The Lane To State

By Kenzee Hampton

Losing great athletes because they are seniors can be hard on a team, and the Owasso Ram Bowling team has had to learn to attack this problem with full force and grow from it.

Senior Braden Lang states, “It has been a battle of ups and downs. We graduated four or five seniors last year, but we had quite a few kids come up. It’s just been a matter of getting those kids experience.” 

With gaining experience comes challenges, physically and mentally.

Lang explains, “It was tough to teach the kids the mental side… There is always going to be the mental side in sports… they get intimidated, and we just had to help them learn how to be confident.”

It was their first time at regionals for the new kids on the team, which was very nerve-racking. Learning to deal with those emotions is always difficult, but the lower classmen held their own.

The Owasso Rams Bowling Team (2020-2021), photograph taken by unknown.

“There was some really stiff competition… I mean, everyone was really dedicated, and they really put in the time and work,” says Braden, “I’ve got to give it to them because they were really coachable.”

Even with their team being so young, they have plenty of talent. They strived to be better every practice, and by doing so, they actively asked upperclassmen and their coaches for advice to better their mindset going into tournaments.

Lang expresses, “You could see the hunger to get better… Throughout the season, we saw massive growth [within our team].”

Just like any other season, there were many highs and lows, but all together they had a solid season, ending third in the region before going into regionals. During regionals, the Owasso Rams Bowling team let the hard work speak for itself, and they brought home another first place win. 

There were eight qualifying games and Owasso qualified first for matchplay with scores totaling to 1,386 points. Matchplay is the best of five format.  

In the first matchup against Jenks, Owasso beat them 3-0. In the second match, Owasso beat Charles Paige 3-2.. In the Final match against Berryhill, Owasso also beat them 3-2. 

Lang concludes, “I don’t know how well the other schools are doing, but... I know our determination, and we got this.”