Bowling through life is junior Ella Weinmann, a noteworthy Highlander who has captured the attention of many. Weinmann was nominated for this article by her X-Bell teacher, Mrs. Pearce. Weinman is a noteworthy student for a plethora of reasons, but the reason that tops all the others is her feats on the Varsity Bowling Team.
Weinmann has been bowling since the fifth grade–when she joined a Saturday/Sunday league at Stumps–though she claimed her highest score in her sophomore year with a 279. Weinmann has advocated her love for the sport and stressed the accomplishments she was able to achieve alongside her fellow teammates: “We had a really great season; we won the GMC conference, I really think everyone went through mental and physical battles, it can really work you. There has been a lot I had to keep up with, everyone loves to do it and works hard to accomplish it.”
Weinmann has stated her major influences in her life, “I definitely do think my dad and my mom are influential, my dad’s a bowler himself, he’s always pushing and coaching me and helping me out when he can; definitely my coach, she’s been a great coach; my parents and my coach both help me become a better bowler best physically and mentally.” Weinmann is on the Girls Varsity A team, instructed by Coach Robin Hoernschmeyer. Weinmann continued to provide that she has been influenced outside of her bowling life by her favorite teacher, Mrs. Vandewalle: “My favorite teacher would have to be Mrs. Vandewalle, she did a flipped classroom and that’s how I really like to learn, I think that really helps students learn in general”.
Weinmann is part of the National Honor Society, she also volunteers at Matthew 25 and the Ronald McDonald House. Balancing all of this with bowling may prove to be troublesome, but Weinmann is proving herself to be successful. “The biggest challenges I would say so far are mental challenges, I would say if you have a bad game don’t let it define you or let it get into your head, you can easily get tired or overwhelmed, you can definitely overcome it, definitely a mental challenge, that can happen to any athlete.”
Weinmann has also advocated how strong and supportive the bowling community is: “So before I got here, there was no one who wanted to try out, then there were 22 girls who wanted to try out. I’ve been on varsity for 3 years, I’ve met so many friends, we really get along with other teams, even when we go to other tournaments, we see teams we already know, we all know each other, we all support each other. People show up thinking they just want their gym credit, but they end up loving it so much.” There’s no doubt that Weinmann is a strong bowler who loves the sport and her teammates.
After high school, Weinmann wishes to attend Mount St. Joseph University for elementary education (and possibly special education), though she has stated that she does not want to continue bowling after high school, in respect to focusing on her major and academic goals. Weinmann is overall a great Highlander making notable achievements and contributions towards the bowling team.