The Benton Panthers boys bowling team picked up their first 5A State Championship Wednesday in Cabot. With a comfortable lead going into the Baker games, when five bowlers alternate frames, the Panthers would hang on by 60 pins, with a score of 4,163 to runner-up Siloam Springs’ 4,103.
“They bowled so good,” Benton Coach Brandy Chumley, who’s been coaching Benton bowling since 2006, said. “We only won by 60 pins. Our Baker games weren’t as high as we would have liked, but going into it we had a good lead. With the boys, there are quite a few seniors so they knew going into this it was their last chance. They just took the reins. They knew what they had to do to take care of business.”
Mountain Home came in third with 4,034 pins, Searcy was fourth with 4,010 and Lakeside rounded out the top five with 3,773 points.
Benton senior Seth Morgan outpaced everyone, earning the gold medal with a three-game series of 731, 47 pins better than runner-up and silver medalist Jonesboro’s Braydon Jones (684). Morgan earned All-State with his gold medal performance, bowling a 237, 205 and wrapped up his high school bowling career with a 289, by far the best score of the day.
Read the rest in Thursday's The Saline Courier.