SHENANDOAH — The Shenandoah boys and Clarinda girls earned bowling victories Monday, Dec. 15, in a Hawkeye 10 Conference dual at Little Waite Lanes.
The Mustangs put up a pin count of 2,912 to Clarinda’s 2,682 while the Clarinda girls won with a score of 2,693 to Shenandoah’s 2,200.
Here are a few takeaways from the dual.
1. Rylee Pulliam, and her team, are really good
Four days after the Clarinda senior set the school record for high game and matched the program mark for high series, she bowled really well again Monday in Shenandoah, scoring a 219 opening game, followed by a 230 second game. Her two-game series of 449 was best in the field, including the boys.
“I’m staying very consistent,” Pulliam said. “I have been putting together good runs, and it makes you feel relief. You practice this all the time and it’s showing, so it feels good.”
As good as her scores were Monday, they weren’t as good as the records she set in last Thursday’s win over Creston.
“My goal for this year is to leave my high school career with all the records,” Pulliam said. “I have gotten one of them done. It feels amazing to break your past teammate’s records. We all bowled together and had success together, but it feels good to beat those records.”
Clarinda head coach Josh Woods said Pulliam just keeps getting better.
“I have been working with Rylee a lot,” Woods said, “with her getting behind the ball and getting through the ball. And she has taken to it. She understands what I’m trying to get her to do and she’s running with it. She’s so consistent.”
Pulliam’s team was right with her Monday, putting up a season’s best score of 2,693.
Gabby Derry scored a 354 series, Cailyn Meyers a 348 and Sara Chartier a 344 for the Cardinals. Mataya Eighmy rounded out the scorers with a 285 while Lexi Clark put up a 269 for the Cardinals in the road win.
“They have stuck together,” Woods said, “and they fit right in. They practice and they go everywhere to throw. That’s why they gel so well together because they always go bowl with each other.”
The Clarinda girls added a 913 five-game baker series, which included a 213 fourth game.
2. The Shenandoah boys are making strides
The Shenandoah boys put up their best score of the season with a final pin count of 2,912, which included a baker series of 1,007 with three games over 200.
Shenandoah’s lead over Clarinda was only 35 pins after the two individual games, but they were nearly 200 better than the Cardinals in the baker series.
“That’s the first time we have cracked 29 this year,” Shenandoah head coach Darin Pease said, “and I’m still playing with the varsity spots right now. We’re going to try to ride who’s hot and go from there. All the boys are pretty good at one time or another. We just have to get rid of some inconsistencies and keep climbing.”
Senior Owen Nokes was the hot bowler Monday for the Mustangs, firing a 191 first game and a 211 second game for a team-best 402 series.
“I found a good mark that worked on lane five,” Nokes said, “and then I had a little room on lane six which helped out.”
Nokes has stepped into the varsity lineup this year and has run with it.
“We have had really good teams, and I have been in the seventh spot the last couple years,” Nokes said, “so it’s pushed me to strive to be better this year.”
Matt Holmes’ 235 opener led the field. He finished with a 398 series for Shenandoah, just ahead of teammate Clay Foutch’s 390, which included a 201 first game.
Landen Conyac rolled a 364 series for the Mustangs and Teagan Brunk a 351 to complete the scorers. Spencer Ford added a 292.
A 228 opening game of the baker series was the best of the day for the Mustangs and quickly gave them some cushion in the team race.
3. One step at a time for the Clarinda boys
With a year of experience, the Clarinda boys keep building and have shown some really good things this year with Monday’s loss being their first in three competitions.
Clarinda’s Tony Sickler scored a 431 series to lead the field, with a consistent 216 first game and 215 second game. Woods said that consistency is the key for his team.
“They all do it in practice,” Woods said, “but it’s just being consistent on a given night. We’ll have a couple guys shoot really well and the next night they’re off and two other guys shoot really well. We haven’t put it all together, but we’ll get there.”
Parker Meyers had Clarinda’s top game with a 227, shooting a 384 series. Carson Sunderman fired a 373 series, including a 222 second game. Ryder Pullen scored a 361 and Ian Reyna-Willms’ 321 rounded out the scorers. Keegan Chambers added a 281.
Clarinda’s top game in the baker series was a 197, ending the five game series with an 812.
4. New players step up for the Shenandoah girls
It’s a new-look lineup for the Fillies from the past few years and junior Ali Hansen had the big night Monday, putting up a team-best series of 344.
“We have had some really good high points,” Pease said, “then we turned around and had some low points. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed with more practice. If you look at numbers, we were at 2,200 at it’s a step. We have to work on some consistency. That’s the worst part of the deal because we have proven we can put up some good numbers.”
Jaylan Gray and Tori Pease, the two regular returners from last season’s lineup, scored a 323 and 320, respectively. Pease’s 192 opening game was best for the Fillies. Gray put up a 187 second game.
Newcomers Nora Martin, Sparrow Hummel and Mary Hummel completed Shenandoah’s lineup, scoring a 266, a 263 and a 244.
Monday’s dual was the final competition in 2025 for the Shenandoah and Clarinda teams.
Clarinda Girls at Denison Tournament
The Clarinda girls bowling team stayed unbeaten going into the Christmas Break with a championship at the Lady Monarch Baker Tournament, held Thursday in Denison.
The Cardinals put up a score of 2,641 over 15 baker games, edging Lewis Central by 29 pins.
Clarinda’s team of Sara Chartier, Lexi Clark, Gabby Derry, Mataya Eighmy, Cailyn Meyers and Rylee Pulliam finished on top of the seven-team field, holding off a late charge from Lewis Central.
The Cardinals started well, opening with a 201. A 203 on game four and all five of the first games above 160 had the Cardinals with a score of 924 after five games, 15 pins ahead of the Titans and 20 better than the host Monarchs.
The second set of five included a 245 game, which came in game eight and was the best score for a single game by any team in the field throughout the competition. Clarinda’s next best of that stretch was a 181 and they finished with a 908 over five games leaving them at 1,832 after 10 games, and a 107-pin lead.
A 190 was Clarinda’s best game in the last five games and the Titans had a chance at the end as Clarinda scored just an 809 over the final five games. A 150 and a 173 to start the next stretch dropped Clarinda’s lead to 49 pins. The Cardinals were able to double their lead in game 13 with a 190 to Lewis Central’s 141. But, a 223 by the Titans in game 14, compared to Clarinda’s 135 shrunk the Cardinal lead to 10 pins.
Clarinda wasn’t great in the last game, but a 161 was better than Lewis Central’s 142 to hold on for the win.
