New home, same hopes for Shelton bowling squad

Shelton High School's girls bowling team lost more than equipment and uniforms when Mason County's only bowling alley burned to the ground.

It lost a home.

Timber Bowl, housed in a 60-year-old building in downtown Shelton, was destroyed in the Nov. 22 fire. It had been home lanes to the Highclimbers since the launch of the highly successful program in 2001.

For Shelton coach Curt Snyder, who'd been bowling at Timber Bowl since 1963, it felt like the death of a best friend.

"My wife and I got up at 3 o'clock in the morning and went and watched it burn," Snyder said. "We stayed up and watched it till about 8 o'clock in the morning. It was pretty sad.

"We thought about all the bowling equipment in there that was ours. Then we started thinking about the good times, and just the history of the place."

Team members, too, visited the rubble and found a couple of bowling pins that were still intact.

"I've got those in my front yard now," Snyder said. "It was emotional for everyone."

When the fire hit, Shelton still had virtually the entire 2008-09 season in front of it.

Snyder visited Olympia's Westside Lanes the day after the fire to replace some of his equipment, and he ended up talking with owner Mike O'Malley.

"He was more than willing to have the high school team come in," Snyder said.

So the season resumed. The Highclimbers have to make a 40-mile round trip to bowl at Westside, which has reduced practice time.

"We were awfully spoiled in Shelton," Snyder said.

Despite inconveniences, the Highclimbers have been strong in their first tour through the Class 4A Narrows League. Their match record stands at 9-1 after Tuesday's victory over Foss.

Shelton's return to the Narrows after two years in the Class 3A Western Cascade Conference also means a return to head-to-head competition with its keenest rival, Wilson of Tacoma. Wilson represents the only blemish on the Highclimbers' match record this season with a 4-3 victory.

Shelton hosts a rematch Jan. 13 at the Highclimbers' home away from home in Olympia.

Shelton was state 2A/3A champion in 2007 and runnerup in 2008. Wilson was last year's Class 4A champion.

Although the teams haven't competed in the same state tournament for some time, the rivalry extends as far back as the days when girls bowling had only one classification.

Snyder admits to comparing pin totals with Wilson's at district and state competitions, and he knows the Wilson people are doing it, too.

"We've been competing with them for the last three years," Snyder said. "The girls have become friends. It's been a pleasant rivalry."

Snyder expects there's every possibility Shelton and Wilson will be battling for the top spot at 4A state in February.

Bremerton won the state 2A/3A title last February with a pin total of 7,601 to Shelton's 7,400.

"The girls didn't bowl bad," Snyder said. "Bremerton just beat us."

Alisha Wade, one of three seniors who bowled on the '07 state champion team, leads Shelton with a 174 average that is fourth-best in the Narrows this year. Last season, her 171 average was second best in the Western Cascade Conference.

Snyder has resisted the temptation to tinker with Wade's "distinctive" style, which typically is down the middle of the lane.

"I don't try to change a girl's particular style if their way is working," he said. "I just try to improve on what they're doing. She still makes the ball move. That's what baffles me a little bit."

Senior Danielle Baye posts a 167 average, and senior Brittney Stoutner contributes 163.

Elayna Henry, a junior new to the program, and Mishawn Ewart, a freshman (and Snyder's granddaughter), are close behind Wade with 172 averages that place them tied for fifth in the Narrows rankings.

Adding quality depth for Shelton are Calista Phipps at 157, Morgan Whitney at 153 and Tracy Yuan at 136.

"The lowest bowlers on our varsity would be top bowlers on another team," Snyder said.

Snyder, a 1966 Shelton High graduate, is retired after a career at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton. He's in his sixth year as Shelton's coach after many years as an unofficial coach in the Shelton youth leagues. The Highclimbers' match record during his tenure is 60-15.

The Highclimbers have been a force at state under Snyder: third in 2004, second in 2005 and 8th in 2006 before their champion-runnerup finishes the past two years.

When the fire hit, Ewart and Yuan lost bags, shoes and bowling balls. Snyder and his immediate family lost 12 bowling balls.

Fortunately, Snyder said, most of the Highclimber varsity members had most of their equipment with them, rather than stored at Timber Bowl, because they were bowling out of town the next day.

Assistant coach Sarah Stevens is the "team mother," according to Snyder. Stevens, whose daughter Chelsea bowled for Shelton before graduating last spring, was responsible for the snappy tie-dyed team T-shirts that replace shirts lost in the fire.

The collared shirts required for district and state competition should arrive this week, Stevens said.

And the team has a home.

Said Stevens, "Thank goodness Westside adopted us."