WOLFPACK MEN WIN REGION XX CHAMPIONSHIP

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. - The Westmoreland County Community College men's bowling team, aided by Josh Gelet winning singles and all events titles, captured its second straight Region XX Championship Friday at Coral Lanes.

In doubles action to open the day, Wolfpack freshmen Zach Hartmann and Chris Gaia took runner-up accolades. Hartmann had a big start to the afternoon, as he rolled 648 (222-223-203) and the tandem bowled 1062 to give the Westmoreland team a good start to the championships.

Singles play was highlighted by the Woflpack taking first and third place. Gelet was outstanding from start to finish in the round. After opening with a 232, he improved the next two games with 234 and 243 to total 709 and win the singles region title by more than 50 pins. Hartmann continued his good day, as he scored 622 (192-201-229) to take third place.

After a lunch break, Gelet was still locked in when team play started. He scored 227 in the first game, followed that with 221 and used a run of six straight strikes to propel him to a 247 score in the final game. His series score of 695 lifted him to first place in the all events standings with a total of 1,914, as he edged out Hartmann, who rolled 1,889 (648-622-619) to earn region runner up.

As for the team standings, Westmoreland was in control all day. After building a 1,400-pin advantage after doubles/singles, the Wolfpack added to it by scoring 2,803 in 5-man. To close out in Baker play, Westmoreland went 559-566 to finish with 9,561 pins to take the region title for the second straight year by over 2,100 pins over Penn Highlands.

Next up for the WPCC and Region XX champion Wolfpack are the NJCAA National Championships. The national tournament will be at Airport Lanes in Cheektowaga, NY, with a practice round on Thursday, Feb. 28, and competition running March 1-2.