Derby boys bowling reaches rarefied air as repeat Kansas high school state champion
The Derby boys bowling team knew it had the potential to cement a legacy with one of the best runs in Kansas history this season.
The Panthers lived up to the hype, breaking records along the way in claiming their second straight Class 6A championship last Friday at Bowlero Northrock in Wichita.
Derby is just the third team in state history to win back-to-back titles. And given the fact that the Panthers broke their own state scoring record this season with a team score of 3,086 pins, it’s safe to say this 2-year run is one of, if not the best in Kansas history.
“It’s very sweet because we had a target on our back every time out there,” Derby coach Brent Cunningham said. “It was exciting and stressful at times, but this is something that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives, the kids and me.”
In a testament to the team’s incredible depth, senior Dawson Baumgartner, who entered with the team’s fifth-best scoring average, was the one who led the way at the state tournament with a career-high 741 series to win 6A individual medalist honors.
“Dawson is a kid where if you put him in the spotlight in a big show, he’s going to perform. He’s a gamer,” Cunningham said. “He bowled a 299 last year at state. And he brought that same energy this time. When he gets energized and locked in, it’s hard to knock him off.”
All six of Derby’s state bowlers finished the season with a high series of at least 716 pins and that firepower was on full display at the state meet, as senior Evan Clark (716, third) and junior Cash Carns (695, fifth) gave the Panthers three of the top five.
Throw in the consistency of sophomore Michael Stanger (630, 21st), senior Tyler Huffman (591) and senior Tai Gibbon (533) and Derby dominated the field with a team score of 3,763 pins, which was 243 pins better than second-place Shawnee Mission East.
But Derby’s second title was far from inevitable, as the team finished runner-up at the regional meet and saw its air of invincibility crack. That only fueled a dominant performance when it mattered the most.
“Nobody reached out to us before we went to state to ask us about defending our title,” Cunningham said. “I used that as a lot of motivation. I told the boys, ‘Well, I guess everybody forgot about us.’ We’re the defending state champs for a reason and we used that to fuel the fire. Knowing those boys, they’re serious competitors and that got them fired up and ready to go.”
Other local state medalists in the 6A boys field included Wichita Heights senior P.J. Level, who rolled a season-high 711 series to place fourth, Wichita Southeast junior Maddox Siharath, who placed seventh with a 683 series, and Maize sophomore Jaxon White, who took 17th with a season-best 641 series.
Campus girls bowling wins another Class 6A state title
For the eighth time in the last 11 years, the Campus girls bowling team won the Class 6A state championship.
The Colts successfully repeated with a final score of 3,307 pins, edging Wichita Northwest’s runner-up score of 3,157 pins. Campus was powered by junior Riley Emerson (685, third) and sophomore Angie Moser (637, seventh) with the rest of the lineup rounded out by junior Chante Anderson (576, 20th), sophomore Ella Rutter (571, 22nd), junior Caitlynn Clough (524) and junior Paige Mashak (521).
The City League champions from Northwest only had one state medalist, senior Kalee Stockstill (637, eighth), but rose to second in the team standings through its depth in sophomore Audrie Thomas (567), sophomore Laci King (551), senior Avery Schippers (530), junior Alaina Davis (446) and junior Lynsey Carter (443).
Other local state medalists in the 6A girls field included Derby senior Lacey Baney (600, 12th) and Wichita East sophomore Kylie Train (593, 14th).
Andover Central boys bowling wins first state championship
Andover Central junior Paxton McLeod rolled the best series of his season and helped lead the Jaguars to a dominant performance to claim the program’s first state title in the 5A boys field.
McLeod exceeded his previous season-high score by 133 pins with the winning score of 746 pins, edging Kansas City Piper’s Coltyn Bard by two pins and Maize South sophomore Tristan Coffey by seven pins for the individual medalist honors.
The team race wasn’t as close, as Andover Central dominated the tenpin scoring that powered a team score of 3,648 pins to beat Piper by 159 pins. The Jaguars featured five bowlers in the top-21 with McLeod, senior Dayden Cunningham (723, fourth), sophomore Gunnar Whitney (668, 10th), freshman Evan Light (662, 11th) and senior Owen Straub (634, 21st) with senior Cole Scocos (581) not far behind.
