This year, the Oviedo High School bowling team had a great season, placing second in the district, only behind Winter Springs High School. Unfortunately, the team was not able to make states like they did last year, but despite this circumstance, they were able to enjoy a fantastic season.
The boy’s bowling team was led by senior team captain Spencer Wainright, who completed his fourth and final year of bowling. Wainright wanted to bounce back from a season filled with ups and downs last year and put up great numbers for the bowling team.
“The last two seasons were rough, my average went down from my freshman year, but fortunately I was able to get my numbers up a lot more for my senior year,” said Wainright.
Wainright and the bowling team finished the season 15-1 and were able to qualify for districts. Despite the fantastic record in the regular season, the team was not able to qualify for states. Wainright still managed to enjoy the season though and was all smiles throughout the year.
“When it came to regionals, we didn’t do too good and weren’t able to finish top four to qualify for states,” said Wainright. “The season was still really good, and I loved my teammates and everything else that went with the season.”
Wainright knows that as a leader, he has to keep a positive mind towards every practice and every game. He took the all-important role of team captain and found himself growing as a leader. His teammates loved his attitude, and he was a great help to everyone throughout the season.
“Spencer was our team captain, and he’s not only good at bowling, but he’s very good at motivating the team,” said senior Wyatt Geno.
Wainright discussed this motivation, “You not only have to help keep everyone’s score up, but you also have to make sure everyone has a good attitude towards everything,” said Wainright. “I made sure everyone was having a good time whether or not their scores were high, and whenever I was down they made sure to bring me up.”
Not many people view bowling as one of the most exciting or eventful high school sports, but it has grown to become even more popular. Many different aspects go into the sport that make it tactical and complicated. For example the weight of the ball and how slick the lane is are both things that need to be considered when bowlers enter a match.
People still view bowling as a simple sport, even though many steps take place in a bowling match. Bowling doesn’t get as much recognition as some of the other high school sports, but this doesn’t stop Wainright from playing the game he loves.
“It’s funny, because bowling isn’t as popular as football or basketball, but I think as time goes on it’ll just keep growing,” said Wainright. “It’s more common up north than it is in Florida, but hopefully it continues to grow down here.”
Like most high school athletes, there comes a time when their athletic career comes to an end. Wainright, finished his last year of competitive sports this senior year, and unfortunately will not be playing after high school. Wainright made countless memories as a bowler and will cherish all the moments he made during his high school career.
“Like any varsity sport, you can always do that sport outside of high school, but you don’t get the same feeling when doing it,” said Wainright. “You’re never going to get all the people behind you cheering and rooting for you, so I think I’m going to miss that the most.”
Wainright completed a successful high school career in bowling and had an enjoyable experience while doing so. He had his ups and his downs, but those experiences are what helped him grow as a player. As the team captain of the bowling team, he created a lasting impact for the inexperienced players and became a great leader for the bowling team.
