MARTINS FERRY — Another season, another step forward for Ohio Valley prep bowling.

As the 2019-20 begins in earnest this week with league play beginning, a new era is under way.

Bowling is now an OVAC sport. And with that, some new teams have joined the conference in the sport, especially on the fringes of the league.

Conotton Valley, Dover, Linsly, New Philadelphia, Parkersburg South, Weir and Wheeling Central are fielding teams this season and will compete at the inaugural OVAC Tournament in late January

The Eastern Ohio Bowling League remain strong, as does the Buckeye 8.

Here’s a capsule look at teams that returned their information:

BARNESVILLE — Veteran head coach Nick Saffield returns with a boys’ and girls’ squad both looking to improve each match out.

“As for the season I am hoping that we can be competitive in every match,” he said. “Hopefully, we will get better as the season progresses. We are experienced on the boys side, not so much with the girls team.”

The boys’ team is led by three seniors — Logan Gibbons, James Dusch and Landon Johnston.

Most of the squad, however, features juniors. Members of that class are RJ Detling, Matt Heatherington, Mike Heatherington, Logan Eddy, Connor Johnson and Jacob Edwards.

Rounding out the team are two sophomores — Arick Clark and Braydon Daugherty — and a pair of freshman — Matt Hall and Brock Burkhart.

Seniors Hailey Baker, Kayla Crooks, Harleigh Howiler and Shelby Weldy guide the Shamrocks’ girls’ squad.

Daylin Mercer is the lone junior on the team, which also includes four sophomores in Tessa Johnson, Hailey Stewart, Sammi Murphy and Zoe Showalter.

Julie Johnson, Breanna Flood, Callie Crick and Ragen Campbell — all freshmen — complete the team.

BRIDGEPORT — Shane Roberts takes over the reins of the Bridgeport program this winter and he’s looking forward to extracting the most out of each of his bowlers.

“We have a lot of returning athletes, as well as a lot of members new to the sport,” said Roberts, who replaces Marcy Tennant, now an assistant coach for the team.

“We are looking forward to our more experienced athletes to carry us to a winning season and our new athletes to enhance themselves top carry our wins in future seasons.”

Senior Gavan Graham anchors the boys’ team. He’s looking for his fourth-straight sectional crown.

“He has a strong determination and drive that he shows every time that he is on the lanes,” Roberts said. “He works hard and puts in a lot of extra time and effort to maintain his great skills.”

Others seniors in the mix for the Bulldogs are Connor Markus, Ty Schambach and Spencer Echemann.

“He has a very strong will to show his best each ball he throws,” Roberts said of Markus. “The dedication he brings to the sport is unmatched. He always pushes himself to improve and have the best game he possibly can.”

Included in the junior class are Zach McKivigan, Jason Marling and Brennan Meager.

“He is always pushing himself to stay on par with our seniors and is doing a great job with it,” Roberts said of Meager, a returner. “Every practice, he works with our seniors to better himself so that, next season, he can be the one that passes on the skills to the next group.”

Caleb Funkhouser, Kenneth Newland and Gabe Donahue are the team’s sophomores, with Donahue the lone returner.

“Each practice, he has shown improvement and is very open to coaching that will help him to continue improving,” Roberts said of Donahue.

Freshmen Jayden Koonce and John Stewart complete the team.

Bridgeport’s girls’ team has five seniors — Tori Parsons, Ava Watson, Sydney Lough, Madison McMahon and Sierra Simetz. Watson bowled previously at St. John Central.

“She is a strong, focused and determined bowler,” Roberts said of Simeth. “She has an excellent shot with a lot of power behind it.”

Juniors Brooklyn Edgell and Zoe Long will look to make contributions, as will sophomore Alyssa Toson.

“This group is bringing a wide range of skills and abilities to the lanes,” Roberts said. “It gives a lot of room to work with and the ability to mold each bowler to use what they have to the best of their own abilities.”

Roberts is also assisted by former Union Local head coach Ron Taylor.

BUCKEYE LOCAL — Veteran Buckeye Local coach Jerad Call has one senior each on his boys’ and girls’ squads as the Panthers begin another campaign on the lanes.

Call sees Alyssa Lingenfelter as a catalyst for what envisions as a girls’ team that will improve on its 8-5 mark from a year ago.

“The girls look to have a strong team this year with a blend of young talent and several returning experienced letterwinners,” he said. “This group has a lot of potential and our goal this year is for the team to advance to (the district tournament).”

Joining Lingenfelter on the team are a pair of junior letterwinners in Annie Takach and Cheyanne Cornish.

Conrad Schuetz, the aforementioned senior, and sophomore Jimmy Hornyak are the returning letterwinners on the boys’ squad. Call is eager to see how they perform.

“We have a lot of new bowlers this year, so Conrad’s experience and leadership will be important to the success of our team,” he said. “Hornyak and CJ Adams will also bring some experience to the varsity team this year.”

HARRISON CENTRAL — Expectations are high in Cadiz as Harrison Central returns the bulk of the unit that reached the state tournament for the first time last season.

“They have their sights set on another great season, hoping to advance to the big dance in Columbus again,” veteran head coach Bobbie Lee Parkinson said. “These kids are a super great bunch to coach.”

The Huskies have already gotten off to a great start, going 2-0 and claiming the TCC Invitational championship. Along the way, Trevor Thompson, a junior, has recorded a 299 game.

Hunter Stark, Jacob Hudson, Curtis Blackburn, Nick Coffland and Logan Cologie are the seniors on the varsity. Juniors, in addition to Thompson, are Zack Keyser, Nathan Willis and Lane Harding.

Others in the mix are senior Manny Gonzalez, junior Peyton Lewis, sophomores Davis Chrisman, Corey Hayes and Caden Anthony, and freshmen Taylor Cope and Holden Anthony.

