ASHLAND – The Ashland High School boys bowling team just can’t stop adding new chapters to the story of its dynasty.
On Saturday – three months after capturing their first state title – the Arrows held off Illinois powerhouse Machesney Park Harlem High School to capture their second consecutive crown at the United States High School Bowling National Championships in Fort Wayne, Ind.
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It was the ninth running of the event and the victory made Ashland just the second boys team to win back-to-back national titles. Sun Prairie High School (Wisc.) also achieved the feat in 2017-18.
“This was the dynasty team,” AHS head coach Jim Brown said. “If Ashland ever sees a team like this again, it would be pretty sweet because this is going to be one of the best teams that ever came through this town, and even the nation.”
The Arrows’ six-man unit of Landon Dreibelbis, Max Oeken, Luke Rhine, Mikey McKinney, Brantyn Long and Adam Reynolds squeezed past Harlem by a 692-685 score after three Baker games.
A late spare from Oeken helped seal the victory at the 56-lane Pro Bowl West facility. He had left the 10 pin on the 10th frame after needing either a strike or a spare to clinch the win.
“He’s there for a reason and he’s one of the best spare shooters in the nation,” Brown said. “I had full confidence that it was over after that; I wasn’t nervous one bit after he left that (10 pin).”
Ashland won the opening two games of the finals against Harlem – the 2022 national champion – by scores of 267-244 and 210-207, then held on late for the title despite dropping a 234-215 score in Game 3.
“The clutch shots that we got out of the whole team in the finals was unmatched,” Brown said. “I’ve never seen it like that before.”
The Arrows were part of a field that included 55 total teams (13 from Ohio), advancing as the group was cut down to 24 teams, 16 teams, eight teams and then a final four that included Ashland, Harlem, Brown Deer (Wisc.) and Ohio rival Beavercreek.
Brown said Ashland had issues carrying corner pins early in the tournament, but eventually came around.
Still, he said as the cutdown to the final four was closing in, the Arrows were unaware of other teams’ updated scoring, and he felt they had fallen too far back to make up the pins to advance.
He said when they were finished with their round-of-eight bowling, everyone assumed they were out of it and had changed out of their bowling shoes. But Brown said some college recruits notified him they thought Ashland had survived, and eventually, the Arrows found out they had advanced by just six pins.
In the semifinals, AHS trailed Beavercreek 437-402 into the third and final game, but outscored them 234-177 in Game 3 to move on to the finals, 636-614.
It was an ironic semifinal, as Ashland and Beavercreek also met in the semifinals of the state tournament in March, when the Beavers entered as two-time-defending Division I champs.
Brown said he told their coach before the national tournament began that he thought they could meet in the finals.
“The teams you see there, you’ve got state title winners, runner-ups,” Brown said. “It’s very tough competition.”
The Arrows’ national title closed a book of perfection for the 2024-25 squad, which won championships in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, the sectional tournament, the district tournament, the state tournament and at nationals.
The team, which also has Chris Rhine as an assistant coach, continued action in Fort Wayne with individual boys singles play Sunday and Monday.
On Sunday, five of them advanced out of the four-game qualifying round, making the 160-bowler cut into Monday’s action.
Dreibelbis led the Arrows in that individual effort at 18th out of 379 overall bowlers with a 927 (236-197-215-279). Behind him were Oeken in 30th at 897 (234-255-247-161), McKinney in 44th at 874 (204-258-211-201), Long in 54th at 865 (225-243-173-224) and Luke Rhine in 84th at 834 (196-225-189-224).
Reynolds also was in action Sunday, turning in a four-game 635 (160-163-176-136).
On Monday, Oeken was the lone Ashlander to advance through the cutdown to the Top 20, finishing 10th overall with 2,220 pins over 10 total singles games (222 average).
Rhine ended his tournament in 21st at 1,984 over nine games (220.4), followed by Dreibelbis (32nd at 1,940) and McKinney (50th at 1,865) inside the Top 60 cut.
Long claimed 70th with a 1,466 in seven games.
It marked the final day of competition representing AHS for Long, a recently graduated senior.
His name will stay among the greats for an Ashland program that continues to solidify its dominance in Ohio history.
“Brantyn Long is going to be missed,” said Brown, who will return the rest of the team for the 2025-26 high school season. “He was a big part of this team and a hard worker. I can’t say enough about the kid; he’s an athlete.”
A state title in March was not only the first for the program, but gave the Arrows a Top 5 team finish for the fifth straight season. Oeken was a first-team All-Ohioan and Dreibelbis was third-team.
Even before the team won that crown, Brown was adamant that the Arrows’ talent was as rare as it comes.
“Watching these guys bowl is unbelievable; you don’t see teams like this ever,” the 2003 AHS graduate said at the time.
When Ashland won its first national title last June, it beat out 50 teams from 25 states during the event in Lancaster, Pa. Only one other Ohio team had ever won nationals at that point (Centerville in 2021).
The Arrows’ 2023-24 team also set a national single-game record of 1,345, with Long and Dreibelbis both rolling 300 games.
It’s that kind of talent that Brown believes will help Ashland continue its statewide and nationwide superiority moving forward.
“They are great team bowlers and they have matured so much over the last five or six years,” he said. “I’ve been watching these boys grow up bowling.
“Now, going forward, I’ve got to make sure we’ve got more bowlers coming because it’s not gonna end after this year. … We’re gonna try to continue to do what we do.”