Angelica Blimegger is the best girl’s bowler in the entire state of Florida.
The junior at West Boca High School won the individual state championship for girls bowling, one of the most incredible feats in school history.
“While I am a great bowler, I couldn’t have made it without the support of my coach,” Blimegger said. “I am very thankful for the time he took out of his day to support me while bowling. I am also happy my father was able to come to the state tournament and cheer me on towards the end, saying ‘Angelica! Finish it off!” in a loud voice, when there were only a few cheering for me. Without the stable support from them, I would have never made it to where I currently am.”
Blimegger is just the second girl ever from Palm Beach County to win the state championship in bowling.
“After officially winning, I felt an overwhelming rush of emotions and I can’t really explain it,” Blimegger said when recalling her experience. “I didn’t overreact, but I felt proud of myself. I was happy in general, as the last person I had to go up against actually had her whole team there cheering for her, so the stress was increased slightly. The stress had really increased when in the ninth frame of the very last game, I got a 4-9 split. It was absolutely astonishing to me that I picked it up. I was extremely happy after that. I didn’t express my happiness, as I didn’t want to give anything out that had the slightest chance of getting me disqualified. It was thrilling to win, but only my coach, my dad, and the very few coaches and parents I met were cheering for me. There were three girls in particular, I don’t know their school, but they were cheering for me. I am thankful for them to this day, as it meant a lot to me. Actually, shortly after I won, I thanked all three of them for cheering for me, and I mentioned how it meant a lot to me.”
Blimegger’s state championship caps off what was an incredible year. She recorded a 214 average this season, the highest among all bowlers in Palm Beach County.
“To win, I had to keep my mind on the game, without breaking, and ensure my full and complete concentration remained. I would like to also mention I wouldn’t have made it if my coach wasn’t there to help me. I want to give him most of the credit for me actually winning. He truly helped me through everything, he is a great coach. I had to focus and follow directions throughout all matchplay.”
Outside of School
Blimegger has come a long way to get to this point. From the first year she’s bowled, she has always received a first place trophy once per year. Blimegger won the AMF Margate Triple Crown Trophy in 2020 with a high game of 279, and a series of 751. In 2022, she won the Champion of Champions, which is a sports-shot league final match with a unique pattern and unique conditions.
Her first 300 was in 2022, but it was during practice. At the Boardwalk Bowl in the summer of 2023, Blimegger won the all-events handicap at the Florida state tournament, finishing third in scratch.
In the county tournament earlier this year, Blimegger won first place 150+. The reward didn’t really match how I played. I am still grateful. Blimegger’s scores for that county tournament were 238, 248, 213, 191, 247, and 210, respectively, for a 1347 six-game series.
In School
During her freshman year, Blimegger placed second at the district tournament by 10 pins to Paige Richards, who was West Boca’s captain. Blimegger didn’t perform too well her sophomore year, but she was still grateful to be given the chance to compete and go up to states.
This year, Blimegger obviously was happy with her performance as she was able to win the county, district, and state tournaments. She also set a county record for a two-game series after bowling a 259 and 278 consecutively (537).
Blimegger is a two-time Sun Sentinel All County first team selection – she’ll likely get the prestigious award for a third-straight year.
Diving Deeper
Winning a state championship is impressive in any sport, but especially in the individual sports like wrestling, bowling, golf, tennis, etc.
“The only major difference between individual sports and team sports are the support levels and the great amount of encouragement when your team is there,” Blimegger said. “I remember how it felt when my team won first place in districts, we were all so happy and enthralled, it was really great. As an individual, yes it is great to win, but I believe it is a better experience when you win with your team, as they are there to support and cheer for each other. Sometimes, we would have our own unique cheers that would bring the team together and as we’ve bowled together for a long time, we know each other truly.”
Blimegger will be remembering the trip to states for the rest of her life.
“This accomplishment is my greatest accomplishment in my bowling career so far, as I haven’t won the individual state tournament before. It was a great accomplishment, and I am very proud of it.”
During matchplay (competing within top 16 to number 1), her average was 222, and her highest game during the finals was a 289.
Blimegger still aims to grow even after winning a state championship.
“My goal is to improve my current average and form for my future years of bowling. When available, I would like to get the chance to be a coach one day. Another goal is to meet new people and make new friends in my future matches.”
Blimegger is still weighing her bowling future beyond high school.
“To be honest, I haven’t decided what I really want to do with my bowling career. My main goal is really just to try and if I don’t succeed, then I should just try again until I actually do succeed. I think I will be going bowling for college, then after to become a professional.”
It’ll be exciting to see what Blimegger does her senior year. But for now, she made history at West Boca as a state champion.
