The Eastern Cincinnati conference members have selected five Milford boys bowlers for ECC All-Conference honors. The 2016 all-ECC first team selections include junior Noah Dolezal and sophomore classmates Josh Cooper and Nathan McGeorge, while senior Josh Brooksbank was named to the second team. Jeremiah Mitchell, an MHS sophomore, received honorable mention.
A highlight of Dolezal’s junior season was the Eastern Cincinnati Conference/Southwest Ohio Conference Tournament, where he set a new school record for 3 game series with a 671, and earned first team all-tournament honors, a first for the MHS boys bowling team at this event. At the 2016 OSHAA Sectional Tournament, Dolezal set a new three game series record of 711 pins; with games of 230, 244, and 237, he was the only bowler in this sectional to accumulate over 700 total pins. Dolezal also stepped up for the Eagles at the District meet, with an 18th place finish and a team high single game of 246. The first team all-ECC selection ranked near the top of the ECC all year: high average (7th – 194); high game (17th – 245); and high series (12th – 445). Dolezal was a first team All-ECC selection in 2015 as well.
First team all-ECC awardee Cooper was impressive in his second year on the MHS bowling team. The sophomore topped the single game and school record he set by posting a new Milford Eagle record of 277 pins in a 2625-1404 Milford win over Withrow on 1/25. The new record is one pin over the previous high of 276 against Anderson set earlier in the season. At the OSHAA Division I District Tournament, Cooper tied for 60th, with an average of 199 and series of 598; this following a 192 average at Sectionals. Cooper was the highest ranking Milford bowler in the ECC standings for 2016; high average (3rd – 201); high game (5th – 277); and high series (5th – 483). In 2015 he was named second team all-ECC as a freshman.
McGeorge was named to the ECC all-conference first team for the second consecutive year. He posted the high series for the Eagles this season, a 484 outing at Anderson for the first conference win of the year. McGeorge averaged over 200 in the majority of the season’s outings, including a series total of 625 and average of 208 at the Sectionals. He ended the year in or near the top ten in all ECC rankings: high average (6th – 195); high game (11th – 255); and high series (4th – 484).
Second team selection Brooksbank made the most of his senior season. Brooksbank had his high game of the season, 236, in an extremely close loss to Amelia, 2626-2655, with a high series of 438. He posted a 348 series in a win over rival Loveland on senior night, followed by a high series of 401 at Loveland in the last regular season match. The senior ended his high school career at Districts with a 546 series. He ends the year in the ECC’s top twenty-five: high average (17th – 183); high game (24th – 236); and high series (16th – 438).
Honorable mention recipient Mitchell rolled a personal season-high 222 at the Hoinke Bearcat Classic, helping the MHS boys bowling team to place sixth of 28 teams from the Tri-State area. He ended the year with a 168 average.
The Milford boys finished the season 12-6 overall and 10-4 in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference final standings. The team finished in third place for the 2016 season. The team placed second in the OHSAA Sectional Bowling Tournament to advance to the District Tournament. Along the way the boys set a new record with 4190 total pins for the event. That 2nd place position was the highest finish ever in postseason action for the Milford boys team and earned the team a trip to Districts, where they placed 20th.
In addition to setting a new high team average score of 2554 in 2016, the team set new records for game average (913) and baker game average (182) – all record highs since at least the 2004 season.