Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month: Bowling turns out well for Harding's Caden Millisor

MARION — His mom and dad bowled, but he didn't.

Caden Millisor preferred the ball-and-stick sports when he was growing up, but as a freshman at Marion Harding, he decided to try bowling.

"I saw they needed people on the bowling team my freshman year," he said.

And that simple decision paid off beyond his wildest dreams as an athlete.

The senior became the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference champion, an All-Ohioan and a state tournament runner-up all because he decided to pick up a bowling ball on a whim.

"I like the atmosphere," he said of what drew him to bowling competitively. "I went to the MOAC tournament my freshman year and the atmosphere was unbelievable. I said this is what I want to be competitive in. The atmosphere was crazy, and I never thought bowling would be a crazy atmosphere."

Millisor got to experience all the highs of varsity boys bowling over the last three seasons, being a member of a team in the midst of five straight state tournament appearances.

He credits competing with the standouts on those squads for his development.

"If I wasn’t put in that setting with competitive people, I probably wouldn’t be where I’m at," Millisor admitted. "I would be lower tiered. It’s because of those guys like Eli (Cox) and Jayden (Combs) making me push and making me get to where I’m at now."

On top of all the other accomplishments, Millisor added one more. He was named Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month for March for Marion County males, sharing it with Pleasant state champion wrestler Carter Chase.

"It means a lot," he said of the award. "It was surprising, and I never thought I would get it. The hard works pays off and should get it. Because how much hard work I put in, I could see me getting that now."

And what kind of work did he put in?

Since becoming serious about bowling after his freshman season, he said he's bowled anywhere from three to five times a week out of season.

"If you want to get better, you have to be doing it in the offseason, leading up to the season," Harding coach Corey Chatman said. "I feel Caden took that and ran with it this year. The results were obvious. He’s winning the Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month, and his performance in the tournament all around attest to the work he put in."

Millisor threw the highest game in the MOAC this season with a 279 and posed the second-highest two-game series with a 496. His 212.05 average was second-best in the league, too.

He won the MOAC Tournament with a three-game series of 716 and followed it up with a 664 to take seventh out of 271 bowlers in the Division I sectional. After a 576 at the district, he bounced back for a 241-170-224 series for 635 to end 15th individually at the state tournament at Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl. That was good enough to land him on the honorable mention All-Ohio team.

"That was pretty special," Chatman said of Millisor's last month of the season. "He showed it paid off, all the hard work he did and all the grinding he did. When it came to the MOAC and going into the tournament, it was like he flipped a switch and said I’m going to be the best bowler out here.

"Not saying he wasn’t the best bowler during the season, but I’m taking it to another level. I think he knew in order for us to get to where we got, he needed to step up as a senior and lead the team. He did just that."

The Presidents won the MOAC in the regular season and tournament and took sectional and district titles before ending with the state runner-up trophy.

It was a team effort for sure, but without the tall lefty, it likely wasn't happening.

"It's the willingness to be coached, that was the key as well," Chatman said of Millisor's impact. "Being a left-hander — his dad is a left-handed bowler — it’s that willingness to learn. It didn’t have to come from me as a coach, but just listening to teammates and veterans who have been bowling and other coaches who see things we see in practice. Sometimes it’s just better for it to come from somebody else. It’s that willingness to be coached and get better."

Now that he's had time to savor the accomplishments of his senior year, what does he think?

"It’s set in a little bit. I really wish we could have got that first place, but second place is still an accomplishment for me and for all of us of course," Millisor said.

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Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month

March Male Nominees

» Winner: Caden Millisor, senior, Marion Harding bowling.

» Winner: Carter Chase, senior, Pleasant wrestling.

» Isaac Dillon, junior, Elgin basketball.

» Carson Myers, junior, River Valley basketball

» Jason Callahan, senior, Ridgedale bowling.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Fahey Bank Award: Bowling turns out well for Harding's Caden Millisor