MORGANTOWN – Like many athletic programs at Morgantown High before it, the MHS bowling team added a championship to the school’s list of titles. Even more impressive may be that this season was only the program’s second-ever, formed prior to the 2024-2025 year.
With its first-place finish last week, the MHS boys bowling team won the 2025-2026 state championship after forming the program just last year.
“It honestly all started with a commitment to bowling and focusing on improvement,” MHS coach Nathan Houser said. “Our boys and girls both did a great job of making the time to practice and get better. The people who put in the most time to improve were the ones I noticed taking the biggest steps, and the entire team performed exceptionally down the stretch.”
The Mohigans used momentum from a first-place finish in the OVAC tournament earlier in the month to lead them into the state tournament.
Two of the MHS boys finished in the top 3 for the highest series score in the competition.
Junior Matthew Brown took the top individual spot with a series score of 658, with senior Bryce Ruggles securing third, tallying a score of 636. University’s Trey Varner was second with 656, just two pins behind Brown.
Brown, who is also a member of the state championship-winning MHS boys lacrosse team, didn’t have any competitive bowling experience before joining the team in his sophomore year.
“Someone mentioned seeing the posters around the school, and I just thought I should give it a shot,” he said. “I didn’t really think I would go anywhere with it, but the very first practice we had, it was such a fun time, and it just took off from there.”
Brown says he felt as though he wasn’t having the season he could have been having midway through the year, until he threw a series score of 711 (his personal best) at the OVAC tournament to lead MHS to the team title.
“I was playing decently to that point, but once I performed that way at OVACs, I knew it was something to build on towards states,” Brown said.
Houser, who is also an assistant coach for the MHS baseball team, wasn’t as surprised as most by the ability of his team to improve so drastically in a small amount of time.
“We had a great group of seniors last season who set a solid foundation of practice and dedication to build from,” he said. “We are just blessed with athletes at Morgantown that have a competitive edge and a desire to improve at everything they do.”
Along with the school, Coach Houser was grateful for the willingness of local bowling alley Suburban Lanes to provide a quality, safe, and fun environment not only for his team but for all teams that compete there.
“We couldn’t be more grateful for our association with Suburban Lanes,” he said. “They’ve helped us out a ton, and we wouldn’t be in this position that we are without their help and kindness to provide a home for us to practice and compete. They’ve got wonderful facilities and are easy to work with, and are committed to the growth of the sport in the community and our state. People like Jerry Lorenze (owner/operator of Suburban Lanes), Bobby Thompson (BowlersMart pro shop), and our youth leagues help the sport grow.”
“We even have to shoutout our competition from across town, University,” Houser said with a chuckle.
