Burrell’s girls state bowling champ wins athletic, academic scholarships to Trine University

When Lydia Flanagan won the state’s girls singles bowling championship in March, there was more than fanfare and sports on her mind.

With a bowling average of 214 during her senior year, thoughts of chemical engineering were never too far for the 18-year-old.

The newly minted Burrell graduate landed academic and sports scholarships totaling $30,500 to Trine University in Angola, Ind., with plans to study engineering and compete on the school’s bowling team.

“I’m very grateful,” Flanagan said. “I feel I worked hard to get both.”

Flanagan heard about Trine from another bowler as she scouted for a school where she could both bowl and enter an engineering program.

Starting her freshman year, she expects to bowl on a higher level with much more competition.

“There will be a lot of better bowlers,” she said.

Flanagan said she looks forward to the challenging coursework for chemical engineering.

“I like the experiments and doing the lab work for chemistry and biology,” she said. “I gravitate to math and problem solving.”

Natalie Flanagan is, of course, proud to be the mother of the state’s top female high school bowler.

But her pride is greater and more tactical than expected.

In addition to her daughter’s athletic abilities, Flanagan is overjoyed at Lydia’s academic success and her plans to study chemical engineering.

“She’ll be able to take care of herself,” Flanagan said. “She won’t have to rely on anybody. She’s a good kid.”

Lydia’s world cultures teacher, Anthony Facemyre, Burrell’s social studies department chair, noted his student’s determination to get things done and to use her time wisely.

“Lydia also maintained a laser focus on doing things well, which combined with an unusual level of maturity,” Facemyre said. “That allowed her to ignore ‘the noise’ that naturally comes with a class of that size.”

Flanagan watched Lydia develop as an athlete and student.

“She is very conscientious about her work and doing well at whatever she is doing,” Flanagan said.

There was junior league bowling, tournaments at the age of 7 and 8, traveling leagues, the high school team and more.

But little academic moments early in high school were exciting and promising, Flanagan said.

“Lydia was told by a teacher that she was the only one in her class to ace a high school chemistry class test,” she said. “I think that helped fuel her ambitions.”

Besides, the studious bowler loves to figure things out, she added.

Meaghan Volek, a Burrell mathematics teacher, knows Flanagan as a determined student and athlete who also competed in tennis and basketball.

“A common theme for Lydia has always been that she works to find success wherever she is planted,” she said.

Even through the difficulties of schooling during the covid-19 pandemic, Flanagan held herself accountable for her schoolwork every step of the way, Volek said.

“She’s a young woman who has grown into her own self-confidence,” she said. “Lydia exudes the kindness we all need.”

Related:

• Burrell’s Lydia Flanagan captures state bowling title

• Burrell bowlers turn attention to postseason after strong regular season