Onalee Shepler thought her biggest moment in sports was pitching a high school softball no-hitter against Delphos Jefferson.
Then came Wednesday, Jan. 11. Bowling in a Bluffton Southgate Lanes Queen's League Shepler bowled three games where she registered 35 out of a possible 36 strikes.
That translated to a series score of 864, which set a new women's high series at the Bluffton bowling alley. More importantly it was "that close" (one frame) to a perfect three games of bowling.
Put another way: The Lima Bowling Association's previous women's high series was 821 bowled in 2007 by Amy Newland. The Ohio state women's high series record is 877...and the national women's record is 878.
Shepler bowled two 300 games, a first for women at Southgate. "After the second 300 game all I thought was that I want to at least bowl a 213. That would top my previous high series of 812."
The ball she used was a Christmas gift from her husband, Nick. It is a Track 607A. "My dad (Tim Lehman) had a ball like this and I always wanted one," she said. "It's a smooth hooking ball and it hits the pins hard."
Bowling with Shepler in her record-setting series were team members of Barley's Lane Sharks, Cathy Bugner, Adele Simon, Amy Muniz and Gina Bloomfield.
Shepler says that bowling has always been an important part of her life. "My first-ever bowling game was when I was 3. I've worked here since I was 15. This is my home away from home," she says about Southgate Lanes.
Asked what her favorite lanes at Southgate are and she quickly answers "now my favorite are lanes one and two" - the lanes she bowled here high series.
Shepler and her husband, Nick, are parents of Levi, 16 months. When she's not bowling, Onalee works as a medical assistant at Pediatrics of Lima.
