courtesy photo
Members of the Craftsbury Academy bowling team include (left to right) Andrew Royan, Kosmos Gletos, Jason Brown, Raz Mille, Jacob Marquis and Matt Wilcox.
CLAREMONT, N.H. – Matt Wilcox put a bow on his Craftsbury Academy (CA) high school bowling career earlier this month with an impressive fourth place finish at the Senior Classic.
Ten of the top senior bowlers in Vermont gathered at Maple Lanes in Claremont two weeks ago to take on their state rival at the season ending Senior Classic. Matt Wilcox finished up his high school bowling career at CA with a solid fourth place finish. Wilcox’s high games for the afternoon were a solid 217 and 205 and qualified as the third seed in the individual competition, ultimately losing to Avery Bean. New Hampshire edged Vermont in the team competition.
“Matt finished off a great season in the Senior Classic by not only representing CA, but the entire state of Vermont. He came to our program from Lake Region two years ago and from day one always showed up with a smile and a ‘can do’ attitude. He was our only senior this season and the heart of our team,” said head coach Ashley Gravel.
Gravel had a successful first season at the helm for the Chargers, leading the program to their second regular season tournament win against Burlington in January in just their second year as an official varsity sport. Gravel helped launch the program last winter with former CA athletic director and current VPA Bowling Director Connor Bean.
She’ll return a pair of talented sophomores next season in Jacob Marquis and Jason Brown. Wilcox, Marquis, and Brown all qualified for the Individual State Tournament earlier this month as the top 32 Vermont high school bowlers. They also qualified for the Sweet 16 round in the tournament, with Wilcox finishing 12th, Brown 6th, and Marquis 3rd after falling to eventual state champion Thomas Bell of Brattleboro. The impressive trio all received medals for finishing top five in average in the state for their grade level, with Marquis finishing 4th in the entire state with a 195.4 average.
CA also swept White River Valley in the State Team Tournament, before falling to Essex in the second round.
Gravel rounded out her roster with freshman Kosmos Gletos, Raz Mille, Andrew Royan, and Owen Foster. Her assistants this past winter were former CA bowlers Will Patnoe and Verna Stoddard and she will continue to rely on them next season to help grow the program.
“Overall, it was a great season and I’m proud of my team and coaches. We’ll return some young bowlers around Jacob and Jason next year who got to experience the intensity and the atmosphere of varsity competition in the state tournament. We look forward to ending the season by welcoming our athletes and their families to Missisquoi Lanes for some pizza and a 9-pin tournament to celebrate the season,” said Gravel.
