n Won the Class 4A individual state championship with a six-game score of 1,236 pins. Finished 60 pins in front of runner-up Amanda Van Meter of Heritage at state.
n Helped Battle Ground win the Class 4A team bowling championship.
n Bowled a 574 series to help Battle Ground win the Class 4A district team title.
More about Wylicia
n Wylicia will travel to Indianapolis in July to compete in the girls under-20 division of the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships, an annual tournament that awards scholarship money and helps form the junior national team.
n Wylicia also plays for the girls golf team at Battle Ground, a sport she took up last year.
n In addition to BGHS coach Harold Lynse, Wylicia gets coaching from Stoney Brown. She also credits golf coach Eric Liljidahl for supporting her bowling.
Next year and beyond
n With two more years of high school, Wylicia has her eye on winning a couple of more gold medals. “I want to win (state) the next two years, too,” she said.
n Parker Bonife, sr., Union: Placed fifth at 4A state tournament.
n Stacey Dettling, jr., Evergreen: 4A district runner-up; first-team all 4A-GSHL.
n Tessa Friason, sr., Prairie: 3A GSHL bowler of the year; placed 6th at 3A state tournament.
n Alex Lanning, so., Mountain View: Class 3A district champion; first team all-3A GSHL.
n Morgan Taylor, sr., Evergreen: 4A district champion; placed 9th at 4A state tournament.
n Amanda Van Meter, sr., Heritage: Class 4A state runner-up; first-team all 4A GSHL.
Individual state championship. Strike that from the to-do list.
Team state championship. Strike that, too.
For Battle Ground sophomore Wylicia Faley, things fell into place during the 2011-12 high school bowling season. Just like one pin knocking over others.
On the first day of the state championship tournament in February at Narrows Plaza Bowl in University Place, Faley knocked down 1,236 pins over six games. By averaging 206 pins a game, she captured the individual title for Class 4A schools and set up the Tigers to claim the Class 4A team title a day later.
Those accomplishments make Faley the clear choice as The Columbian All-Region girls bowler of the year.
Faley started bowling around age 12. At first it was just something fun to do. With encouragement from Harold Lynse at Tiger Bowl — who coaches the high school team — bowling became more than a hobby for her.
Faley now bowls six days a week. On Saturday mornings, she bowls in a league at Tiger Bowl. On Saturday afternoons, Faley competes in the Milwaukie Junior Masters, a sport league for young bowlers in Milwaukie, Ore. In a sport league, the oil patterns on the lanes are more challenging, making high scores difficult to post.
Learning the game at Tiger Bowl was a built-in advantage. The lanes there are considered the most challenging in Clark County.
“At Tiger Bowl, you never know what (conditions) you’re going to get, so you have to always be adjusting. So it makes you a better bowler by bowling there,” Faley said.
With an average score of 194 this high school season, Faley said she entered the state tournament with plenty of confidence. She took an early lead in the individual scoring, but trailed Amanda Van Meter from Heritage by 20 pins entering the sixth and final game of the individual competition.
A final game of 227 was good enough to claim the individual crown. A day later, Faley shared that championship feeling with her Battle Ground teammates.
“I liked the whole thing. It was a really good season. We had a good team. We got along and really worked together as a team.”
