Coughenour to bowl for Pitt-Greensburg
BUTLER TWP — Butler High School’s bowling coaches saw the potential in Natalie Coughenour as a youth bowler.
Once her high school career got going, that potential began to develop.
Now it’s bubbling over.
Coughenour, a 2023 Butler graduate, recently signed a letter of intent to continue her academic and bowling career at Pitt-Greensburg. She considered Duquesne and Youngstown State as well.
“My chance to bowl in college is there,” she said of Pitt-Greensburg. “It’s a fairly new program and I feel like I can have a good career there.”
Coughenour plans to study forensic psychology.
“One thing is certain — they are getting a fierce competitor in Natalie,” Butler bowling coach Bob Cupp said. “From the time she came in as a freshman, she’s only gotten better. She became an anchor on our girls team this year and relished that role.
“Natalie understands the concept of five bowlers going up against five bowlers. She bowls her best in team situations. We lost to Deer Lakes twice during the season, then beat them in region play. Natalie was a big key in that. Joining a young college program, she will be a tremendous help in that regard.
“She is the consummate teammate,” Cupp added.
Pitt-Greensburg had six bowlers — four sophomores and two juniors — on its team this year. The Bobcats were 10-62 and have 27 wins in their three-year history. Former Penn-Trafford bowling standout Amanda Cunningham is coach of the team.
Cunningham won the Pennsylvania high school girls singles championship in 2014 and was state runner up in 2013 and 2016. She lost the title one year to Butler graduate Megan Paul.
“We are very familiar with Amanda and we reached out to her,” Cupp said. “She had a lot of interest in Natalie.”
Coughenour’s average was in the 150s her freshman season. It gradually improved by season and reached 190 this year.
She helped the Golden Tornado girls place seventh and sixth in the state the past two years.
“I love the sport,” Coughenour said. “I’ve been bowling since I was a little kid. I don’t know if I was thinking about bowling in college, but I knew it was possible, especially coming through this (Butler) program.
“Bowling is such a mental game. You have to focus.”
Coughenour becomes the eighth Butler female bowler to extend the sport to college in the past decade.
“The college opportunities are out there for female high school bowlers,” Cupp said. “Natalie is taking advantage of it.”
Coughenour said she “just wants to be a contributing part of the team” at Pitt-Greensburg. “I enjoyed being part of the team at Butler, building friendships, and I hope the same thing happens there.“
Cupp said Coughenour could have averaged 200 her senior year, if not for a couple of “bumps in the road” late in the year.
“The sky is the limit for her,” the coach said. “Natalie can take that (Pitt-Greensburg) program to another level. She has that kind of ability.”
Coughenour is the daughter of Dylan and Christina Coughenour.
