INDIANAPOLIS - It was a process for the LaVille High School bowling team. Yes, it's nice to be conference champions ... nice to be sectional runner-up, nice to be regional runner-up. But for the Lancers, it was more about the process. One step at a time. The state tournament trail begins with 24 sectionals and 294 teams. Over the course of approximately four weeks, the road to Indianapolis kept narrowing the field down until the two semi-state rounds trimmed the field to 12 teams. For the Lancers, the road began in South Bend, then Michigan City, followed by Fort Wayne, and ending in Indianapolis. The journey ended recently with a Top 10 state finish, an individual state runner-up, plus an individual in the Top 25. That process started at the local level. "We were sectional runner-up," said LaVille coach Kevin Kubsch, knowing full well that the team's journey got to play out for another week. "That is great, but it's on to the next step - regionals." LHS accepted the next challenge head-on at the Michigan City Regional. Once again, the Lancers earned a runner-up trophy. They may not have had their best day shooting at spares, "but we have always said that we just needed to survive and advance to the next round of the tournament." And with that, the process moved on. As the Fort Wayne Semi-State drew near, the Lancers knew there were seven teams that could advance to state finals. While the process continued on throughout the state tournament, there was another reason for LaVille's perseverance. Prior to the start of the high school bowling season, assistant coach Matt Urbanski unexpectedly passed away. "We dedicated this season to one of our coaches that passed away earlier in the season," said Kubsch. "Matt Urbanski was a huge part of this team." After the last ball was thrown, LaVille jumped and hollered with excitement when they found out they had punched their ticket for Indianapolis. During the team portion of the state championships, the Lancers battled through the 10 baker-style games. "We started out very well and we were in first after the first three games," said Kubsch. "But I believe it was game six we shot a 115 and that bumped us way down. We couldn't recover from that but the boys didn't stop battling and performed well even with the hill we had to climb. They represented our school very well! We are so proud of what they have accomplished. It was a great weekend to be a Lancer!" Kubsch and the other coaches have been impressed how hard the LaVille kids have worked. "A majority of the kids have never picked up a bowling ball before high school bowling," explained the Lancer coach. "To be in this position means everything to them. THey have worked very hard. They made us all very proud!" Coach Kevin Kubsch also had the pleasure of having his son Sean part of the team over the past four years. "It's always special to have these experiences with a son and it is a memory I'm sure we will treasure for the rest of our lives," smiled the elder Kubsch. Especially the experience of making it to the state finals." LaVille has had a steady rise toward the top of the high school bowling scene since the return of bowling to the Lakeville, IN., school. In fact, LHS has been one step short of a trip down state a couple of years. "We knew at the end of last season and at the beginning of this season that this team was going to be special," noted coach Kubsch. "It was a mix of veterans who had been to the semi-state two years ago and a group of newcomers like Ryan Carmichael, Neil Patrick and Jackson Powers." "It has meant the world to them to be in this position. They have had it in their minds all season that this was for Coach Matt Urbanski. They have dedicated this season to him and they never let us forget this was for him." Congratulations on a tremendous season, Lancers! INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL BOWLING STATE FINALS Team Division Baker Qualifying Placement Harrison, Greenfield Central, Cathedral, Carroll, Highland, Jasper, Lutheran, Columbia City, Concord, LaVille, Terre Haute North, McCutcheon Step-Ladder Finals #3 Cathedral def. #4 Carroll, 376-366 #2 Greenfield Central def. #3 Cathedral, 345-308 #2 Greenfield Central def. Harrison, 434-389 Team Champion Greenfield Central * * * * * INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL BOWLING STATE FINALS Individual Division Top 25 Riley Speer (Lutheran) David Le (Homestead) Christian Luna (Perry Meridian) Ryan Carmichael (LaVille) Drew Watts (Concord) Miken Habegger (Bluffton) Brady Harrison (Marian) Cameron Barnett (Evans Reitz) Hadin Smrekar (Plainfield) Logan Brewer Cody Campbell (Greenfield Central) Anthony Walley (Snider) Wyatt Skipper (Elkhart) Declan Sweeney (Cathedral) Dillon Thompson (Columbia City) Todd Dick (Jasper) Logan Pitts (Valparaiso) David Price (Highland) Brayden McPherson (Greenfield Central) Ashton Caplinger (Greenwood) Andrew Wolford (LaVille) Colton Prewitt (Avon) Brody Hutsell (NorthWood) Riley Hood (Franklin) Andrew Shaw (Eastern Greene) Step-Ladder Individual Finals #4 Ryan Carmichael (LaVille) def. #3 Christian Luna (Perry Meridian), 218-213 #4 Ryan Carmichael (LaVille) def. #2 Davis Le (Homestead) 232-167 #1 Riley Speer (Lutheran) def. Ryan Carmichael (LaVille), 278-192 Individual Champion Riley Speer (Lutheran) Runner-Up Ryan Carmichael (LaVille)