Harrison Central’s girls also captured the TCC Tournament.

“They are determined to have a winning season and place in all of their tournaments,” Parkinson said of the team. “They give their all on the lanes.”

Members of the varsity unit include seniors Marley Basich, Kamree Best and Lexie Watt, along with junior Tory Thompson, sophomore Aleyna Runevitch, and freshmen Cami Basich and Lauren Best.

Sophomore Emily Schmidli and freshman Alicia Holloway will also be competing for lane time.

MARTINS FERRY — A total of six letterwinners return for the Purple Riders, who, again, are under the leadership of Head Coach John Josefczyk.

“Our goals are to improve from last year’s records and steadily improve by working on the basics,” he said.

There are four letterwinners back in the fold on the boys’ team. two of them are juniors — Noah Kovalsky and Zane Phillips. James Blazy is the other junior.

Sophomore letterwinners Francis Toohey and Jackson Romshak return, as well. Rounding out the roster are sophomores Chad Love, Quentin Temple, Chase Kuntz and Blake Wines.

Jamie Travis, a junior, and Meghan Mahan, a sophomore are the returning letterwinners for the Purple Rider girls. They’ll be joined by junior Makenna Klarr, sophomores Adele Stillion and Angelina Flowers, along with freshman Jacquilyn Gill.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — After advancing to the district tournament last season, second-year head coach Courtney Reinbold is eager to see how senior captain Joey Patrizi does this season.

“He’s taking on a lot of responsibility this year,” she said. “We’re hopeful for a state berth this year, and if there’s any kid that can make it happen, it’s Joey.”

Reinbold is also excited about up-and-coming freshman Chas Anderson.

“Freshmen don’t usually start, but for him it was a no-brainer,” she said. “Chas has been bowling since age 5 and you can tell.”

Others in the mix for the Red Devils include Scott Kuckuck, Nick Smith, Pearce Butler and Shane Jackson.

St. C.’s girls are a young, but improving bunch,” Reinbold.

The unit includes Sabrina Frazier, Haley Vaughn, Emily Mozena, Emma Poe, Amelia Woollard, Jane Jester and Whitney Foltin.

ST. JOHN CENTRAL ACADEMY — Gary Holubeck returns to coach St. John Central Academy and, despite a small number of bowlers, is encouraged by what he’s seen.

“Small, but mighty,” he said. “They’re working hard to make the new school proud.”

Girls competing for the Irish are returnees Cassidy Stegman and Abby Scott, along with Abby Giffin. Austin Jarrett is the lone boy bowler.

RIVER — Eight bowlers — five boys and three girls — comprise River’s inaugural squad.

“We have a good group of kids and some learning to do,” Pilots head coach Arlene Coss said. “They have been practicing really hard and improving.

“I hope we can have a successful season. We’re not going to worry about wins and losses, just hoping to improve every match. We want the kids to have a good attitude and have a fun season.”

Juniors Andrew Murphy, Daniel Swegard and Chris Baker anchor the River boys, along with freshmen Kendall Cross and Grady Palmer.

Carlie Lee, who bowled previously at St. John Central High School, is a junior for the Pilots, along with Greta Beard. Senior Brianna Comstock rounds out the squad.

UNION LOCAL — State champion Alberto Dunlap has graduated. However, Union Local head coach Doug Stephens still believes his Jets boys’ team has the potential to make plenty of noise this winter.

“Obviously, when you lose the best in the state in Alberto Dunlap it’s going to be hard to replace him,” Stephens said.

“Not only was Alberto an amazing bowler, he was willing to help other people with their craft and he passed on his knowledge of bowling to a lot of his teammates.

“Surprisingly, even with the loss of Alberto, we may actually be able to be a more complete team this season from top to bottom. With six bowlers returning that got varsity experience last season that reached district, the potential of this team is unbelievable. But consistency and growth will be the key.

“The valley is the strongest it has ever been when it comes to bowling and I expect this team to make some noise.”

Two of the top players back in the mix are Austin Taylor and Bryan Neidart.

“Austin lives in the bowling alley during the season and you would be hard pressed to find someone who bowls more games in a week than he does,” Stephens said.

In Neidart, Stephens said the Jets have a bowler that could be a coach one day.

“He is always willing to help his teammates and is very knowledgeable about bowling and always looks to share that knowledge with others,” he said. ‘Bryan has the potential to do big things this year.”

Noah Harding and Nathan Brown both came on toward the end of the season, Stephens said, while Jordan Duke was the Jets’ most-improved bowler.

“Jordan is our leadoff bowler and the one that gets everything started for us,” Stephens said. “He brings a real energy to our team that gets everyone excited and ready to go.”

Chad Barbe and Colton Luyster also return from last season’s district quad.

Others in the mix include — Donnie Franklin, Dylan Morris, Devon Warner, Devon Alexander, Brayden Jeffers, Josh Neidert, Connor Luyster, Johnnie Gatten, Ethan Bomboris and Cole Harding.

Taylor Powell anchors the UL girls. She came four pins shy of a district berth last winter.

“I am excited to see Taylor build upon last season and take another step forward,” Stephens said.

Others battling for playing time include — Emma Rowan, Alexis Stewart, Cherika Koplets, Tammy Pavell, Chloe Porter, Hannah Eikleberry, Kaylee Turner, Kaitlyn Kovacs, Kenadie Wright, Sadie McFarland, Gracie Bethel, Kylie McGinnis and Kataline Powell.

“After losing Hannah Miller (district qualifier) and Shania Heath, I look for this team to be able to compete with anyone on our schedule this season,” Stephens said.

“They have worked really hard and have improved tremendously since last year. There is a lot of potential in this group of girls and consistency and growth throughout the season will be key.”