Seabreeze boys win district bowling title; FPC boys and girls advance to state with runner-up finishes

Seabreeze's Katelyn Miller and Matanzas' Olivia Rabbat are also state bound.

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Seabreeze’s boys bowling team rolled through the regular season with an undefeated record, and they did the same at the District 3 championship on Monday, Oct. 21, at Palm Coast Lanes.

The Sandcrabs won the championship trophy after defeating runner-up Flagler Palm Coast 3-0 in the Baker final. Both teams advance to the state tournament Oct. 29-31 at Boardwalk Bowl Entertainment Center in Orlando.

Palatka won the girls title with FPC finishing second to join the Bulldogs’ boys team at state.

Seabreeze’s Katelyn Miller and Matanzas’ Olivia Rabbat are also headed to state after finishing first and second, respectively, in the first-round games. Miller averaged 194.33 while Rabbat averaged 182.67.

Seabreeze’s boys advanced to state for the second year in a row — they finished among the top six teams in Orlando last year — but this is the first time in Paul Shuler’s 12 years as the Sandcrabs’ head coach that they won the district title.

“I feel like we got better, more speed and more power,” said Seabreeze sophomore Leiten Lundell, who led the Sandcrabs in the morning round with a 225.67 average for fifth place. Teammate Dalton Boice was right behind Lundell in sixth place with a 223.00 average.

Brayden Barnes, who finished among the top 12 individuals last year at state, said the Sandcrabs also have better team chemistry this season.

“It makes us more confident,” he said.

“It felt great to win the district,” Shuler said. “After going undefeated during the regular season, we knew we had what it takes to win the district. I’m very proud of the boys team and Katelyn for their performance.”

FPC boys first-year coach Kevin Hand said advancing to the state tourney was beyond the Bulldogs' goal.

“Our goal this year was to get to the second round at district,” he said. “These guys worked hard all year. They don’t die. They keep coming back.”

Anthony Seeley was the Bulldogs’ top bowler in the morning round with a 194.33 average for eighth place. Trey Wood was 10th overall with a 191.33 average.

FPC senior Brooke Bokanoski will be making her second trip to state. She was a freshman in 2021 when the FPC girls placed third in Orlando.

Bokanoski (third, 182.33) and Victoria DaSilva Carvalheira (fifth, 170.67) helped the Bulldogs take the top seed into the Baker rounds with a pin total of 2,165, just two pins more than eventual champ Palatka.

The Bulldogs lost their top bowler from last year in Emma Pezzullo, who graduated, but they came together as a team, coach Laura Oliva said.

“They work together as a unit. They feed off each other,” she said.

“A lot of these girls are new,” Bokanoski said. “But they listen. We tell them, ‘Don’t overthink anything. Leave the shot on the lane if you miss.’”

 

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