WAIALUA — All season long, they led and encouraged their teammates , sharing their knowledge of the game with them.

Now, Waialua High School bowlers Nohelani Olpendo and Jasmin Ash are leaning on each other to get through the two biggest days of the season.

The two enter today's Billy Tees/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Bowling Championships at Schofield Bowling Center with refreshed outlooks on the sport that will keep them focused on the pins and divert them from everything else.

"We're always there to help each other, support, pick each other up," said Ash, a sophomore with a 169 average and a two-time state qualifier. "We both know if we get frustrated, it's not going to help at all. We just both know patience and there's room for one bad game."

Bowlers will complete six games today and three tomorrow morning.

The two are Waialua's most experienced bowlers, having been involved in the sport since they were young kids, and the team's only state qualifiers. This season was as much about having fun as a team as it was teaching their teammates who were new to the sport.

"We just teach them the basics and not to worry about their scores, just have fun," said Olpendo, who has a 186 average and is competing in her fourth state tourney. "The main thing is we don't have to win, as long as we have fun."

Ash's new outlook was a bit of saving grace at the O'ahu Interscholastic Association championships two weeks ago. She was hitting her mark through the first few games when she happened to glance at the scores.

She was in the lead.

Around that time, her parents arrived to support her.

Suddenly, it all became too much. She caught herself in time and recovered to finish 15th, earning the last medal awarded to the top finishers. It also clinched a state berth.

"When I started to go down, I didn't freak out as much as last year," Ash said. "I'm bowling a bad game, I can do better the next game if anything."

Olpendo is motivated by the fact she's yet to earn a medal at the state championships given to the top 15 finishers. She placed 31st at states as a freshman, 28th as a sophomore and 21st last year.

Olpendo also hopes to earn a collegiate bowling scholarship like older sister Theresa, a senior at Jackson State in Mississippi.

"Lately, I've been having a positive attitude about my games and not thinking as negative about it," said Olpendo, who has medaled at all four OIA championships. "It brings the game down. If I think negative, that's when I'll bowl junk. I just try to stay positive."

Helping their team also paid off as Waialua finished in the middle of the OIA West in fifth place. The Bulldogs had six bowlers this year, one above the minimum for a scoring team. They didn't have a full team last year.

"We actually had a chance to compete at the team level," said Ash, who also played volleyball in the fall. "It's a lot more fun when you have a team and not just three or four girls there."

FALCONS IN RANGE

Kalani, the defending girls state champion, returns three bowlers from last year's championship team.

Defending boys champion Corey Gushikuma of Baldwin is back. Pearl City is the defending boys state champion, but the Chargers finished second at the OIA championships to Mililani.

Hawai'i Baptist, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion, won state titles in 2006 and 2007.