Chartrand rolls to third place at district bowling meet

Shelby Chartrand cheered the loudest, and finished in the top three at the district meet Friday.

The Camas High School junior led the Papermakers to some their highest baker games of the season, as well as a fifth-place finish.

“That was amazing. We had so much fun,” Chartrand said. “My teammates pumped me up and kept me going. As they kept cheering, any negative thing in my mind just went away.”

She also rolled a 202, 195 and a 157 game to finish in third place and qualify for state for the third year in a row.

“She had that one down game, but she found her groove again and was lights out,” said head coach Con Tornow. “She just has a great personality for this. She can let a bad frame go and come right back with a strike. That’s a real gift.”

Chartrand will represent Camas on her own at the state meet Friday, at Narrows Plaza Bowl in University Place. She will be bowling for senior teammates Leah Aspinwall, Sabrina Coelho, Tammy Chan, Courtney Estrada, Isabella Gilbertson, Jamie Graninger, Ariel Laycock, Courtney Warta and Kelsey Wright.

“Even though our seniors are going away, I’m going to keep them with me in thought,” Chartrand she said. “All of this, we will remember forever.”

Chartrand is determined to improve upon her eighth place finish at state the previous two seasons.

“Anything but eighth,” she said. “My sister started that trend, and I continued it. I’ve worked so hard. I just hope it shows.”

Chartrand found the other individual state qualifiers and gave them hugs. They will be their own Greater St. Helens League team at the state meet.

“I’ll remember all the smiles on people’s faces when they got their strikes, spares or picked up splits,” Chartrand said. “It’s like, ‘finally, I got it!’ All of that positivity is great.”

Tornow thanked his assistants, Jessie Chartrand and Karla Aspinwall, for volunteering their time to help these girls bowl their best. The Papermakers beat Heritage, Mountain View and Union twice in league. Camas also defeated Columbia River, Prairie and Mark Morris in non-league matches.

Tornow plans to retire for good after 42 years. He coached basketball, football and tennis in Camas. After a brief retirement in 2006, he came back to coach the bowling team when it was formed in 2011.

“We started pretty much from scratch, and this was the best year we’ve ever had,” Tornow said. “It’s been very rewarding. A lot of learning for me and the girls.”

Torow thanked Apsinwall, Chartrand, Estrada, Gilbertson, Laycock, Jaelyn Montoya and Warta for joining the team when they were freshmen and sophomores. They established a foundation to build upon for years to come.

“Any school would be proud to have this group of girls in their program,” he said.