The Laurence Manning Academy varsity bowling team won the State Championship last week.
The team beat out Heathwood Hall of Columbia by 57 pins to bring home its second consecutive state title, and the trophy will continue to sit in the school’s trophy case in Manning.
Bowling season started in November, and the young team had nine matches, two in Columbia and seven at Gamecock Lanes in Sumter. In the state finals, the top four varsity players were chosen after bowling in the first three games in the match.
Rounding out the final four teams were Porter Gaud of Charleston and Cardinal Newman of Columbia.
LMA head bowling Coach Jay Atkins said when the team got to the final four, they were nervous, but they pulled it together as a team.
“We lost three bowlers last year; the only two returning bowlers with us this year were Seth Stamps and Mark Lupori,” said Atkins. “We had three strikes in a row. I am proud of how we came together in the final match. We are a young team and have a new first-year participant who worked great with his teammates.”
“They only bowled a few frames, so my best bowler bowled in the fifth frame and in the tenth frame so they could strike out,” Atkins added. “Then I rotated the players’ position each game.”
Lupori turned 15 last week and has already won more than $6,000 in scholarships.
In the individual tournaments, Stamps won third in state, and Lupori was the runner-up for the second time in two years.
A returning bowler from last year, Lupori has been bowling since he was 2 years old and competing since he was 5.
He loves bowling with LMA and working as part of a team.
“Coach Jay has always been there to bring us back up,” said Lupori. “It’s a great experience bowling against different schools in South Carolina I love the challenge.Going to the state tournaments is where it really matters. We didn’t do as well this year as last but toward the end of the season we started picking up.”
Atkins said that many of his players have their sights set on college bowling.
“Bowling is a highly ranked game in college sports,” he said. “A few members of the team fell that sports have helped them physically, as well as mentally, and they have a goal of continuing their bowling experiences through college.”
