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Leyden advances to state bowling finals
Morgan Flaherty of Lincoln-Way West high-fives a competitor, Friday, during the afternoon round of the girls bowling state finals in Rockford. | Dave Shields~For Sun-Times Media.
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Updated: February 11, 2013 4:46PM
ROCKFORD — The first day of the 2013 girls bowling state meet saw Lockport and Jefferson (Rockford) finish in a tie for first place — with 6,163 pins each — to head the pack of teams advancing to Saturday’s finals at Cherry Bowl.
“It’s a tremendous feeling for the seniors,” said Lockport coach Art Cwudzinski, whose team won the state meet in 2009 but hadn’t returned until this season. “They’re living a dream. Now we have an opportunity to do something special tomorrow.”
Lockport was led by senior Megan Szczepanski, who finished sixth overall with 1,323 pins in six games, good for a 220.5 average.
Jefferson senior Emily Malone was the state meet’s top bowler on Day 1, finishing with 1,374. Teammate Taylor Hoppe, also a senior, placed third overall with 1,360 pins.
Other teams making the finals were Waubonsie Valley (6,077 pins), Oswego East (6,038), Salem (5,913), Leyden (5,808), Machesney Park (5,789), Lake Park (5,671), O’Fallon (5,651), Collinsville (5,651), Sterling (5,649) and Prospect (5,617).
Junior Reba Hall paced Leyden, finishing ninth overall with 1,308 pins. Sophomore teammate Ashley Kriston (tie for 57th with 1,161) and junior Erika Pimentel (67th with 1,148) were next for the Eagles.
Among the 30 individual bowlers to make the cut for finals were Trinity junior Tara Quinlan, who finished 14th (1,275), and Libertyville freshman Emma Davellis, who placed 52nd with 1,166 pins.
