IOWA'S KINGPIN

DES MOINES – Sophomore Taylor Mellott became the first Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) boys’ bowling state champion.

In his first individual game Thursday, Mellott rolled a 277, carrying a perfect game into the ninth frame, where he picked up a spare.

He stayed nearly perfect again in the second game, missing only in the fourth frame, which he got the spare, as he scored 276.

After leading the way for the Tigers through the Baker Round, Mellott was placed against the top scorers in the tournament in his third game, holding a 29-pin lead over A.J. Chapman of West Delaware, Manchester.

“I knew I had a pretty good lead going into the last game, so I knew I didn’t have to be perfect to stay in it,” Mellott said about going into the final round. “After starting off with an open frame and then doing it again in the third, it shook my confidence a little, but somehow I pulled it out.”

Mellott had the highest individual series score (753) in the tournament, with Chapman scoring 736 followed by Zach Rupp (Wahlert, Dubuque) who scored 715.

“It was wonderful,” Red Oak Head Bowling Coach Pam Schoening said. “He was in a zone and came to play. He didn’t back away from it. You can’t ask for anything more.”

The last state champion in any sport was bowler Jessica Schoening who won the individual state champion in 2008.