Andy Sims helped Lockport advance to the state meet.
By Scott Taylor
Sports Editor
St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon will filled again this year by locals.
The state meet this Friday and Saturday will feature Lockport and Minooka for a fourth straight year.
Both teams qualified for state out of the Sandburg Sectional Saturday at Orland Bowl.
Minooka finished in second place with a 6,525 total. Sandburg won with a 6,684.
“It was a struggle coming up in that fourth game after the break,” Minooka junior Jon Studer said. “We had to transition, but we stuck together and stayed focused. We kept with it. It feels good to make it to state.”
The Indian were in first place at the break, but after a tough fourth game, fell back and were unable to catch the Eagles.
“The mindset after the third game was to just make it to state,” Studer said. “Being a sectional champ would just be a bonus.”
Brandon Salazar added a 1,368, Thomas Heniff shot a 1,283 and Kai Devine had a 1,242.
After finishing in the top seven the past three years, the Indians hope to get over the hump and finish in the top three for the first time.
“We want to take home hardware,” Studer said. “Hopefully we can finish in the top three. We need to shoot in the high 1,100s and take things shot by shot. We have to avoid the bad game.”
Lockport placed in fourth at the sectional with a 6,416. Andy Sims led the way with a 1,369.
“We had some struggles and dealt with some bad carry all day,” Sims said. “State is the biggest tournament you can bowl in, so it means a lot to us to go back down now. That has been our goal all year to make it back to state. Spares were huge today. It is always tough to make it out of this sectional.”
Philip
Jackinoski rolled a 1,308, Mike Pruchnik shot a 1,303 and Noah Zwit had a 1,256.
After winning the state title three years ago, the Porters placed 12th and ninth in the state the past two years, with many of the same bowlers headed to state this year.
“We want to finish higher than that,” Sims said. “We have a lot of guys with experience down there, so I think that is definitely going to help us. We need to make good shots and keep repeating those shots.”
Also qualifying for state is Joliet West’s Matt Pesavento, who shot a 1,331 to be one of the seven individual qualifiers.
“It’s pretty fun, I’m excited for it,” Pesavento said. “I didn’t know I was going to get it until they called my name. I knew it was close, but it was a great day. I wish we would have made it as a team.”
Pesavento has lofty goals for the state meet.
“The goal is to win state,” Pesavento said. “I need to stay on my shot and stay consistent.”