Lady Panthers take team, individual honors
Great Bend High School bowling Coach David Feldbauer knows all too well what it takes to compete at the state level when they head to Wichita most years for the Class 5-1A tournament.
After all, sometimes winning state is easier than winning the Western Athletic Conference team title because of the traditional 6A powerhouse residing 120 miles west in Garden City.
Those two powerhouse programs usually go head-to-head in the WAC and then both have had considerable success in the postseason.
In Kaylin Wahlmeier’s freshman season of 2021, the Lady Panthers had laid claim to the WAC crown only to have the Lady Buffaloes occupy the top spot behind two-time WAC Bowler of the Year Holly Bridges.
In 2023, it was Great Bend back in the hunt, winning the WAC in dominating fashion and it was Wahlmeier’s turn to roll her way to the top with a brilliant junior campaign in which she averaged 207.08 for the 24-game match scores used in the double round-robin format.
That was more than a 20-pin average than runner-up and teammate Sahara Rziha.
For Great Bend Coach David Feldbauer, winning the WAC with 94 of a possible 104 points, they clearly were in the driver’s seat all season. Dodge City finished as the team runner-up with 76 points, Garden City in third with 62, Liberal fourth with 28 and Hays’ first-year program didn’t have enough to field a girls’ team.
It was Wahlmeier who came through on a team talented enough to win the Class 5-1A state tournament two weeks after the regular season was over. In a twist of irony, two of Wahlmeier’s teammates who also made the first-team all-WAC but finished behind Wahlmeier, were in front of her at the state to catapult the Panthers to the state crown.
In 2022, despite not winning either the WAC team or individual title, Wahlmeier had won the individual 5-1A state championship with her team placing third.
“I think one of the things that benefits us the most is we bowl in so many different houses, with so many different lane conditions that we can adjust to almost anything we see,” Feldbauer said when discussing his program’s success. “You get harder house shots, you get different oil patterns and our girls can see that and know how to adjust.”
Feldbauer that said past tough matches with Garden City and this year with 6A third-place Dodge City prepared the Panthers for regionals where they lost to another powerhouse team in Salina South. They turned the tables a week later to win the prestigious state championship trophy.
The Panther coach said he works his team diligently in repetition practice drills, working more than anything else on picking up the single 7- and 10-pin spare shots.
“The first half of every practice is solely working on picking up those two pins,” Feldbauer said. “You have to learn where to hit on the lanes, or get over to where you can make those shots. In doing this, you feel more comfortable with that part of the game and have more confidence.”
Feldbauer said that Wahlmeier had upped her game this season due in part to an improved spare shot while also making adjustments on which angles in certain lane conditions were best to throw for strikes.
“She understands the concepts of bowling and is very knowledgeable,” Feldbauer said of Wahlmeier. “It helps to have others on the team who have worked hard, are talented and are very competitive.”
Other first-team all-WAC selections include Taylor Lenz of Dodge City, Rileigh Carr of Garden City in fourth, Chailyn Scott of Dodge City fifth and Great Bend’s Aliyah Fryberger sixth.
The second-team league honorees include Zoey Mayberry of Great Bend; Jaden Rabe of Dodge City; Chloe Carr of Garden City; Kyleigh Whitehurst of Garden City; Hope Resendiz of Garden City and Emilee Nelson of Great Bend.
KAYLIN WAHLMEIER, GREAT BEND, JUNIOR – WAC BOWLER OF THE YEAR
Kaylin Wahlmeier would be the first to tell you that her junior season had quite a bit of drama as she and her Great Bend teammates swept through the WAC schedule in impressive fashion.
In the process, she had a career-best 207.08 average for the 24-game schedule that is comprised of eight matches of three games each.
“The year’s been quite exciting and a lot of pressure,” Wahlmeier said this week after helping her team to the 5-1A state crown. “Winning state was really something special.”
Having won the individual state title as a sophomore in 2022 while her team was third, Wahlmeier said it was well worth it to turn things around this year.
“I’ll trade the individual for the team any time,” she said. “I have great teammates and it was so exciting to be part of something so special.”
Wahlmeier said she knew before the season started that she would be the favorite in the WAC competition after Bridges of Garden had graduated.
“Quite honestly, I wished Holly had still been bowling,” Wahlmeier said. “She’s great competition and that’s what you want to go against. It feels good to win it (WAC Bowler of the Year). Our team was very solid and we know when we are bowling in the WAC, we are bowling in the toughest league in the state.”
Wahlmeier said there had been a lot of extra practice that went into the team’s success this year as well as her own improvement.
“I tend to leave a lot of 10-pins for spares and I think the 10-pin just really loves me,” she said. “You can get an occasional weird split and just try to get as many pins as possible. You get a lot of strikes when you’re hitting in the pocket. I’ve learned to watch the ball angle and when to be stronger or more aggressive.”
Now with an individual state and team championship under her belt, Wahlmeier and her returning teammates (Mayberry, 9th), Emilee Nelson (11th) and Paige Heine (11th), there are reasons for optimism that 2024 could be another special moment for the Lady Panthers.
“I’m sure bowling will be in my future (after graduation), but I haven’t made up my mind where,” Wahlmeier said. “There’s plenty of time for that decision.”
She hopes to pursue a college degree in physical therapy or athletic training.
2023 All-WAC Girls Bowling
First Team
| NAME | SCHOOL | WAC AVG/GAME |
|---|---|---|
| Kaylin Wahlmeier | Great Bend | 207.08 |
| Sahara Rziha | Great Bend | 185.29 |
| Taylor Lenz | Dodge City | 184.54 |
| Rileigh Carr | Garden City | 180.16 |
| Chailyn Scott | Dodge City | 177.16 |
| Aliyah Fryberger | Great Bend | 175.04 |
Girls Coach of the Year – David Feldbauer, Great Bend
2023 All-WAC Girls Bowling
Second Team
| NAME | SCHOOL | WAC AVG/GAME |
|---|---|---|
| Zoey Mayberry | Great Bend | 174.20 |
| Jaden Rabe | Dodge City | 173.70 |
| Chloe Carr | Garden City | 171.12 |
| Kyleigh Whitehurst | Garden City | 170.75 |
| Hope Resendiz | Garden City | 167.50 |
| Emilee Nelson | Great Bend | 159.20 |
