This year, Boone has had several major athletic accomplishments, some of which were firsts.
Luke Hug on the bowling team was the second on the Boone team to bowl a perfect 300, which is all strikes on every attempt.
Kaila Allphin was the first Boone archer to win the regional championship.
The track team had two players qualify for the first ever indoor state competition: Jocelyn Haney and Lauren Franxman. Haney competed in the 100 meter hurdles and Franxman competed in the high jump.
Hug bowls perfect game
Sophomore Luke Hug has accomplished something very rare on the bowling team.
On Dec. 14, Hug was at a bowling tournament when he kept getting strike after strike, and before he knew it, he was the second bowler in Boone history to bowl a 300.
Bowling a 300 is a perfect game of bowling all strikes.
When he found out he was bowling a perfect game, he said he felt nervous leading up to it, but when he threw the last strike, he was excited.
His teammates were so excited for him that they “bombarded” him when he turned around after the last strike.
Hug only started bowling in eighth grade because his mom wanted him to do a sport and he chose to bowl. To get to the point of bowling a perfect game, he had help from coaches and summer practices.
It was the program’s second perfect game. The head coach’s son, Zach Vickers, bowled one for the team previously.
Allphin wins archery regional
After Sophomore Kaila Allphin shot for the archery team at the KHSAA Region Six Championship on March 16, she waited for the announcement of results that would be a first in Boone’s history.
Allphin’s score meant she was the first archery regional champion in school history.
When they announced her as being the regional champion, she said she felt surprised and knew that her teammates were proud of her.
Allphin started to get an interest in archery in fifth grade but didn’t actually start until she was in sixth grade. She said something that helped her get to this point as an archer are her coaches.
Although she had some frustrations and challenges over the season she was still able to become the Region Six archery champion.
Haney, Franxman qualify for inaugural indoor track championship
Two athletes on the girls indoor track team qualified to compete in the first official KHSAA Indoor Track and Field State Championship on March 2 in Louisville. The two who qualified were junior Joycelyn Haney and senior Lauren Franxman.
Haney competed in the 60-meter hurdles and Franxman in the high jump.
Haney started running track last year. She started hurdles as “a funny joke because they looked fun” she said.
When she found out she was going to compete at the state level, she said she felt nervous but her nerves were calmed once she realized she’s already made it to this level.
Haney said her main challenges were “my feelings and emotions.” She said that before her race, she would feel anxious and worry that she will overthink it and mess up.
But a solution she is doing to help these challenges is trying to stay more positive.
“My coach definitely helped me overcome the emotions I felt through it all,” Haney said.
Franxman started her track career her sophomore year. At first she was only running sprints, but then she discovered she is pretty good at jumping events too.
When she heard the news that she was going to state for indoor track, she said she felt excited and nervous all at once. “Going to indoor state in track is surreal,” she said.
One of her main challenges was the intense competition that she would get from other athletes. But she has made some solutions to ease the challenge.
“Train hard, stay focused, and consistently perform at your best to stand out,” she said.
The mental aspect—like the pressure and the nerves that come while competing at the state level—is another one of Franxman’s challenges. While having these challenges, she says it’s important to stay mentally strong and to be confident in your abilities.
“With the right mindset, you can achieve great things,” Franxman said.