Other local state medalists in the 5A boys field included Andover sophomore Madden Pumphrey (722, fifth), Bishop Carroll junior Leighton Daugherty (639, 18th), Bishop Carroll junior Jesus Lucero (639, 19th) and Maize South sophomore Will Winkelbauer (635, 20th).
Bishop Carroll girls bowling edges Maize South for 5A crown
In a thrilling team race between two Wichita west-side rivals, Bishop Carroll (2,987 pins) held off a charge from Maize South (2,958) to win its third Class 5A girls team title in the last eight years by a total of 29 pins.
Maize South won the 4-game baker series, but not by enough to make up the margin from Carroll’s 3-game tenpins score.
Carroll was led by three state medalists in senior Anne Timmermeyer (604, fourth), senior Rose Timmermeyer (567, 13th) and sophomore Meredith Seay (541, 20th). Other team members of the title-winning squad included sophomore Addison Haskins (520), senior Donna McClellan (511) and sophomore Yessenia Navarrete (485).
Maize South featured a pair of state medalists in junior Kenzie Kalb, who rolled a season-best series of 601 to place seventh, and senior Ava Kohlemeier, who took 17th with a 548 series. Other team members included junior Jaylee Campbell (521), senior Paige Schuler (511), senior Ilese Burroughs (497) and senior Tanner Martinez (450).
The other local state medalist in the 5A girls field was Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior Katie Stuber (582, ninth).
Mulvane senior rises to the top to win 4-1A boys individual title
Mulvane senior Joseph Cervantes registered a season-best series of 713 to win the Class 4-1A individual medalist honors by nine pins over Andale sophomore Konnor Bretthauer.
It was essentially a rematch of the AV-CTL Div. III-IV league tournament a little less than two weeks prior, which Bretthauer won and Cervantes placed third. The duo was separated by one pin entering the third game, as Cervantes took home the title with a 241 score to Bretthauer’s 233.
Cervantes helped lead Mulvane to a runner-up finish in the team standings, as he was followed by junior Jaxon Hornecker (677, sixth) and senior Dagan Dannels (610, 19th) as medalists and also joined by junior Jace Larkins (560), freshman Jax Larkins (560) and sophomore Dillon Hart (558) on the team.
Meanwhile, Bretthauer spearheaded a third-place team finish for Andale, as he was joined by senior Dugan Trempe (649, 12th), senior Lakelin Goodrich (580), senior Grant May (561), senior Seth Graf (536) and senior Dylan Waltner (525).
Other local state medalists in the 4-1A boys field included Hesston sophomore Tanner McAllister (693, fourth), Wichita Independent sophomore Andrew Nelson (668, eighth), Cheney senior Cameron Eastman (662, 10th), Hesston sophomore Mario Murillo (660, 11th), Augusta senior Austin Winter (637, 15th) and Buhler senior Julian Morrison (620, 18th).
Andale girls win program’s first team championship in 4-1A
The Andale girls bowling team completed a dream season with a postseason sweep, winning a league title in AV-CTL Div. III-IV, a regional title last week and then the Class 4-1A team championship in Wichita.
Andale won both the 3-game tenpin series and the 4-game Baker series to produce the winning score of 2,786 pins, edging Chanute by 79 pins for the program’s first state championship.
The championship team for Andale included a squad of six juniors in Calee Walters (579, third), Riley Stoll (522, seventh), Kinsey Neely (494, 15th), Billie Jo Chaffin (491, 18th), Corin Walters (441, 35th) and Clara Seiler (323).
Buhler notched a third-place finish in the team standings, led by sophomore Macy Miller (season-high 533, sixth), junior Aubrey Ewing (494, 17th), senior Brayla Johnson (490, 19th), junior Cheyann Geesling (479), senior Eva Goertz (457) and junior Madalyn Bohringer (420).
Other local state medalists in the 4-1A girls field included Wichita Central Christian junior Kara Hornbaker (541, fifth), Wichita Central Christian junior Bella Cunningham (514, eighth), El Dorado junior Madison Busby (season-high 509, ninth), Cheney senior Kylee Trego (509, 10th), Augusta junior Kendra Gresham (502, 13th) and McPherson senior Brooke Henry (495, 14th).
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 6:02 AM.
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