St. Xavier High School freshman Brandon Flora won the Ebonite/KHSAA Singles Bowling Championships on Thursday.
Two bowlers from Louisville who finished as state runners-up last year will try to take the final steps toward titles during the State Bowling Championships set for Thursday and Friday at Collins Eastland in Lexington.
St. Xavier senior Brandon Flora and Male senior Kayla Shannon both were state runners-up last year and qualified for the state championships again this year by capturing Region Four crowns. Flora won the state title as a freshman in 2014.
Singles competition is set to begin at 11:40 a.m. Thursday. Team competition is set for Friday, with girls at 7:50 a.m. and boys at 1:35 p.m.
Louisville-area qualifiers in the girls singles competition were Pleasure Ridge Park’s Kayla Payne, Faith Rowe and Brianna Logsdon; Mercy’s Breanna Elkin; Male’s Shannon; Manual’s Kellie Kidder and Sarah Durst; and Sacred Heart’s Ashley Moch.
Louisville-area qualifiers in the boys singles competition were PRP’s Clayton Cox, North Bullitt’s Errik Grant, Fairdale’s Curtis Simmons, Butler’s Michael Turner, St. Xavier’s Flora and Wyatt Metts, Brown’s Travis Zimmer and Trinity’s Noah Hall.
Louisville-area team qualifiers were Mercy, Bullitt East, Male and Manual on the girls side and Butler, Moore, Seneca and Trinity on the boys side.
Taylor County swept the team titles last year, but neither of the Cardinals’ boys or girls squads qualified this year.
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.