Novak, Warren savoring this sectional trip

Rolling right along, there's Warren coach Rich Novak.

He's been coaching in the Blue Devils girls bowling program for the last 20 years, the last 10 as head coach.

But all rolls must end eventually, which means Novak will especially enjoy this season and one last trip to the sectional round.

Novak's squad was one of four to advanced from the Warren regional at Bertrand Lanes on Saturday.

"Getting to the sectional was one of our goals," Novak said. "They all stayed together and worked together through everything."

Novak will retire after this school year. He's looking forward to a bright future, both for the Warren program and himself.

"Retiring is hard to do," he said, "but I know it's time to get younger people out here - and I want to do some traveling."

Warren will join Grayslake North, Libertyville and Zion-Benton in the Rolling Meadows sectional at Brunswick Zone Mt. Prospect next Saturday.

Grayslake North won the regional for the second straight year with a pinfall of 5,770. Warren was the runner-up (5,341), Zion-Benton placed third (5,235) and Libertyville was fourth (4,998).

"Even though individuals struggled, we had others that picked each other up, and they bowl well as a team," said Grayslake North coach Laura Bertermann, whose team won the Fox Valley Conference tournament last week. "We were able to be consistent except for our last game. I'm just proud of the good team chemistry."

The Knights were able to throw a couple of games over the 1,000 mark and had three others in the 900s.Their best game was 1,037.

Sarah Littleton led the way, winning a regional crown for a second straight year. She rolled 1,292 over the 6 games. Her first three games really got her going, with a 697 that consisted of games of 247, 204 and 246. Then she threw games of 214, 212 and 169 for a 595.

"I just focus on one shot a time," Littleton said. "I just have to keep my mental game strong and keep my focus. I definitely have improved on that a lot, and that's basically my goal."

The other Knights bowlers were Jessica Vaughn, who finished right behind Littleton with a 1,211 and had a high game 238, along with Gaby Silva (1,129), Peyton Berterman (1,115) and Kait Christiansen (1,023).

Warren's leader was Kayla Rossi (1,180) with a high game of 227. Others key contributors were Ariel Haith (1,116), Jamie Bratzke (1,085), Macayla Powers (1,020) and Megan Martin (940).

Libertyville tried to stay consistent throughout the day.

"Making it today was a huge step, and a big ego boost," Libertyville coach Lindsey Siegel said. "It will be a tough sectional. The hardest thing will be the transition, and they will have to stay on top of that."

Leading the Wildcats were Emma Devellis (1,204), Taylor Sloan (1,038), Kaci Cibrario (964), Jackie Garcia (953) and Haley Anderson (839).

Individually, 10 bowlers advanced. They were Sam Knab of Antioch (1,145), Cheyenne Watts of McHenry (1,119), Samantha Scroggin of Lakes (1,090), Skyler Malcolm of Johnsburg (1,064), Sarah Polsgrove of Grayslake Central (1,060), Payal Patel of Grant (1,051), Emily Bajurski of Grant (1,035), Hyacinthe Ingram of Antioch (1,001), Kelsey Holst of Grayslake Central (979) and Sierra Brinegar of Round Lake (975).

"It's hard, this is my second year to do it," said Brinegar, who got the last spot and averages in the 180s. "I made it last year. But felt like I messed up a lot (at state). However, this year I've improved a lot and feel like I can make it to state."