KENNEWICK — Kennewick High School junior Karissa Shiflet is an ambitious young woman.

She is author of several well-received social observation articles for the school newspaper, Lions Roar, and she is taking the required steps towards a future in pharmacology with special attention on succeeding in International Baccalaureate classes, which provide the requisite foundation towards a career choice in the medical field.

But when it is just her, a Storm Prodigy bowling ball in her hands, and the 10 taunting pins in the daunting distance, Shiflet enters another zone altogether

"I really enjoy bowling," Shiflet said. "It is a mental game, and also really fun. It helps me stay calm, and helps me with more than just sports."

She acquiesces that bowling is not going to hit a target heart rate or work the core, but says that the sport has long-term academic value.

"You don't stay fit bowling, but take stuff from bowling, and take it into school. Whenever I have a lot of homework, or a big test, it helps me stay calm."

And with a 3.6 GPA alongside international baccalaureate (IB) courses in Spanish, literature, pre-calculus, chemistry and history -- with a bull's-eye painted on biology next -- you would be hard pressed to proffer a convincing argument against the fact that bowling grants its practitioners an intensified focus.

But that's not all. As a three-sport athlete (soccer, bowling, softball) Shiflet has learned much in how to deal with people and situations.

"It helps me improve my social skills," she said of her team sports experiences. "It's easier to get along with girls and take a leadership position, know what to say.

"I'm the type of person who pleases everyone. If somebody is down, I want to cheer them up."

It's that empathy that has fueled her attitude on sportsmanship.