A league and state title would be great for most.
With the bar set so high, though, it was only mildly so for Gavin Courtney.
The Garden Spot senior repeated as the boys titlist at the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships Friday at Leisure Lanes after he won all four postseason crowns a year ago.
“Starting this (postseason) with a win and finishing with a win, it’s a bittersweet moment,” Courtney said after defeating Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith 209-204 in the championship match of the bracket finals.
Courtney also won this year’s Lancaster-Lebanon League boys title Feb. 6. What made this season less than perfect were semifinal losses in the District Three and Eastern Pennsylvania Regional tournaments.
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Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo, left, with her fourth-place plaque and Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney with his first-place trophy and plaque during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney defends his title and wins his second state championship after defeating Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney, center, gets congratulations from the Serra Catholic coaches after winning his second state championship against Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo, right, gets a high five from her head coach Frank Telenko during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney defends his title and wins his second state championship after defeating Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney hugs his coaches after defeating Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney reacts after a shot against Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney in action during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney in action during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney cleans his ball before a shot during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo in action during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo, left, gets some pointers from her head coach Frank Telenko during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo in action during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo, left, with her fourth-place plaque and Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney with his first-place trophy and plaque during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney defends his title and wins his second state championship after defeating Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney, center, gets congratulations from the Serra Catholic coaches after winning his second state championship against Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo, right, gets a high five from her head coach Frank Telenko during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney defends his title and wins his second state championship after defeating Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney hugs his coaches after defeating Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney reacts after a shot against Serra Catholic’s Preston Smith in the finals during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney in action during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney in action during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney cleans his ball before a shot during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo in action during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo, left, gets some pointers from her head coach Frank Telenko during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo in action during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
“I looked back on districts and regionals to see what I could do better,” said Courtney, who also had a second-place finish at the state tournament in 2024. “I just wasn’t in the right mind state in those two tournaments than I was at L-L singles. So I went back and watched L-L singles to see what my mindset was, physically. Then I went off of that and I did one shot at a time.”
Courtney was the only L-L bowler in the boys competition while Caylin Rotondo of Elizabethtown was the only L-L girl. She also garnered state honors by finishing fourth.
“This was my first time ever qualifying for states, so I walked in with my expectations low,” Rotondo said. “I was so shocked that I was able to come this far.”
The top five bowlers in qualifying moved to the stepladder finals. Courtney totaled 1,343 pins, falling short of Smith’s top mark of 1,410. That was largely due to a 168 game by Courtney — which happened to come right after a 300.
The second-place finish in qualifying was also different — maybe strategically so — from his previous three postseason tournaments where he qualified first.
“Maybe it’s a lucky position,” Courtney said.
With the No. 2 spot, he had a bye until two others were eliminated, with No. 5 qualifier Peyton Schley of Milton his first opponent.
Courtney did not start well, with a 6-7-10 split and a 9-spare while Schley struck in the first three frames. But a 2-6-7 split by Schley in the ninth was the break needed as Courtney finished with a 203-191 win.
“I like to say to myself that if they give me a chance, I’m just going to walk right through the door,” Courtney said.
Courtney uncharacteristically went without a strike through eight frames of the title match, but had all spares. A 10-pin miss by Smith in the sixth again opened the door for Courtney and his three strikes and a 9 to close was just enough. Smith’s 9 on the first ball of the 10th clinched it.
“It really comes down to spares,” Garden Spot coach Lloyd Steinmetz said. “We’ve seen it so many times and that’s where his consistency just really puts him over the top. Honestly, it gets a little scarier when it’s just spares, but you knew he was going to come through.”
Elizabethtown’s Caylin Rotondo in action during the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships at Leisure Lanes in Manor Township on Friday, March 13, 2026.
CHRIS KNIGHT | Staff Photographer
Rotondo advanced to the bracket final by earning the fifth and final spot with 1,214 pins.
“I was the only junior who qualified in the top five; the rest of them are seniors,” she said. “So knowing I have another year to come out and maybe do this again … I’m just very happy how I did today.”
She opened against No. 4 qualifier and defending champion Amelia Droste of Hempfield Area (District Seven). Rotondo built an early lead, picked up a pair of 3-10 splits and needed a spare and five pins in the 10th after Droste finished with four straight strikes. Rotondo got a 9-spare and strike for the 206-200 victory.
She then fell to Central Dauphin East’s Rayanna Gonzalez 216-186.
“I told her before we started, I said, ‘Hey, there are 24 kids here. You have to think that you’re one of the top 24 bowlers in the entire state,’ ” Elizabethtown coach Frank Telenko said. “ ‘No matter what place you get today, it doesn’t define you, your season or your ability.’ ”
No. 2 qualifier Taylor Kretz of McDowell defeated top qualifier Malia Briggs of Chambersburg 236-217 for the girls title.
While Rotondo will have a chance to return to the state tournament next year, Courtney’s high school career is over.
“Speechless, to be honest,” he said in reflecting on his four years of high school bowling. “Obviously, last year was just speechless, winning everything. … I still can’t believe I did it. It’s a lot to do physically and mentally.
“Obviously, I would have liked to do have done it again this year. But it was great to win the L-L and, obviously, the state again this year.”
Courtney plans to bowl at the next level on scholarship at Cumberland University, an NAIA school in Lebanon, Tennessee.
“They have a really solid business program, which is what I’m going for,” Courtney said. “So that was my top pick.”
The state tournament continues today at Leisure Lanes with the team competition. Three L-L boys squads — Elizabethtown, Hempfield and Warwick — are in the field.
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