships were a place and time to shine for Jonathan Alder’s program.
Alder boys head coach Rusty Walter was nominated for and received the Presidential AmeriCorps Lifetime Achievement award.
The award was voted on by high school coaches throughout the United States during the national championships that were held in Lancaster, PA.
The honor was for Walter’s more than 10,000 hours of volunteer work over the past 20 years in youth and high school bowling.
“I was completely surprised by the award,” said Walter, who founded the boys and girls programs at Jonathan Alder.
The award was presented during the boys team qualifying round at the national event.
The Pioneer boys team of Drew Damron, Jaiden Henderson, Grant Headings Freddie Bluhm, Braden Warren and Gavin Murphy qualified for the nationals, as did Lady Pioneer bowler Daisy Henderson.
Qualification came after the Jonathan Alder bowlers reached the Ohio state championships.
The local bowlers competed in the national boys team and singles categories.
Jonathan Alder’s boys finished 23rd out of 54 teams from across the country.
The Pioneers finished just 12 pins out of the top 16.
“The tournament went well,” said Walter. “Ohio’s top teams dominated the field with Ashland High School defeating Centerville for the championship in an exciting finish.”
Alder’s singles qualifying squad rolled four games with the top 150 out of nearly 400 advancing in the tournament.
Damron qualified second with games of 210, 279, 296 and 238.
Headings also advanced beyond the opening singles round with games of 190, 197, 223 and 189.
That placed both in the top 118 bowlers.
Henderson rolled a 703 series and just missed the top 80. She finished 97th.
During the initial round of survivors, Damron notched games of 200, 195 and 189. He slipped to ninth, but stayed alive as the top 40 bowlers advanced.
Headings tallied games of 163, 1867 and 189.
“Grant struggled some and finished 129th.” said Walter.
The second round of the Survivor series saw Damron knock down the first 10 strikes for a 289 game.
“That was Drew’s third game over 270 for the tournament,” said Walter.
That stellar performance elevated Damron back into fifth place.
With 10 bowlers remaining in the competition, Damron rolled a 203 game and slipped to sixth place.
He narrowly missed the three-man national semifinal match by 24 pins.
“I am incredibly proud of all our bowlers and families which traveled and competed,” said Walter. “It was a huge experience for our team with all six boys returning for the 2024-25 high school season.
“Drew’s sixth-place finish was a big improvement from his 26th place in 2023,” said the Pioneer coach. “He was outstanding all weekend and has elevated his game to another level.
“He is perhaps the top left-handed high school bowler in the state and certainly one of Ohio’s overall best,” said Walter.
The Jonathan Alder coach said the national tournament was extremely beneficial for the school’s program.
“The high school bowling talent displayed at the event is incredible,” he said. “We saw teams and bowlers from across the country and knowing we can compete on a national level is great for a small town program.”