Palm Beach County on a roll as West Boca’s Blimegger, Joaquin Garcia’s Brown win state bowling titles
West Boca Raton junior Angelica Blimegger and Dr. Joaquín García freshman Jayden Brown
both finished as individual state champions at the FHSAA Bowling Finals from Oct. 31-Nov. 2
at Boardwalk Bowl Entertainment Center in Orlando.
Blimegger is just the second girls bowler from Palm Beach County to capture an FHSAA
individual state championship. Brown is also only the second boys bowler from the county to
earn an FHSAA individual state title.
The individual competition, which consisted of a double-elimination format, included 16
qualifiers who competed head-to-head in best-of-three matchups.
Blimegger finished 10th in the girls individual state qualifier with a total of 812 (215-198-201-
198). She won five consecutive matchups in the girls individual bracket.
“I am appreciative of all my coaches and everyone who has helped and supported me,” she said.
“I am just happy to have the chance. I just wanted to go in there and try my best.”
Blimegger won the final two games in the opening round of the individual competition. She
defeated No. 2 seed Logan Edelstein of Villages in three games during the second round. She
won the last two games during third-round action. Blimegger recorded a personal-high 289 in the
opener of the next round and won both games to advance to the final. She fell by four in the
opening game of the final. She bounced back to win the second by 10 and third by 22 against No.
6 seed Emily Street of Space Coast to earn the title.
Blimegger recorded a season scoring average of 214, which was the highest among all bowlers in
Palm Beach County.
“She has been putting in the work and it showed this year,” West Boca Raton coach Scott
Breslow said. “I helped her with making some adjustments. She was locked in. She competed
against really good female bowlers in each round of the bracket and she pulled it off.”
Brown placed eighth in the boys individual qualifier with a total of 902 (222-212-258-210). He
won four straight in the individual bracket to advance to the final. He then bounced back from a
loss and rallied to a victory in the final matchup.
Brown, who participates outside of school at AMF Boynton Beach Lanes, relied on his previous
experience in competitive tournaments throughout Palm Beach County.
“I tried to not make too many mistakes and make my spares and I did the best I could,” Brown
said. “I was trying to get out of my own head and have the right mindset at the end. I was very
excited to win and I had my sister and friends cheering for me.”
Brown won the final two games in the first round. He defeated No. 1 seed Bruno Brandao of
Timber Creek in two games during the second round. Brown registered a victory in three
during the third round. He defeated No. 7 seed Pancho Johnson of Circle Christian in three to
reach the final. Brown lost during a roll-off against Johnson in the next round. He avenged the
loss and rallied to capture the title against Johnson in three. Brown recorded a season-high 289 to
win the second game and had a 268-200 victory during the final game.
“Jayden has been really solid all season,” Dr. Joaquín García coach Krystal Lamb said. “He kept
his composure at states and to have that ability as a freshman is amazing. It was awesome and so
exciting.”
The FHSAA bowling state championship featured other top performers from Broward and Palm
Beach.
Archbishop McCarthy senior Anderson Albury placed 15th in the boys qualifier (881 total).
Albury dropped both matches in the individual competition. Dr. Joaquín García sophomore
Dennis Bauer finished 22nd (867 total). Western senior Evan Kallen placed 34th (835 total).
Western sophomore Kellie Monahan finished 18th in the girls qualifier (792 total). Spanish River
senior Ayla Helmle placed 27th (775 total). Jupiter junior Breanna Grudinsky finished 28th (773
total).
Taravella placed 11th in the boys team qualifier. The Trojans won in the first round of the baker
team tournament and were eliminated in the third round. Dr. Joaquín García finished 14th. The
Bulldogs earned a victory in the second round of the baker team competition before a loss in the
third round. The boys team qualifier also included Douglas (23rd), Jupiter (25th), Boca Raton
(27th) and Palm Beach Central (30th).
Park Vista finished 16th in the girls team qualifier. The Cobras were eliminated in the second
round during the baker team tournament. The girls team qualifier also consisted of Archbishop
McCarthy (19th), Western (22nd), West Boca Raton (23rd), Jupiter (32nd) and King’s Academy
(33rd).
Leesburg won the boys baker team championship and Circle Christian placed second. East River
captured the girls baker team title and Space Coast finished as the runner-up.