Perfect game at state highlighted Palmetto bowler’s 2022. Can he build on it this year?
The moment came down to one final roll. Miami Palmetto’s Evan Viener took a deep breath, made his way down the lane and, with both hands, tossed the bowling ball down the lane. The ball curved to the right before straightening out and knocking down all 10 pins.
At the grandest stage of the season, the FHSAA state championship at Orlando’s Boardwalk Bowl Entertainment Center, Viener secured a perfect game.
He let out an emphatic scream before celebrating with his coaches and teammates while other competitors and spectators applauded in the background.
Viener, a junior and the Miami Herald’s Dade Boys’ Bowler of the Year last season, will be the centerpiece of a relatively fresh Palmetto team in 2023, but a return to the state tournament for Viener at least as an individual shouldn’t be out of the question.
Viener became just the seventh boys’ bowler to roll a perfect 300 at state and only the second from Miami-Dade County — Krop’s Shawn Humphreys also accomplished the feat in 2006.
His overall four-game series score of 1,009 pins in the qualifying round was the top among the field of 202 bowlers, the ninth-best in state history and the highest ever by a Dade County bowler at the state championship, besting the 994 mark by Miami Christian’s Igar Rodriguez in 2016.
He’ll look to build on that run this season.
District championships are on Oct. 23, with the top two teams and the top two individuals not on advancing teams qualifying for the state tournament.
The three-day state tournament is Oct. 31-Nov. 2 in Orlando.
This and that
▪ Archbishop McCarthy (boys and girls), Ferguson (boys and girls), Hialeah Educational (boys) and Krop (girls) are the reigning team district champions from Miami-Dade and Broward. At state, Archbishop McCarthy and Taravella both advanced to the 16-team final bracket on the boys’ side.
▪ Like its boys’ team, Palmetto’s girls team will be relatively new. The Panthers’ lone returner on the girls’ side is senior Halle Meltzer.
▪ Coral Reef’s boys team will be led by senior Donavan Lau, who qualified for state as an individual last season. Seniors Isabella Vazquez and Juliana Penagos are the top players for the Barracudas’ girls.
▪ Belen Jesuit, which finished as team runner-up in District 16, returns four players from last season’s team: sophomores Michael Pena, Alexander Lowell and Ryan Solares along with junior Brian Iglesias.
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