BUTLER TWP — Butler’s varsity boys bowling team had more than a leg up on its competition this year.

It had two.

Nick Huff and Hunter Lefever finished 1-2 in high average in WPIBL Section 2 this season. A junior, Huff led the section with a 214.5 average while senior Lefever was second with a 196.87.

Both showed marked improvement over the previous season.

“It just shows how hard these guys work at it,” Butler bowling coach Bob Cupp said. “What they’ve done this year has been incredible.”

And it’s not over yet.

Huff and Lefever will join teammate Shawn Marcellus in the regional individual tournament March 11 in North Versailles. The Golden Tornado boys and girls teams will compete in the team regional March 12 at the same lanes.

“I set three goals at the beginning of the year,” Huff said. “I wanted to be MVP of the team, get to states and average over 200.

“All of those are still possible.”

Huff jumped his average 20 pins over last year’s 194. The team MVP award has not been announced and his state tournament fate will be determined next weekend.

Huff did not finish among the top 40 at the WPIBL individual championships. But he qualified for regionals because he led the section in average during the season.

“Nick was ill during that (WPIBL) tournament and had a rough day,” Cupp said. “Now he has a chance to make up for it.”

Lefever averaged 155 as a freshman with the Tornado. That figure jumped to 170 as a sophomore, 186 last year and 196 this season.

“I didn’t expect the kind of season I’m having at all. The consistency has been there,” Lefever said.

Lefever placed eighth out of 124 bowlers at the WPIBL Championships. He fell four pins short of reaching the stepladder finals for the league title. The top six bowlers compete there.

“One more spare and he’s in there,” Cupp said. “Hunter gets it. We preach all the time about the importance of picking up spares and he’s bought into that. He only had three opens in that tournament and it was a very tough shot.”

That “tough shot” will be the same for the regional tournament.

“That’s the shot we’re practicing on all week,” Huff said. “There’s a fine area you have to hit. Otherwise, the ball isn’t going to hook in or it’s going to fade well left.”

Cupp said Huff’s achievement of raising his average 20 pins to 214 “is extremely difficult to do.”

Huff led the entire WPIBL in average for much of the season and finished fifth overall. That’s good enough to make him a first team all-league bowler. Huff is a member of Butler’s golf team as well.

He’s been bowling since age 5. His father, Kurt Huff, is one of Butler’s assistant coaches.

“He’s the reason I’m able to do what I do,” Huff said of his father. “He’s worked with me all my life.”

Huff’s younger brother, Chris, who carries a 172 average, will be a freshman for Butler next season.

After high school, Huff plans to do an apprenticeship for machining and engineering, “but if a college offer (for bowling) comes up, I’ll take it.”

Lefever has been bowling since age 7.

“My mom asked if I wanted to try the junior (Saturday morning) bowling and I’ve been hooked on it ever since,” he said.

Lefever plans to attend Butler County Community College next year and bowl “in a competitive adult league.”

He is hopeful of closing out his high school career on a positive note.

“I think back to my freshman year and can’t believe how far I’ve come,” Lefever said. “Bowling is a matter of concentration for me.

“My ball doesn’t move all that much. (The tournament shot) is just adjusting a few boards to the right for me.”

Cupp said Lefever has ridden his momentum into the postseason.

“The team has been able to count on him in these tournaments, just like we rode Nick’s big scores through the regular season,” Cupp said.