Sierra Berry got into bowling for some fun, she’s leaving Wilson a state champion

Like many who join a high school girls bowling team, Sierra Berry just wanted to have fun.

And after battling one achy injury after another in volleyball at Wilson High School, Berry deserved a little pain-free enjoyment.

Little did the teenager know in 2015, as a ninth grader, she would eventually develop into one of the best technical junior bowlers in Tacoma.

And on Friday afternoon, the Rams’ senior became the best in the state.

Needing a mark in the final frame of six games, Berry rolled a strike to hold off Hudson’s Bay’s Reagan Lorey for the Class 3A state championship at Narrows Plaza Bowl in University Place.

Her final-game 189 gave her a tournament total of 1,250, which was good enough to hold off the hard-charging Lorey (210), who was the 3A runner-up at 1,234.

And it gave the Rams their second state champion. Shannon Bailey won the 3A/2A title in 2014 for Wilson.

“There has been no girl I’ve had that has worked harder, or been more focused on bowling than her,” Wilson coach Ken Richardson said.

Minutes after Richardson privately predicted his bowler would upend a stacked field of 3A bowlers, including defending state champion Kerissa Andersen, of Evergreen of Vancouver, and Lorey, the reigning 3A runner-up — Berry started her day with a 144 score.

“Not the best,” Berry said.

Meanwhile, Lorey started with a tournament-best 268, and appeared to be off and running toward a runaway victory.

But Berry gathered herself, and posted games of 236, 244 and 243 to get back into championship contention.

She eventually took a 37-pin lead into the final game where she would go head-to-head against Lorey.

“Going into the last game, I knew where I stood,” Berry said. “But I didn’t want to know the details (of how big the lead was). I just wanted to play my own game.”

In that final game, Berry constantly crashed the pocket, but could not string together any strikes.

And Lorey did in the seventh and eighth frames to close the gap.

In the ninth, Lorey sent a shot right into the meat of the pins. When all the crashing came to a halt, a lone 10-pin stood there.

That hurt, because the Hudson’s Bay standout finished by striking out in the 10th frame.

“I wish I would have carried that (10-pin),” Lorey said.

Still, Lorey’s late surge forced Berry, who is set to bowl at Mount Mercy University in Iowa next year, to either make a strike or spare in her 10th frame to win it.

And when Berry’s first ball knocked down all the pins to sew up the 3A title, her nervous teammates finally got to celebrate.

“I saw everyone so happy, so I must have needed that,” Berry said.

In the Class 2A/1A individual session, Black Hills senior Grace Gibbs finished as the state runner-up to Mark Morris’ Brooklyn Boudreau. Junior Mackenzie Theophilus placed fourth for the Wolves. Franklin Pierce’s Courtney Oller was eighth.

This story was originally published February 2, 2018 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Sierra Berry got into bowling for some fun, she’s leaving Wilson a state champion."