Girls’ bowling team looks to rebuild after the graduation of state qualifier Anja Muskopf
Brenna Sweigard, the lone senior for the Worthington Christian varsity girls bowling team, knows she can’t be graduate Anja Muskopf.
“I definitely feel the need to step up a little bit more because I am the bowler who has been there the longest and the only senior,” said Sweigard, an honorable mention for the All-Central Buckeye League (CBL) team last year. “However, I don’t feel like I have to strive to be (super) amazing.”
Replacing Muskopf might prove to be a difficult task. In her final season with the Warriors, the bowler:
- was named as a first team selection for the all-CBL and all-Central Ohio High School Bowling Association Conference;
- became the Division II sectional champion and the Central District runner-up;
- and placed seventh individually in the state championship with a score of 634.
“Anja’s an amazing young person,” coach Matt Hamilton said. “Out of all the bowlers I’ve ever coached, she was probably the most consistent. She set goals she wanted to achieve last season and hit all of them but one.”
The one thing Muskopf didn’t cross off her “to do” list was setting the school’s record for the single highest game (265), missing it by seven points after rolling a 258. Muskopf owns every other school record.
WC also lost Alissa O’Farrell and Addison Johnson to graduation. O’Farrell averaged 122.8 per game and was also first team all-CBL. Johnson averaged 82.1.
Taking over those roles will be Sweigard and junior Annelise Gifford. Gifford (129.5 average) was first-team all-CBL and took 29th in the district with a 435. Sweigard (115.8) was 43rd in the district with a 399.
Sophomores Bella Huang, Hoyeon Kang, and Hyangjin Song, who had limited roles on the team in the 2024-25 season, also return. Additionally, the Warriors picked up sophomore Kendra Fourman and freshmen Lucy Blankenship, Alyssa Kuck, Esther Kuzilwa, and Karrina Niehoff.
The lineup will be tested in the CBL and the COHSBAC. In the CBL, Worthington Christian finished third with a 5-2 record behind co-champions Bexley and Whitehall, which finished 6-1.
Hamilton believes his team will be on more even ground in the COHSBAC this season. Last year, they placed fifth in the C Division with a 7-5 record behind Hilliard Bradley (12-0), Hilliard Davidson (11-1), Whitehall (9-3), and Bexley (9-3).
This season, Worthington Christian is in the D Division with Buckeye Valley, Columbus Academy, DeSales, Franklin Heights, Grandview, Hartley, Ready, and Watterson.
“We could challenge for the COHSBAC championship as well,” Hamilton said. “They put all the CBL teams and all the Catholic schools in one division. Everybody in our division right now is very competitive with each other.”
The Warriors aim to build on their successful postseason run this year. During the 2024-25 campaign, WC placed 11th (2,676) in the sectional tournament to advance to the district tournament, where they finished fifth (3,019)
“We have the makings of a pretty solid team,” Hamilton said. “The key is going to be keeping them focused. When you have young bowlers, they can go up and down all the time. But these girls are very positive, and they do a good job of supporting each other.
“Brenna and Annelise are solid bowlers. I need at least three or four of the other girls to be confident and consistent.”
Sweigard just needs to be herself.