Not many people gave Boca Raton junior Jason Booke much of a chance when the Round of 16 competition began last month at the state high school bowling championships in Orlando.

But thanks to some outstanding bowling at the Florida state high school tournament, Booke has been named The Palm Beach Post's Bowler of the Year.

Damon Higgins/The Post Boca Raton's Jason Booke is The Post's bowler of the year. Click here to see an audio slide show on Booke. Tyler Westling (Sr., Martin County) Matt Gauroniak (Jr., Martin County) Bradley Morris (Sr., Jupiter) Ryan Gonzalez (Sr., W. Boca Raton) Todd Pass (Soph., South Fork) Tom Baral (Coach, Martin County) Christel Wurster (Sr., Santaluces) Kayla Henriques (Jr., Park Vista) Rachel Vaughn (Fr., Lincoln Park) Kaitlyn Benedict (Fr., Santaluces) Brittney Theiss (Sr., Centennial) Dave Bardsley (Coach, Centennial)

"I hope people will notice me now," said Koff, a 16-year-old who has been bowling for 10 years.

Booke, who earned a trip to the event when his team won the District 11 boys championship, finished preliminary competition in the state singles event with a four-game pinfall of 861 that put him 10th among the 16 competitors.

But Booke reached the semifinals with successive victories over No. 7 seed Matt Gauroniak of Martin County (2-0) and No. 2 seed Joshua Johnson of West Nassau (2-1), and set his sights on a state championship before falling to Andrew Koff of Gulliver Prep, 2-0.

Booke rebounded from that setback to defeat another Martin County bowler, Tyler Westling, 2-0 to place third in the state.

Booke said his victory over Johnson was the most satisfying victory of the singles tournament.

"He was nailing the pocket," Booke said of Johnson's 256-214 victory in the first game of the best-of-three match. "In the second game, it looked like he had me, but he made a mistake in the eighth frame when he left a 4-6 (split)."

That gave Booke a narrow opening, and he took advantage of it to earn a 217-215 victory.

"He gave me an opening," Booke said. "And after that, I just struck out."

The reprieve gave Booke some confidence, and he went on to capture a 205-192 victory in the third game to advance to the semifinals.

Booke said the low seeding may have been an advantage.

"I don't really think they knew who I was and didn't think much of me," he said.

That wasn't true in the semifinal, however, where Booke lost to Koff, who remains unbeaten against Booke in match play.

"We were both in the pocket," Booke said of his 2-0 loss to the Gulliver Prep standout. "He knocked all of his pins down, and I left some 10-pins. "He wasn't shooting 240s and 270s all day. He just had his best games against me."

Booke looks forward to renewing their rivalry next season on the high school level as both will be seniors.

"I wish I could have given Koff a better match," he said. "That was the match of the year for me. If I would have done something, people would have noticed me more and given me the confidence to compete with him."

THE POST'S ALL-AREA TEAMS

Boys team

Tyler Westling, senior, Martin County

A member of the state team champion Tigers, Westling was the fourth-place finisher in the District 8 tournament with a three-game series of 673. He had an even better effort at the state tournament, advancing to the round of 16 in the individual tournament with a fourth-place finish and a total of 903 in four games before losing to Boca Raton's Jason Booke 2-0 in the consolation final.

Matt Gauroniak, junior, Martin County

A member of the state team champion Tigers, Gauroniak rolled a perfect game at the District 8 tournament to capture the individual title with a 781 total. At the state tournament, Gauroniak was the seventh-best qualifier with a total of 882.

Bradley Morris, senior, Jupiter

A member of the District 9 champions, Morris qualified for the round of 16 at the state tournament in 11th place with an 857 total. Morris fell to eventual state runner-up Andrew Koff of Gulliver Prep 2-0 but rebounded to defeat No. 14 seed Todd Pass of South Fork 2-1.

Ryan Gonzalez, senior, West Boca Raton

The District 11 individual champion with a winning total of 693, Gonzalez advanced to the round of 16 at the state tournament with a 12th-place finish and a four-game total of 850. He won three matches, including one against Jupiter's Morris, and finished in sixth place overall.

Todd Pass, sophomore, South Fork

Pass earned a berth in the state tournament when his team placed second to Martin County at the District 8 championships. After placing 19th in the district tournament with a three-game total of 552, Pass reached the round of 16 at the state tournament in 14th place with a four-game total of 847.

Coach: Tom Baral, Martin County

The fourth-year Tigers' coach had fun watching his son, T.J., win the state individual boys' championship in 2007 as a junior. But he also felt satisfaction watching his team overcome a second-round loss to Oviedo, then come back through the consolation round to beat Oviedo in successive matches by scores of 3-2 and 3-1 to win the state title this year. "I felt we had a stronger team because of the caliber of our bowlers," he said.

Girls team

Christel Wurster, senior, Santaluces

Wurster, an all-area selection last year from Palm Beach Central, earned a trip to Orlando when the Chiefs won the District 11 title. Wurster, who placed 36th in the District 11 individual competition with a two-game total of 284, qualified for the round of 16 in ninth place with a four-game total of 787. Wurster then was eliminated with successive losses.

Kayla Henriques, junior, Park Vista

The eighth-place finisher in the District 11 individual tournament, Henriques bowled in the state tournament thanks to her team's second-place finish at the district tournament. In Orlando, Henriques advanced to the round of 16 with a four-game total of 769 in 12th place, where she went 1-2.

Rachel Vaughn, freshman, Lincoln Park

Vaughn, who placed 17th individually at the District 8 tournament, missed qualifying for the round of 16 in Orlando by three pins with a four-game total of 759. Her Greyhounds, seeded third in the state tournament, eventually was eliminated by a loss to Santaluces.

Kaitlyn Benedict, freshman, Santaluces

The District 11 individual champion with a three-game total of 547, Benedict placed 22nd at the state meet with a four-game total of 735. Benedict, the sister of boys' 2007 all-area selection John Ryan Benedict, started her four-game set with a 212 but wound up 27 pins short of the cutoff for the round of 16.

Brittney Theiss, senior, Centennial

The District 8 champion with a three-game total of 631, Theiss had a disappointing effort in the individual competition at the state tournament with a 25th-place finish and a four-game total of 728. But she more than made up for that disappointment when she led the District 8 team champion Eagles to four straight victories and the state team championship.

Coach: Dave Bardsley, Centennial

The Eagles' coach led his team to a victory over Lincoln Park in the District 8 team championship - a title that required them to beat Lincoln Park in two consecutive matches - before leading his team to a four-game sweep and the 2008 state title, the school's first team title in bowling.