Rigwood on a roll; team title to Wauconda

What a way to start the day.

After her 248 game, Taylor Rigwood of Vernon Hills was off and rolling.

Rigwood knocked down enough pins to claim the North Suburban Conference individual girls bowling title on Friday at Brunswick Zone Hawthorn in Vernon Hills.

Wauconda captured the first conference title in its brief five-year bowling history.

Rigwood, a senior, followed her 248 game with games of 187 and a 246 for a 681 series. She stayed consistent the rest of the day with an afternoon series of 637 and games of 227, 215 and 195 for a 6-game total of 1,318 pins.

“I thought I did pretty well,” Rigwood said. “The lanes were pretty good and nicely oiled. I was hoping for the best all day.

“I really didn’t know that I won until they called my name.”

It was close — Rigwood finished 4 pins ahead of Antioch’s Kelsey Schreiber (1,314). Schreiber threw a final game of 245, which left her close to a title for a second straight year.

“I knew I needed a big game, but didn’t know just how big. I guess second place is in my book right now,” Schreiber said. “I had no idea it would be that close.”

Dena Husk of Round Lake ended in third place (1,140), Cyndi Teuber of Wauconda placed fourth (1,139) and Warren’s Casey Brown took fifth (1,117).

Wauconda had earned top honors in the Prairie Division stayed on a roll in the team race, taking top honors Friday with 5,288 pins. The Bulldogs won by 30 pins over second-place Vernon Hills (5,258), third-place Antioch (5,189) and fourth-place Zion-Benton (5,112) in the 12-team field. The Zee-Bees were the Lake Division champion.

Wauconda was without one of its better bowlers in Rebecca Ledenbach, who sat out with a wrist injury.

“I’m still shaking about all of it,” Wauconda coach Melynda Lorence said. “We all bowled pretty even and kept things together. We were able to bowl very well against (Vernon Hills). So we knew we had a shot.”

Others scorers for the Bulldogs were Dorino Badino-Berger (1,070), Melissa Ohms (1,066), Kristine Micheletti (1,032) and Shannon Franklin (981).

Wauconda went head-to-head against Vernon Hills in Game 5. The Bulldogs rolled 973 to 853 for Vernon Hills, which put Wauconda up by 15 pins going into the final game. Wauconda tossed an 889 and Vernon Hills had an 874.

“Our girls did a great job for us to take second place,” Vernon Hills coach Andra Hjelm said. “They pulled together as a team and bowled well.”

The Cougars had the only game over 1,000 for the day with a 1,017 in Game 4. It’s the first time all season they’ve broken 1,000.

Other scorers for Vernon Hills included Briana Wolf (1,037), Kelly Kalsch (1,025), Meghan Calderone (977) and Stephanie Wilson (901).

The Lake Zurich sectional featuring Lake County’s teams will be at Brunswick Zone Deer Park next Saturday starting at 9 a.m.