TUSCALOOSA- Both James Clemens boy’s and Sparkman girl’s teams advanced to the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) State Bowling Championships after making the quarterfinals of the North Region Bowling Tournament held in Tuscaloosa. The State Championships will be played Thursday and Friday, Jan 25-26, in Pelham.

For James Clemens, the boys defeated Paul Bryant (1,337-1,155), Hartselle (1,382-1,280) and Buckhorn (1,430-1,378) to advance to the finals where they lost to Grissom (1,435-1,404). The Jets were led William Stirling who rolled a 194 in the championships series and Michael Kosinski who posted game scores of 215-192-201 for a 608 series in the individual competition on day one of the two-day event.

“I asked some of bowlers on the way down to Tuscaloosa if they had slept well the night before and most said no, instead they worked on school work or projects,” said Todd Carter head coach of James Clemens.

The Sparkman girls, 2016 state champs, defeated Ramsey (1,101-914) and East Limestone (1,079-965) before suffering a defeat to Etowah (1,240-1,125) in the semi-finals. In individual results from day-one, The Lady Senators were led by Jacquelyne Beard who finished second with scores of 184-214-174 for a 572 series.

The James Clemens girls lost in its opening round competition to Etowah (1,164-999) after finishing second in Area 15 and advancing to the North Regional. The Jets boys also took runner-up in Area 15.

“This is a great group of young men and women that are dedicated to bowling,” added Carter, who has traditionally been a football and baseball coach and is in his first season as head bowling coach. “I believe a lot of our success is credited to Barbara Roberts who is our assistant coach. She is a long-time bowler with a wealth of knowledge about the sport. I personally have learned so much about bowling from her. She does a tremendous job.”

The upcoming State Championships will be held at Oak Mountain Lanes in Pelham just outside Birmingham.