By Steve Williams
There’s a high school bowler in Knoxville this season who has her sights set on a TSSAA state championship.
And she’s only a freshman.
Carter High’s Zoe Chompff has a 195 average and it’s the highest average on the local prep scene, including girls and boys, according to her head coach Ray Wynn.
If Zoe pulls it off, she will be only the second bowler in Knoxville who has won a state title. The other was Devean Littlejohn, who bowled for Hardin Valley Academy and went on to bowl on the college level at Tennessee Wesleyan and now is believed to be eyeing a career in the Professional Bowling Association.
Zoe said she started bowling when she was about 4 years old and was about 8 when she got into competitive bowling.
She enjoys the sport at the high school level.
“High school bowling is really just the team spirit and getting to share achievements with all my teammates,” she said after bowling in a match against Gibbs last week at the Strike and Spare lanes in Fountain City.
In that match, she rolled a 211 in one game and then went to the practice lane and scored a 255.
“I did pretty good today,” she said, taking it in stride.
Chompff is right-handed, but a two-hander when it comes to bowling, which a lot of bowlers are these days.
She’s already qualified for the state tournament this season, having won the TSSAA Region 1 Individual Championship with an average of 199.2 over six games.
Growing up, Zoe also has been a champion in Junior Roll for the Gold in Tennessee.
Her dad, Allen Toth, was instrumental in getting Zoe started in bowling.
“My dad bowled when he was a teenager and he’s pretty good himself,” said Zoe. “They had to figure out something for me to do. I was a hyper child. My dad thought he could get back into bowling and I was brought back into it. The first league I got into was an adult-youth league with my dad when I was 5.”
Zoe says her mom, Kayla Chompff, “used to bowl and was pretty good, but she doesn’t do it a lot. She’s a really good supporter. She supports everything I do. She’s always happy for me when I’m not.”
Coach Wynn feels blessed to have all three – Zoe, dad and mom.
“Zoe, she’s special,” said Wynn. “She’s been bowling for a long time and to have her on our team this year has been amazing because she brings a wealth of knowledge that she is passing down to the other kids on our team.
“You know, being the coach and the adult, you can say things to kids and they take it for granted because you’re the coach, kind of like mom and dad. But whenever Zoe talks to them and helps them and mentors the kids, you can just see it in their eyes the way they light up. And they enjoy watching her bowl and learning from her. So it’s been great.
“And her dad, who also is a great bowler himself, brings a wealth of knowledge to help us out altogether for our (boys’ and girls’) teams.”
In addition to bowling, Zoe is involved in Musical Theatre as a stage tech.
“At school, I help build the set and the lights for the shows that we’re doing,” she said. “And I play clarinet and I play guitar.”
Zoe also said she would be running the lights when they have the show “Mamma Mia!” in April.
By then, she may be a state champion, too.
