Storm streak to another 5A bowling title

From left, coach John Abrahamson, Donovan Romero, Vincent Simmons, Teagan Mackay, Shane Muller, Gabriel Reyes, Esai Marujo, Derick Romero and coach Dennis Helmick.

It happened before and it’ll probably happen again.

On Friday, the Cleveland High School bowling team won the 2023 state Class 5A championship at Tenpins & More, where there was a field of 13 teams competing for the blue trophy.

The Storm rolled over Rio Rancho in the finals, a three-game contest with total pinfall the key, 644-578. The five-person Storm squad for the finals was made up of Donovan Romero, Teagan Mackay, Vincent Simmons, Gabriel Reyes and Derick Romero

The Storm won the first game,185-175. The Rams stayed within striking distance in the second game, again losing by 10 pins, 211-201.Cleveland bowlers combined to leave only one open frame through those games, while the Rams had five open frames.

The Storm left no doubt in the finale, winning 248-202, thanks in part to six consecutive strikes, and claiming the state championship for the first time since 2017.

“The blue trophy was what we were working towards the whole year and it’s what we had our mind on every single tournament this year sI’m so proud of these kids for their performance on the day and throughout the entire season,” head coach John Abrahamson said. “We’ve been dominant this whole season and have nine top-3 finishes in the Advanced Division out of the 10 tournaments we had this year, by far the most out of any school.

“We knew coming into Friday that we’d be the team to beat and we would just have to stay calm and do what we’ve been doing all season.”

Cleveland also won state bowling championships in 2010, ’11, ’12 (Abrahamson was a member of those three teams) and ’15. RRHS won titles in 2006 – the first time bowling had a state championship, sanctioned by the New Mexico Activities Association as an activity, not a sport — and in ’09, ’14, ’16 and ’18-21.

According to Tenpins & More proprietor Steve Mackie, the Storm’s three-game set of 644 contained only one error — perhaps a record in a 5A championship match. The Rams’ 578 was commendable, as the team had finished eighth last year.

“We outperformed our expectations and led by 460 pins going into the first round of cuts. We kept our heads above the noise of the crowd and didn’t let the pressure get to us in the championship games,” Abrahamson added.

t was also a grand ‘swan song’ for longtime CHS coach Dennis Helmick, who announced his retirement. Helmick, along with Abrahamson and former coach Jim Tillery, have been an integral part of Cleveland’s perennial championship contending bowling team.

“(Helmick) was around for me when I was in high school and he taught me so much about coaching and how to generally be a good person. I’m glad we were able to send him out with a bang.”

Manzano, the 2013 champ, was third; Eldorado was fourth in 5A, the big-school division.

In small schools’ action, East Mountain beat Sandia Prep, while a powerhouse 4A squad from Artesia won its eighth crown.