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Sports
Showing the state they are for real : Sports : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisShowing the state they are for real
| Oswego boys bowling team brings home third-place trophy
| by Matt Daniels
| 2/4/2010
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The boys bowling season officially ended five days ago.
But Oswego head coach Linda Keely and the returning members of her squad are already looking forward to next season.
That's what a third-place finish in the state, along with a second-place individual finish by junior A.J. Johnson, will do to a program.
The Panthers showed the state's bowling aficionados the second-year varsity team - after a seventh-place finish in 2009 - is no fluke.
Oswego finished the first day of competition last Friday at St. Clair Bowl in O'Fallon in first place with a pinfall of 6,347, 36 pins ahead of fellow Southwest Prairie Conference member Plainfield South.
But the Panthers could not keep up their sterling start from Friday onto last Saturday, finishing the two-day event with a total of 12,334. Plainfield South emerged with the state title after compiling a total of 12,604, and Lake Park, the 2009 state champion, finished second with 12,513.
"It was really cool because a lot of coaches were positive with us," Keely said. "It was just an unbelievable experience for the kids. Last year was fun too, but this year we just knew what we had to do."
The Panthers were still in contention for the state championship to start the afternoon session last Saturday. Oswego was in third place, only 12 pins out of first and six away from second before its fourth game resulted in the Panthers' lowest score of the weekend with an 886.
"We were right there," Keely said. "We just had a bad game. Nothing would carry for us. The lanes were dry and we had a hard time adjusting. Then they go down on themselves, but then they bounced right back when they found out they could get hardware."
Oswego and Belvidere North were in a battle to see who would finish third, and sophomore Mikey Preston delivered. Preston - who finished 19th individually with a total of 2,574 - recorded a spare and a strike on the 10th frame to allow the Panthers to celebrate third place.
"Right before the last game, we regrouped them together, had a little talk and put the regular five kids back in that we went with towards the end of the year," Keely said. "We said 'Guys we can do this if we step it up right here.'"
Johnson stepped it up all weekend for Oswego, especially last Saturday. The junior stood in eighth place after the first day of competition with a total of 1,357 that featured a high game of 255. If not for a fourth-game struggle on Saturday - he rolled a 160 - Johnson could have finished ahead of Lockport's Kyle Anderson, who ended the finals with a total of 2,799, 64 more pins than Johnson's total of 2,735.
Johnson had an outstanding morning session, compiling a 737 series (games of 246, 213 and 278) before he finished with a 641 series (160, 237, 244). Johnson earned All-State honors for his performance, while senior Corey Marshall (18th) and Preston narrowly missed out since the top 12 bowlers earned that distinction.
"He only had one down game," Keely said of Johnson. "Other than that, he was on fire. He was so focused. The thing is when A.J. and Mikey and Corey stay up, they don't get down, that helps. That again shows the whole team thing. When you place three kids in the top 20, you're going to place in the top three (as a team)."
Marshall celebrated his 18th birthday last weekend with a fine ending to cap his prep career. The senior finished with a total of 2,575 that featured a high game of 227 on Saturday, which came during Oswego's fourth game struggles. If not for Johnson's high score, the Panthers might have dipped even further in the overall standings.
Johnson, Preston and Marshall bowled all 12 games for the Panthers, and were the only three to do so as Keely mixed and matched her lineup throughout the finals. Senior Chris Carriedo bowled in nine games total, compiling a score of 1,726 while junior Jacob Roberts bowled in 11 games for a total of 2,017. Freshman Trenton Saucedo also competed in two games last Saturday for a total of 329 while junior Kyle Murphy had a score of 378 in two games last Friday. Junior Nate Glatz also made the trip for Oswego.
Fellow SPC school Minooka finished seventh (12,104) while Belvidere North (12,312) and Rockford Guilford (12,299) rounded out the top five schools.
The Panthers will lose Marshall and Carriedo to graduation, but will return six of the team members who competed and made the trip to this past weekend's state finals next year.
"I'm already looking forward to next year," Keely said. "I'm going to miss Corey and Chris, no doubt, but other than that we have everyone back. It was awesome and a great experience. I think they'll be ready for next year. They definitely don't want to finish in third."
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