Grant's Abernathy takes 19th downstate

Noah Abernathy set the standard in boys bowling at Grant.

The senior wrapped up his career Saturday by finishing 19th in the state meet at St. Clair Bowl in O'Fallon.

Abernathy started the day in 40th, worked his way up to 20th, slipped back to 30 and then rolled a 258 in his final game.

"The last game really helped me out a bit," Abernathy said. "Reaching the top 20 is a great accomplishment."

Abernathy finished with a total of 2,617 pins, 26 shy of an individual medal (top 12). He rolled a 656 series in the morning with games of 213, 254 and 159. He added a 681 for the afternoon with games of 221, 202 and 258.

"I'm happy with the way I ended up," Abernathy said. "I wanted to get that medal. It was close with a number off bowlers."

LaSalle-Peru's Nate Grubler won the championship with a state-record 3,116 over the 12 games (259.7 average). He had a 729 morning set and shot 745 in the afternoon.

Machesney Park Harlem captured the state title with 12,998 pins over the two days. Rockton Hononegah picked up second place (12,814) and O'Fallon was third (12,805).