Though just sophomores, Franklin teammates Jacob Dinkens and Easton Henderson come off like a couple of grown men when it comes to competitive bowling.

Both were top-15 individual finishers at last year’s state finals. They’ve been there, done that.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the pressure never gets to them.

“It’s a lot to deal with mentally, but I kind of approach it the same way as I’m just coming to bowl for fun,” Dinkens said. “I have fun while I’m bowling at tournaments like that. Just try to keep my mind right.

“Even if you have a bad frame, you’ve just got to adjust and move on. In other sports they say, ‘Go play by play’; we say, ‘Just go frame by frame.’”

That approach has served Dinkens and his Grizzly Cub teammates well. Franklin’s boys recently won the sectional championship, ousting rival and Indy South conference champion Whiteland. Both teams advanced to next Saturday’s regional in Kokomo; Dinkens, Henderson and teammate Dallas Brawley also qualified for the indvidual competition, heading a large group of Johnson County bowlers who still have visions of state glory dancing in their heads.

In addition to the three Franklin competitors, the county will be represented at the regional by individual sectional champ Langdon Frye of Greenwood Christian, who posted a three-game total of 748 to outdo Dinkens; Whiteland’s Devin Horton, Zachery Burnell and Dylan Hale; and Greenwood’s David Vandersteen and Will Likens.

Whiteland and Greenwood Christian earned team regional spots on the girls side. GCA’s Emily Heldman won the sectional with a 579 total and moves on as an individual along with Whiteland’s Kailyn Sheridan and Lilly Pryor. (Another Warrior, Nita Wincel, qualified but is unable to compete next weekend; she’ll be able to bowl at semistate if Whiteland can get through the regional as a team.)

Both Dinkens and Henderson had been bowling competitively as individuals in leagues for a good while now — as had Brawley, a senior who transferred to Franklin this year from Martinsville. For all of them, the team dynamic adds something to the experience.

“It’s better to be there with teammates, because they’re there to bring you up when you’re not doing too good,” Dinkens said.

Brawley said that the mental aspect of bowling comes into play more during high school tournament play — especially when team competitions come down to Baker games, where five bowlers roll two frames apiece for their teams.

As the Grizzly Cubs’ anchor bowler in that format, Brawley is used to having to keep an even keel under pressure. He’s planning to take that same approach through the regional — and he hopes, well beyond.

“Spares are key, honestly. Focus on my spares and watch the other two do great things. Me and them can really do great things, make a good run for state. Then this team, if we keep our head in it and we don’t let the pressure get to us, we can do the same.”

IF YOU GO

IHSB regional tournament

Where: Heritage Lanes, Kokomo

When: Saturday, Jan. 15

Local team qualifiers: Whiteland boys and girls, Franklin boys, Greenwood Christian girls

Local individual qualifiers: Devin Horton, Zachery Burnell, Dylan Hale, Kailyn Sheridan and Lilly Pryor, Whiteland; Jacob Dinkens, Easton Henderson and Dallas Brawley, Franklin; Langdon Frye and Emily Heldman, GCA; David Vandersteen and Will Likens, Greenwood