Published: June 02, 2008 12:07 am      

Hilltopper bowling her way to college

Kayla Jones wants to be a math teacher down the line.

So it’s no surprise that math has been a strong subject through her school years. It’s also served her well outside the confines of Westmont Hilltop.

Jones is frequently adding numbers in the 200 range and, as a result, will compete for Kutztown University’s bowling team when she begins school in the fall.

Jones signed a letter of intent in April, and will join a strong group of other incoming freshmen in Kutztown’s second-year program under coach Jim Ambrose.

“When the college search started, it was hard, because I didn’t want to go that far to school, but there weren’t schools around here that had bowling even in the school,” said Jones, who has been bowling since the age of 8. “Then we found information about new schools that were getting bowling, and Kutztown got a bowling squad last year. (The rest of the incoming freshmen) could start a team young and try and make it good quick.

“The people that signed for next year, I don’t personally know them, but some of the girls that I bowl with know them. We have seven freshmen coming out next year and they are the tops in their area.”

Jones falls right in category of best in the area, and she proved it last summer, winning gold at the Keystone State Games with a preliminary-round average of 225.5 and a finals average of 246.3 in dominating the competition. She has earned medals in 10 of her 11 trips to the tournament.

The effort also earned her the Games’ Outstanding Athlete Award, which brought with it a trip to the state capital to receive recognition from legislators, including state Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, and state Rep. Ed Wojnaroski, D-Johnstown.

Jones’ resume also includes four years with the Hilltoppers softball program and two years with the basketball program.

As for bowling, the Southmont resident is coached by Jim Hohman and Jim Cooper and gets plenty of teaching and support from her parents, Robert and Mary Ann.

”My coaches make sure that I know how to play different spots,” Jones said, noting that Cooper is responsible for drilling all of her balls and that Hohman has helped with many of the fundamentals. “My parents make sure I practice regularly and try different shots and that I’m prepared for everything.”

For now, Jones will continue her tournament bowling, hitting up challenges in Pittsburgh and around the state, including on more shot as a youth at the Keystone State Games. She’ll also work on building up stamina for her collegiate competitions.

“You have to be able to bowl more games during a day,” said Jones, who carries a 204 average. “You have to be ready to change your approach and line. It could change within five minutes, or over five games. You have to know your shots and know what to do. You have to build up your stamina to be ready to bowl 15 games in a day, or two games in a day.”