By Ken Hansard
As a freshman, Northwest bowler Audrie Thomas placed 1st at the 2024 GWAL League Tournament. She rolled the Ceremonial Ball at 6A State for high series (693). Additionally, her team placed fourth at the 20224 6A State competition. Even with all of that, Thomas has found a way to up her game during her sophomore season, and she was recently nominated the VYPE February poll winner for girls’ bowling.
Audrie, who competes out of season, as well, won the Inaugural Tournament of Champions for the Northrock Youth Bowling Program in 2023 and was also named the 2023 U-15 Girls’ Bowler of the Year. Despite all the accolades coming her way, Thomas has found a way to remain driven and to better herself year-round. “Something I worked on during the off-season was consistently picking up spares. Practicing with my parents and Coach Kenny Fulkerson has helped a lot with addressing this weakness. Another challenge that I run into is my emotions. I tend to worry a lot about what people think about me, so I have learned to take a deep breath, block out those distractions, and just focus on my next ball.”
That strategy appears to be working splendidly. Audrie recently established new personal records, both for high game (279) and for average (210).
Thomas also plays soccer for the Grizzlies, and she credits each of those sports for her development, both as a competitor and as a person, “I enjoy learning the skills of each sport, and I’ve grown from the competitiveness of both bowling and soccer. I also like the leadership aspects of each, as they help me learn to effectively help my team achieve our goals.”
As for her role with the bowling team, Audrie, despite her status as an underclassman, relishes her responsibility as a leader, “I feel like I have many roles on this team. It varies, but I am asked to always stay focused and let my actions lead the team. Whether it entails keeping calm or just sharing a laugh with teammates,
I would like to help our team compete and win. My biggest goals this season are to help my team win Regionals and hopefully a 6A State Title. Individually, I think it would be great to repeat as GWAL Champion and to win Regional and 6A State individual titles.”
Audrie currently boasts a healthy 3.61 G.P.A. and would like to someday continue to compete on the collegiate level in both soccer and bowling.
