Warsaw Community High School senior Austin Sawvel remembers the feeling of not advancing to last year's high school bowling regional.
Sawvel missed the cut by one pin.
Things were certainly different this season for the talented 17-year-old kegler, as he won the individual sectional championship, finished third at the regional and was seventh at the semistate.Sawvel will compete Saturday in the state finals at Coopers Sport Bowl in Anderson.
He is among just 18 boys and 18 girls competing for an individual state title, and according to coaches Glen Ransbottom and Kirk Wyman, Sawvel is the first boy in the Warsaw program's history to advance past the semistate.
Heather Willard represented the Warsaw girls team at the state finals in 2007 when she was just a freshman.
The Warsaw girls are currently coached by Tony Sainer and Marty Hornbaker.
"I don't know how to describe the feeling," Sawvel said of advancing to the state finals, as he took time out of his practice session Wednesday afternoon at The Bowling Alley on Detroit St. "It's a relief. I had a lot of pressure on me to do something big, especially after winning the sectional."
While Sawvel had no problem answering questions, talking about anything and everything from the sport he loves to his friends on the team to the friends he's made in the Wabacanoe Conference, he said he couldn't find the words to describe what it means to advance to the state finals.
"To know that I'm going to finish in the top 18 out of all the thousands of kids that bowl in high school in the state, there's no words to describe that feeling," said Sawvel. "It makes me feel like I'm on top of the world. This is something not everybody gets to experience."
The way the tournament works at each level, competitors bowl three games, and then the top four scorers advance into a round known as the step-ladder finals.
Prior to the sectional, Sawvel had never bowled a 700 series before.
He won the sectional championship with a three-game score of 735 at The Bowling Alley in Warsaw, followed by a 712 series at the regional at Chippewa Bowl in South Bend and a a 657 series in the semistate round at Clancy's Village Bowl in Muncie.
Ransbottom, who knows a thing or two about the sport as he has 31 perfect games to his credit, described Sawvel as a scratch bowler and someone who is very competitive.
"Austin wears his emotions on his sleeve," said Ransbottom, who has been with the Warsaw bowling program for nine years. "Austin doesn't hold anything in. He's been a leader for the team, and he's really focused on his game."
As a team, the Warsaw boys competed in the semistate.
"We had a pretty good team too," said Wyman, who has been with the Warsaw bowling program for seven seasons. "We were 11-2 and finished as runner-up in the conference. Austin is also going to be recognized for making the Academic All-State team."
Sawvel said he would like to bowl for a team in college, and noted he has already been accepted to Butler University, though he's keeping his options open because the Indianapolis school doesn't have a bowling team.
Sawvel describes himself as fun-loving. He has the confident, but not cocky attitude about him.
And as for Saturday in Anderson, Sawvel believes he can win the state championship.
"I feel like, if I go there and bowl the way I can, I don't know why I can't win it all," said Sawvel. "I want to bowl 750 or higher. I don't think that's an unattainable goal. A lot of it just has to do with what the pins give me."
