By Jeff Degraw
For the Bugle
www.buglenewspapers.com
The cream of the crop in high school girls bowling participated in the 26th Annual Strikefest Invitational this past Saturday at Town & Country Lanes in Joliet, hosted by Plainfield North.
It is the largest and what has become the best girls regular season invitational in the state.
The eventual state champion is in the field as it has been for the past 12 years.
This tournament also gives teams a chance to see what the state finals will be like, with the competitiveness of the field and the usual pressure of the situation.
After the morning three games the teams are divided into four different divisions.
The top 12 teams are in the gold division and their team scores carry over to the afternoon three games.
The remainder of the teams are put into the silver, bronze and copper divisions and their standings are based only on the afternoon three games.
All individual scores are based on all six games.
Minooka led the way for area teams, as the Indians placed second overall with a six game total of 5,856 behind champion Machesney Park Harlem (6,086).
Joliet West placed sixth, while the Lockport Maroon team was eighth and their Gold team placing 11th.
The Indians placed four individuals in the top 22 as sophomore Megan Gillson placed 10th with a six-game total of 1,220. She was followed by seniors Kristina Sickler in 17th, Gina Russell 18th and junior Alyssa Richie in
Minooka placed second at the Plainfield North Strikefest.
22nd.
“I’m happy with the day,” Minooka coach Frank Yudzentis said. “We learned a lot from the morning session to the afternoon session because we learned where our focus should be. You have to focus on mechanics and quit thinking about everything else. We made that adjustment and bowled well in the final three games.”
Joliet West was led by the 14th place finish of senior Lexi Robbins and fellow senior Camryn Feehan placed 19th.
Sophomore Brooklinn Chavez finished in 26th, just missing an Invitational medal by one place.
“It was a tough day, but a productive day,” Tiger coach Jeff Bailey said. “We learned a lot as a team, especially when we were communicating on the direction of the ball. I really liked what I saw from the team and how they worked together. This team has really bonded together well and it was a very encouraging day. We just have to keep moving forward and get a little better week by week.”
The Porters Maroon received a 25th place finish from junior Emilie Pleshar in addition junior Samantha Traina was 27th, sophomore Chloe Siezega was 35th and junior Jessica Ramirez placed 67th. The Gold team was led by sophomore Meghan Bacys in 45th place and Payton Vandenburg in 49th.
“We bowled well, especially the first four games, but we had too many bad frames that cost us today,” Lockport coach Art Cwudzinski said. “We had a lot of good shots that didn’t strike, but that’s the game. The key to having success as a team is the ability to pick up the one pin spares. We left a lot of those out there today and many turned into open frames that just kill you in this team sport. But we are a young team with not a whole lot of experience and we are learning and this is still a long way to go in the season.”
Joliet Central finished the morning session in 14th place which placed them in the silver division (teams 12-23). It was the first time in program history that the Steelmen placed that high in the morning session. Then ended the day in third place and was led by the 39th overall finish of senior Tara Tindall. Junior Heidi Johnson was 60th and sophomore Devon Thomas placed 71st.
“Each year we have progressed with this program and today was a big step with getting into the solver division,” Central coach Steve Perion said. “Today was a measuring stick for the girls to see how they stack up, not only in the area, but in the entire state. We are getting there and it’s a work in progress.
“Our big thing is teaching the girls to bowl together as a team and not against each other. High school bowling is a team event and they are learning that we are a team and together we can achieve.”