The boys’ bowling team competed at the state championships on Wednesday, Nov. 2 after they qualified at the district level. They earned their qualification on Oct. 25 by finishing first place in district seven going undefeated, 9-0.

“It’s not what I expected. I didn’t think we would make it to states,” sophomore Dillon Dunn said.

This year, there was no clear indication of where they would place. All but two of the team members either graduated or left, leaving senior Gavin Hurt and junior Jason Sanguinetti to be in charge.

“My expectations were, I wouldn’t say low, but they were up in the air,” head coach Jacob Colquhoun said. “This year, we basically had an entirely new team. We had two guys returning, [so] it took a lot for them to be leaders on the team.”

The team started in their bracket against Fort Pierce Central High School, where they won 3-1 in the baker rounds, moving them forward to the next round. Their next match was against Apopka High School, which raised the nerves of the boys.

“This is my third year [of coaching]. First year, we finished top twelve and last year, we finished top eight. This year, we were aiming for top four, but my main goal was to beat Apopka,” Calquhoun said.

In the first series of the baker rounds, the boys found themselves with two wins against the competing school. However, it was not enough to move forward, as they lost to Apopka with a score of 3-2. Despite this loss, they still found success as it was a big step forward to reaching their goal of winning the state championships.

“[My] favorite moment [was] when we beat Apopka,” Sanguinetti said. “I wanted to make it to the second day, but we didn’t.”

The team finished at states in eighth place, aligning with their previous years’ status. They do not see this as a failure, though, but rather as a step in building their new team.

“I want to win a state championship; that’s my goal every year. Assuming everyone comes back, it’s possible,” Calquhoun said.