It was a rowdy environment inside Boardwalk Bowl for the FHSAA state championship. The Apopka Blue Darters girls bowling team joined 33 other teams in the state tournament after placing second in their district tournament. 

Apopka’s Angelo Mullica and Wekiva’s William Warren joined 197 other boys in the state tournament’s individual qualifying round after great performances in the district tournament. 

Apopka girls 

The qualifying round featured four games for each team. The top 16 teams with the most pins through four games, advance to the baker round. 

After an incredible outing at the district tournament, Apopka’s anchor Elizabeth Marshall got right to work. In game 1, she bowled 5 strikes en route to a score of 211 – the team high of the day. The team looked sharp and posted a score of 712 to have the Blue Darters just outside the cutline, at 17. 

Over the next two games, their score dropped to 658 and 668, sliding them further down in the rankings. Marshall and Samantha Carlyle led game 2 with scores of 174 and 162. Madelynn Scofield led game 3 with 154 pins.  

Coach Jason Ramos said one of their “small wins” came in game 3 from Sophia Slone, who bowled her best score of the season with 131. 

In game 4, Carlyle led with a score of 177 and the team finished with 677 pins. Their four-game total of 2,715 landed them in 21st place for the qualifying round. The emotions began to set in for the girls after the game, knowing it was the final game of the season. 

Ramos said he was proud of how his group handled the challenge of competing at the state level without the boys team alongside them for the first time. 

“I’m proud that we were out here – we made it,” Ramos said. “I don’t know if we’ve ever been to the state tournament as a girls team without the boys, so that was hard not having that extra support. But it just shows the heart these young ladies had. I tell them all the time, you might not always strike or spare, but you’ve got to find a win in every shot you throw. If that means keeping it on the lane and knocking down a few pins, if that’s good enough for a win, that’s good enough for me. I’m proud of them and I’m looking forward to next season.” 

Ramos gave a shoutout to his seniors. 

“I’m sad to see my two seniors, Elizabeth Marshall and Hayden Smith, go. I really wish Elizabeth had been able to advance. She really tried and just fell short, but I’m proud of her. They’re both destined for greatness.” 

Individual boys 

Although the Apopka and Wekiva boys teams did not advance past districts, they had highlight performances from two individuals who punched their tickets to the season finale. 

William Warren, a Wekiva sophomore, kept his momentum after taking first place in his district competition. He came out firing, bowling six strikes in the first game for a 241-point performance, instantly inserting himself in the running to qualify. 

A second game funk of 158 dropped his rank, but he bounced right back in game 3 and surpassed his first game score with 243, putting him right on the brink of the next round with one game left. 

In the final game, he bowled a score of 199 to put himself just short of qualifying. Warren needed 28 more pins to qualify and finished 29th of 199 bowlers.  

As a sophomore, Warren took a leap for himself and the Wekiva boys team. Coach Lenin Vazquez was very proud of Warren’s progress. 

“He elevates his game as the competition gets better,” Vazquez said. “The future is bright for Wekiva bowling.” 

The Apopka boys team also had the honor of sending senior Angelo Mullica to the state tournament. 

After leading his team to the baker round of districts with 639 pins in the qualifying round and adding a bunch of spares and strikes in the baker, Mullica found himself without the team who has made it to state the last five seasons.