Gauthier ends pin rampage with state title as Wildcats conclude successful season
After years of perfecting his craft, senior Xavier Gauthier ended his final high school bowling season with a state championship.
Following the end of the regular season, Gauthier felt confident in his dream to run the table.
“Going into the playoffs, I felt pretty confident in our team and in myself,” he said. “I knew individually that as long as I stayed in the right state of mind and played my game, I would be fine and could compete with anyone.”
In the qualifying round, Gauthier seeded eighth, following first place by 40 pins. However, the senior kegler gained confidence going into the semifinals and rose to the first seed with a 12-pin lead.
Before entering the state finals, Gauthier envisioned himself winning the title of state champion.
“My coach told me I had the best look in the house and if I executed my shots, nobody would beat me,” he said. “Overall, I tried to focus on only the things I could control, then trust my training and let everything else fall into place.”
Gauthier also recognized the abilities in his talented team, hoping to collectively make a deep playoff run.
“I knew we were one of the best teams in the state and could definitely give a good run at the state title,” he said. “Everyone brought something different to the table to contribute to the team, allowing us to compete at such a high level.”
At the heart of this team was a distinct chemistry that Gauthier claims was essential to team success.
“We spent a lot of time together and just had a really good time inside and outside of the bowling alley,” he said. “As a team, we all worked really well together and our chemistry is what I believe helped us the most in being successful.”
With just five bowlers left, Gauthier dominated the final round, taking first place by 10 pins in the state finals match.
As if winning the state championship wasn’t impressive enough, Gauthier has only been competing for a short time.
“I got into bowling back in eighth grade,” he said. “Me and my good friends Jake and Zach Cornell decided to join a summer bowling program which led to us joining youth leagues. From there, we continued playing in high school.”
But even after being crowned as the best in the state, Gauthier plans to continue his dominance in the future.
“It feels great that the hard work has finally paid off and to finally break through and get the win,” he said. “With that being said this is only the beginning, there is a lot more to be done and a lot more to achieve in the future.”
By John Vanden Heuvel
March 18 2022
Volume 118 Issue VI