Alliance High School senior, Jacob McCracken helped make history when he led the Unified Bowling team to the state championship last year. Last season, the whole school watched the live broadcast of the state championship match, cheering as the team won just minutes before school was released. This year, the Unified Bowling team has high hopes for another successful season, and once again, they have their eyes on the prize.

Jacob began bowling at the age of five, practicing almost all of the time, as his family owns the bowling alley. Belonging to a family of bowlers allowed him to always have someone to look up to. “My brother has been my idol my entire life and when he started bowling he made me want to be as good as him.”

Starting bowling at such a young age has allowed McCracken to fine tune his skills and learn almost everything there is to know about the sport that everyone plays, but only a select few master.

No one gets to the level of bowling Jacob is at without a lot of practice and a strong passion. Practicing about ten hours a week, it seems as though McCracken lives at the bowling alley. Almost any night during the week and basically any time on the weekend, you can find Jacob at the alley working or throwing strikes.

The senior bulldog not only plays for the fun of it, he also enjoys spending time with the athletes at practice and getting to know everyone on the team.

“I think the most important part about being on the Unified Bowling team is being able to take our athletes to state and giving them the opportunity to participate in a new activity.”

One of the biggest differences to the team going into the new season was the loss of Manny Curan, who played a very large role in the success of the team. Last year, he locked in the win at the state championship during his final frame.

Even though there is a big change in the team, Jacob has high hopes for this season. “I believe that we can make it to the state tournament again this year and win the championship once again.”

Jacob knows that this season will not be effortless, as they still have a rivalry with Gordon Rushville. He also recognizes that part of his love for bowling comes from the fact that there will always be someone better than him, and he needs work hard until he beats them.

This season has started off great for McCracken. Already, he has beaten his personal record with a score of 288, only two strikes away from a perfect game. Although disappointed that he did not get the 300, he knows that he is very close and that he just needs to practice harder to get that perfect score.