When the only bowling alley in Princeton closed its doors in 2022, Chase Lantrip was left wondering if that would also end his hopes of continuing his interest in the sport.
However, the Caldwell County High School senior continued bowling through the Hopkinsville Youth League and on Thursday, signed his letter to continue his bowling and college career at Brescia University.
Lantrip has played both soccer and baseball at Caldwell County but the chance to bowl in college was too good to pass up despite having to bowl in Hopkinsville for the past two years.
“When (the Princeton alley) closed down, it was very sad. But my dad bowled all across Kentucky, so we came to Hopkinsville, and started bowling in the league here. I started getting more competitive and started doing more tournaments, so it sparked it even more and made me get more competitive,” Lantrip said.
Caldwell County does not have a high school bowling team, but Lantrip was able to hone his skills with the Hopkinsville league, which boasts two of the top youth female bowlers in the area in Alayna and Braelyn Windle. They compete on the youth circuit and in high school for Heritage Christian Academy.
Not only has the friendship benefited Lantrip, but so has their competitiveness in practice.
“They really push me. They’re like my rivals. I really try to go against them and beat them as much as I can even though they’re getting better and better each day too. It just makes me more competitive and that’s what makes me a good bowler,” Lantrip said.
Brescia, an NAIA school in Owensboro, recently joined the list of colleges and universities offering bowling as a sport. This fall will be the first season for the school, according to head coach Dalton Karstens who was in Hopkinsville at Southern Lanes to watch Lantrip sign his letter.
Lantrip says he looks to study business in college but first has some high-profile youth tournaments to complete, including the Junior Golds in July in Green Bay Wisconsin.
Lantrip finished 760th out of 1,330 kids in the U18 division in the United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships, last July in Detroit.
