Shelby Chartrand bowls into Camas history

Bowling is a gift that keeps on rolling for Shelby Chartrand.

On Jan. 27, the Camas High School senior finished in second place with a 577 series at the 4A district meet at Allen’s Crosley Lanes, in Vancouver.

She was also the head cheerleader for the Papermakers, chanting “P-I-C-K, pick it up! Keep that Maker spirit up!”

“Besides me, this was the first time these girls were bowling at districts,” Chartrand said. “Let’s make it the best experience so they can come back and do even better.”

Chartrand delivered a 213 and a 204 in the first two games, but fell back to a 160 in the finale. Battle Ground’s Allison Gentry bowled a 189, 204 and a 186 to edge Chartand out for the individual district title by two pins.

Chartrand put the team before her individual performance. Those girls gave her all the firepower she needed.

“With their spirit, I just kept going, going and going,” she said. “My last game, I guess I just got tired.”

And she knew just what to say to her teammates, if they missed a pin.

“Believing is like the whole point,” Chartrand said. “If you believe you can do it, then you’re going to do it. Be strong, be brave and have fun. Yell with your whole heart.”

Chartrand competed in her fourth straight state bowling meet Friday, at Tacoma Narrows Plaza, and finished in eighth place. She rolled a 182, 169, 195, 234, 152 and a 176 for a total of 1,108 pins knocked down.

Head coach Barb Burden said Chartrand is a great bowler, and an even greater teammate.

“She’s the captain of the ship. She’s made sure it’s never gone down,” Burden said. “She throws an amazing ball. When you watch her, it’s like a dream. Can she really do that, that many times in a row? And she does.

“I come from a bowling family. I know what it’s like to get strike after strike after strike,” her coach added. “There’s no getting around it. She’s a fantastic bowler.”

Chartrand is also a role model for the younger Papermakers. Jayden Grubbs, Kaeli Daniels, Eva Brizeula, Gabby Treloar, Alyssa Jackson and Ashley Gerst want to continue bowling in the spring and summer.

“That just warms my heart and makes me so happy,” Chartrand said.

Burden said Brizeula picked up a 6-7-10 split early in the day at districts. The Camas girls stepped up behind her and started throwing strikes and spares.

Chartrand loves that feeling, and it’s contagious.

“When the girls pick up something they never thought they could, their face is like a kid on Christmas getting their favorite gift ever and then screaming at the top of their lungs,” she said. “We all feed off that. And then, it just goes and goes and goes. We thrive off each other.”