Grayslake North pins down state berth

Four pins.

That's what denied Grayslake North's girls bowling team a trip to state last year. It weighed heavily on the minds of the Knights, who got their shot at redemption Saturday.

And this time they didn't let opportunity slip away.

The Knights secured a spot at Cherry Bowl in Rockford next weekend by finishing third in the Rolling Meadows sectional at Brunswick Zone Mt. Prospect. Grayslake North totaled 5,731 pins, while Schaumburg was the sectional champion with a 5,841 total. Runner-up Hersey (5,758) and Hoffman Estates (5,710) also qualified for state.

"Missing by 4 pins last year was a huge motivator for the team," Grayslake North coach Laura Bertermann said. "They recognized that every pin counts. We bowl as a team. Even when someone has a bad game, somebody else picks it up. We were steady all day. That was our goal - to continue to have good games."

Good games added up to one great day.

"It was devastating to be that close (last year)," Bertermann said. "You could see how hard the girls worked. We set a goal at the beginning of the season (to qualify for state). Our goal is to make it to the second day. It's been our goal all season long."

Grayslake North stayed consistent all day with all of its games in the 900s. The Knights started the day by throwing games of 968, 951 and 951 for a morning set of 2,870, which put them in third place. They followed up with games of 915, 969 and 977 for a 2,861 in the afternoon. Sarah Littleton led the Knights with a 1,309 total over the six games. She finished in fourth place overall. Her first three games totaled 685 (186, 245, 254). Then she rolled 237, 211 and 176 in the afternoon.

"It's definitely a good feeling to be going (to state)," Littleton said. "I definitely bowled some good games out there. I picked up my teammates and they picked me up. It was a good day."

The Knights also got big contributions from Gaby Silva (1,209) and Kait Christiansen (1,112).

Stevenson's Kaitlyn Rudy was the sectional champion and the top qualifier with an impressive 1,407 total. All of her games were in the 200s.

"(Winning the championship) was my goal. I was hoping to push through," Rudy said. "I'm a little disappointed that our team isn't going to state. I usually have trouble in the morning and do better in the afternoon. But I took a deep breath before each shot. I was focused working hard, and it paid off."

Rudy shot her personal-best series for the first three games. Her 710 total included games of 225, 226 and 259. Her other three games - 224, 219, 254 - gave her a 697 series.

"I just told myself not to look at the other scores," Rudy said. "I just did my own thing, and it worked."

The other individual qualifiers were Barrington's Sarah Tenyer (1,311), Conant's Angela Anzelone (1,264) and Victoria Domanski (1,249), and Zion-Benton's Natalie Liewehr (1,200).