The girls team won its first district title in school history, beating runner-up Urbana by 85 pins. Senior Emilie Antiniori won the individual title with a 710 series.
The boys team won its third overall district title, beating runner-up Clinton-Massie by 258 pins.
“It’s the first time it’s happened in KR’s history and that’s pretty amazing in its own right,” said Cougars coach Kevin Duncan. “It’s not something that happens a lot or often. … We’ve been having a remarkable year on both sides, the boys and the girls.”
The Kenton Ridge girls team is one of four area squads to qualify for the D-II state championships, including Urbana, Graham and Mechanicsburg. The Indians placed fourth last year, while the Falcons were eighth and the Hillclimbers placed 10th.
The Cougars girls squad is back in the state tournament for the first time since 2017 and the fourth time overall. Antiniori and Jordyn Arnold are the team’s lone seniors. The rest of the team is composed of five sophomores (Shea Nicewaner, Kenzie Stacy, Addyson Keplinger, Addison Hibbs) and one freshman (Addison Duncan).
Earlier this season, the Cougars broke the overall team scoring record with 2,687 pins and won the Clark County tournament.
“They still have some time to build and grow together,” Kevin Duncan said.
The Cougars boys squad qualified for the state tournament for the 10th time in school history and the first time since 2022. They’re seeking their third title in school history.
Kenton Ridge has just one senior in Andru Keplinger. The squad also has two juniors (Logan Duncan and Landon Matheny), two sophomores (Cooper Stacy and Kebeck Wells) and two freshmen (Isaiah Pace and Raymond Estep).
“We’re a young team,” Kevin Duncan said. “They’ve known each other for several years and have bowled on Saturday mornings together. They just jell as a team and are very focused on the goals that were set for them this year.”
Earlier this year, the KR boys won the Central Buckeye Conference title and knocked down 3,232 pins during league play against London – the second-highest score in boys program history. The goal, he said, is to bring home another state championship.
“We’ve had the goal all year that we wanted to get to state,” Kevin Duncan said. “Now it just comes down to execution on the day of the tournament and we’ll see what happens. … They’ve been chasing it all year, trying to be that third team to win a state title.”
Kenton Ridge will be joined by Northwestern, which finished third in the district tournament, in the team competition. Northwestern junior Jamie Partlow won the district title with an individual score of 688 pins.
Three individuals also qualified for the state meet — Southeastern junior Kyle Adkins, Mechanicsburg senior Aaron Adams and Mechanicsburg junior Chris Ritchie. Adkins was seventh at the district tournament with a 663.
With both teams competing this weekend, the Cougars expect to have a big cheering section in Columbus.
“There are always a few (teammates) who come to cheer on the team along with a lot of parents and grandparents, which is great,” Kevin Duncan said. “It’s great having great parents who are involved and want to be there to make sure their kids can develop and get better really helps the program.”
DIVISION II
STATE QUALIFIERS
GIRLS
Teams
Graham: Maddy Murphy, Elizabeth Riley, Mackenzie Clark, Kailey Dowty, Grace Tyler, Jorden Hillman, Lylee Nokes, Kelsey Weinert.
Kenton Ridge: Addison Duncan, Addyson Keplinger, Addison Hibbs, Emilie Antinori, Kenzie Stacy, Jordyn Arnold, Shea Nicewaner.
Mechanicsburg: Gwen Westfall, Faith Ford, Ashton Waller, Hannah Dingledine, Kendall Rausch, Cambryn Tom, McKenzi Picklesimer.
Urbana: Lauren Turner, Audrie Williams, Emily Fisher, Jazmyn Scott, Mallory Stokes, Natalie Turner.
BOYS
Teams
Kenton Ridge: Landon Matheny, Andru Keplinger, Logan Duncan, Cooper Stacy, Kebeck Wells, Isaiah Pace, Raymond Estep.
Northwestern: Jamie Partlow, Blake Williams, Landon Kegley, Nathan Hackett, Cooper Brackney, Kyler Bevill, Pierce Gallagher, Brayden Gochenouer.
Individuals
Mechanicsburg: Chris Ritchie, Aaron Adams.
Southeastern: Kyle Adkins.
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