COLUMBUS — Mason Keck’s practice prior to the OHSAA Division II Bowling Championship Saturday at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl was business as usual for him.
But it wasn’t good.
“I’m pretty sucky in practice,” said Keck, a sophomore at Clinton-Massie. “It happens pretty often. I was struggling the whole time. I wasn’t hitting my mark.”
Once the lights went on, as they say, and scores were kept, Keck found his mark.
“He found his confidence in the biggest tournament of the year,” CM coach Tyler Hayslip said. “I hope he takes this confidence and becomes that bowler for years to come.”
The left-hander finished the three-game 10-pin portion of the state tournament with a 677 series, good enough for second place overall. It’s the highest finish ever for a Clinton County bowler in the state tournament.
As state tournament director Greg Coulles began to unveil the individual finishers for the first time to the public, he began with the honorable mention quintet then the five on All-Ohio second team and finally the five on All-Ohio first team. He didn’t give scores, just names, so it was difficult to know exactly where Keck was going to finish.
“I thought I was going to on the second team,” Keck said. “Maybe seventh or sixth. I ended up finishing second which I did not expect whatsoever.
“I could not believe it. I did something my brother (Tyler) couldn’t. For a sophomore to do that it’s just crazy.”
Keck began his series with a 224 game then followed with a massive 255.
The third game, though, was only a 198. Though he didn’t know it at the time, Keck needed a 251 to be the overall individual. Spencer Hannahs of Graham had a 729 series.
“The third game, the whole team struggled,” said Keck. “The ball played a lot different. I had to move a bunch to the right and throw my ball out a lot further for it to come back. I opened twice that game. When I throw it out, I usually throw it too far and it doesn’t come back. It’s just not my play style.”
With only one senior on the team, the expectations for Clinton-Massie will be high next season. The team finished eighth this year with Keck’s runnerup leading the way.
“For Clinton-Massie, bowling isn’t at the top of the sports,” Keck said. “We’re trying to bring it up … the popularity. Gavan (Hunter) is our hype man. It’s definitely going to be a lot different without him. I think we can hit districts and state a lot harder next year with a good possibility of winning. That’s my goal, of course. I think next year, I’ll have a lot more expectations for me.”
