The boys bowling team won the KHSAA Region Six Championship for the second straight year on Jan. 25 at Super Bowl Bellewood in Newport.

The boys team went into this year of bowling with only four returning bowlers, but coach Doug Ziegler recruited at the middle schools and said he was lucky to find some kids who were interested in joining bowling, but he knew the team would be inexperienced.

Sophomore Antonio Williams was one of the four returning bowlers.

“I had hoped that we would win the regionals, but I wasn’t so sure since we lost a lot of people from the year before,” Williams said.

After losing eight seniors, the team had a lot to replace, but Ziegler’s team figured it out as the year went on.

“We looked at this as a rebuilding year, but this team pulled together much faster than we expected and really hit their stride in week four,” he said. “We ended up on a 7-game winning streak.”

“We went into (to the regional tournament) feeling good and wanting to repeat,” Ziegler said.

The team struggled early in the tournament, finishing the seeding round as the No. 7 seed, and then needing all five games to beat No. 10 St. Henry in the first round.

No. 2 seed Ryle waited in the second round.

“We weren’t sure if we were gonna pull it out,” Ziegler said. “But our captain–senior Nick Sexton–turned the energy up and the whole team followed suit. From that point on, we swept the rest of the regionals.”

The Rebels swept No. 6 Beechwood in the semis and No. 5 Holy Cross in the championship.

“It felt great because we all worked so hard to win, and I think we all were really hyped and just wanted it really bad,” Williams said while also saying he is really excited that new people joined, and he can’t wait to win for a third year.

The win qualified the team for the state championship, where they finished in the top 10 for the second year in a row.

Ziegler said he is “very proud” of the team, and he plans to keep it growing and improving.

“After my 2nd year coaching, I know that this is only the beginning.”