Published: 11:57 PM, Wed Mar 03, 2010
South View's Puckett wins state bowling championship
By Earl Vaughan Jr.
Scholastic sports editor
South View's Christopher Puckett figured if he stayed close to his rivals from Cumberland County, he'd have a pretty good chance of winning this year's state high school bowling championship.
It turns out his thinking was exactly right. Puckett placed third in the qualifying round for the stepladder finals, then knocked off two opponents to win the championship recently at Raleigh's Buffaloe Lanes North.
Miller's three-game total of 677 left him third among the four qualifiers for the finals. Leading the way was Brandon Miller of E.E. Smith, who rolled a 711.
But Miller fell in the first round of the finals to fourth-seeded Tyler Liverman, 202-199. Puckett rolled to a 225-177 win over No. 2 seed Tyler Cannizzaro.
In the title match, Puckett had little trouble dispatching Liverman, 212-157.
"I had already competed in this event three times before,'' Puckett said. "I knew going in most of the big challenges came from our own county.''
But the real key for Puckett may have been the senior's experience. "For some reason, I wasn't as nervous as I usually am,'' Puckett said. "Both the other guys told me before we bowled they were pretty nervous. I knew if I did what I needed to do, I could probably win.''
Puckett finished second in the state tournament his first time and 12th last year. "This year, finally being able to win it made me excited,'' he said. "I wanted to show I was a good bowler in high school.''
There aren't a lot of opportunities for college bowling. Puckett said he plans to attend N.C. State and join their club level bowling team.
"I plan on majoring in statistics,'' he said. "I'd like to become a sports statistician.''
As for his immediate future, Puckett plans to continue bowling as a youth bowler. "This summer I plan to bowl in the PBA Regional in Fayetteville as a youth bowler,'' he said. "I want to try to win some scholarship money.''
Scholastic sports editor Earl Vaughan Jr. can be reached at vaughane@fayobserver.com or 486-3519.