Entering her third year of competitive bowling, Stone Memorial Lady Panthers bowler Hailey Jones is no longer just learning the ropes. She is refining her craft.
Jones began bowling in eighth grade and has steadily grown into one of the Lady Panthers’ consistent contributors. Now, with postseason experience and regional competition under her belt, she has her sights set on something bigger.
“I’d just like to improve my average so that more colleges would be interested,” Jones said. “We already have one college that’s kind of interested in us. We’re really close with the coach.”
Jones has already shown flashes of high-level performance. In a match against White County earlier this season, she led Stone Memorial with a 182 in Game 1 and added a 136 in the second traditional game. She has also delivered strong outings against district rivals, including games in the 150s against Cumberland County.
Her postseason resume includes competing in the TSSAA Division I Girls Bowling regional individual tournament, where she totaled 777 pins across six games, valuable experience that adds to her development heading into the heart of her junior campaign.
Jones said she knows bowling is about more than single high games. It is about adjustments. Jones said one of the biggest lessons she has learned over the past three years is how lane oil patterns affect play.
“The oil, when it starts to break down, it can mess your shot up and you have to move,” Jones said. “It gets frustrating but you have to learn to keep calm and not let it get in your head.”
Oil patterns typically begin to break down between a game and a half to two games, depending on pace of play. As that transition happens, hooking the ball becomes more difficult, forcing bowlers to adjust their positioning and targeting mid-match.
While Jones is focused on raising her average and attracting college attention, Jones said her favorite part of the sport is not found on the scoreboard, but rather the friendships made. Jones said she credits much of her enjoyment to her teammates, especially her best friend, Ali Davis. The Lady Panthers practice twice a week when in season, and the time spent together has built tight bonds within the group. Jones said that chemistry shows up during competition.
“Whenever people get strikes, we say ‘Vector, oh yeah!’,” Jones said. “The person who gets the strike says Vector and everyone else says oh yeah. It’s from Despicable Me.”
The chant, started by Davis’ sister during her time on the team, has become a staple of Stone Memorial’s matches, a reminder that even in a sport built on individual frames, energy is shared.