In season of firsts, York bowler Mike Spangler averages 250 to lead all York County men
- Mike Spangler led all York County male bowlers with a 250 average in 2019-2020.
- The 32-year-old right-hander registered that average over 84 games at Suburban Bowlerama.
- Spangler is just the fourth York County bowler to average at least 250 over an entire season.
Mike Spangler recorded two personal firsts during the 2019-2020 bowling season.
The 32-year-old finished with the highest average in York County and he became just the fourth York County bowler to average 250 or higher.
The York right-hander averaged 250 for 84 games at Suburban Bowlerama. He joins Josh Coleman, Jerred Poff and Adam Baer in the elite 250 circle.
"It's cool to lead the county in average because there are so many great bowlers. But, I never thought I would average 250," he said.
Although the season was suddenly cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spangler said he never had any thoughts about sitting out the final weeks to protect his 250 average.
"I was committed to bowl every week, regardless of my average. Everyone knows it's extremely difficult to average 250, but it's all about the team, not the individual," he said.
A quick start to the season pushed Spangler near the 250 mark, but his average dipped to 243 in the last third of the season.
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"You have to be so incredibly consistent to average 250," he said. "That's a 750 series each week. You can't afford to have many bad games or bad weeks."
Spangler said he put too much pressure on himself to maintain a 250 average and that caused his average to drop.
"I told myself to just relax, and my average started to rise. I also got some new equipment and that helped," he said.
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Even though he has a long list of impressive achievements, Spangler still has a goal he would like to accomplish.
"I would like to win the York County Match Play Championship again (he won it in 2016)," he said.
Only four bowlers have won the tournament more than once in its 25-year-history.
Reach Barry Sparks at sports@yorkdispatch.com.
YORK COUNTY MEN
Top Bowling Averages for 2019-20
(Minimum of 60 games)
Each bowler is listed with his average, the number of games he bowled and the center where he bowled.
Mike Spangler, 250 84 Suburban Bowlerama
Ritchie Wolfe 248 75 Suburban Bowlerama
Josh Coleman 245 75 Hanover Bowling Centre
Adam Baer 242 78 Hanover Bowling Centre
Eric Smith 242 84 Suburban Bowleram
Paul Wolfram 241 72 Suburban Bowlerama
Kevin Appnel 239 78 Suburban Bowlerama
Chris Green 239 84 Suburban Bowelerama
Justin Mong 238 87 Colony Park North
Jerred Poff 238 87 Colony Park North
Kevin Sollenberger 237 75 Suburban Bowlerama
Justin Emig 237 75 Suburban Bowlerama
Rick Graham 237 84 Colony Park North
Corey Lipford 237 84 Suburban Bowlerama
Chuck Crone 236 84 Suburban Bowlerama
Greg Bruff 236 60 Suburban Bowlerama
Troy Lehigh 235 78 Colony Park North
Chad Ruby 235 78 Suburban Bowlerama
Matt Schaszberger 234 60 Suburban Bowlerama
Andy Carson 234 102 Colony Park North
Kyle Jameson 234 69 Suburban Bowlerama
Steve Carbaugh 234 84 Hanover Bowling Centre
Bill Kuntz 234 69 Suburban Bowlerama
Corey Stevenson 234 84 Suburban Bowlerama