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Hoffman Estates soars through 'amazing' MSL title run

Hoffman Estates sophomore Emilie St. Claire said the Hawks' approach to Saturday's Mid-Suburban League girls bowling championship tournament was the same as it would be for any other meet.

"We just took it frame by frame," St. Claire said. "We hit our marks, cheered each other up when we got down and bowled our best. We knew we needed our best, and now that it's over, this is simply amazing."

St. Claire rolled games of 215 and 213, and teammate Alexis Orwat was ultra-consistent with games of 237, 236 and 235 as Hoffman earned an improbable - and in St. Claire's words, 'amazing' - MSL title.

Schaumburg came into the tournament at Arlington Lanes in first place with a 99-0 mark during the regular season.

But the Hawks outbowled the Saxons and every other MSL rival Saturday to capture the crown.

Hoffman finished with a season-long point mark of 171 while Schaumburg took second place with a 166.5 and Buffalo Grove was third at 154.

"We knew were chasing a great team today in Schaumburg," said Hoffman Estates coach Dan Pfligler. "It was an uphill battle all the way. I looked at the sheets after the fourth game (of six), and we were still behind by double digits. That was a big hill to climb, but these Hoffman Estates bowlers came to play today."

Hersey senior Emma Wrenn won her second consecutive individual championship, posting a 213.41 average for the year.

Wrenn also finished second in conference as a sophomore.

"Emma is such a hard worker," said Huskies coach Julie Arias. "She spent the entire summer working to fix any little technical problem she may have had, to be even better this season. She always gives a great effort, and her commitment to the sport itself is paying off."

Wrenn had a slow start Saturday with a first game of 155 but recovered in games 2 and 3 with a 225 and 236.

After the break, the senior posted a 220-242-191 line to win the title over last season's state champion, Jessica Soskich of Buffalo Grove. Soskich finished at 210.95.

"I was very nervous today," Wrenn said. "I kind of struggled, but I knew I had it in me to fight back and earn what I created all season.

"The talent level in this conference is indescribable. There are so many great bowlers like Jess, Amanda (Hoffman's Richae) and Kylie (Schaumburg's Frick). They push me to do my best every day and work as hard as I can, and I guess you could say that I'm proud that I accomplished my goals."

Richae finished third individually at 207.91, Frick (202.28) was fourth and Sarah Tenyer of Barrington (199.79) placed fifth.

Prospect senior Arie Upshaw had the best day of any competitor. Her superior performance pushed her into sixth place overall at 193.89.

Upshaw started the day off right with a clean (no open frame) 269, then added morning session games of 231 and 226 to finish with a 726 series, the second-best series mark in the MSL this year.

The senior's 593 in the afternoon gave her a spectacular 1,319 pinfall on the day.

"I was feeling good, feeling loose coming into today," Upshaw said. "It's my senior year and I wanted to do something to go out with a bang.

"After my first game, I felt like I had my feet under me, and I was able to move on. In my second game I had one open. I missed a 10-pin but I didn't let it bug me. I just rolled my way out of it and kept the ball in the pocket."

Gina Lenoci excelled for Schaumburg Saturday with a 627 series in the morning (213 game). Klaudia Tatowska rolled a 257 game for Rolling Meadows. Jamie Knutsen of Elk Grove fired a 249 and Soskich of BG had games of 257 and 224.

For the title-winning Hawks, Richae pitched in to the win with games of 227 and 224.

"We weren't in the best position coming into today," Richae said. "But we knew (the championship) was out there for the taking. We just to fight as hard as we could. I had the mindset to bowl my best and not let anything get to me, and be a role model for my teammates."

"We just had to keep a positive attitude," added teammate Orwat. "Usually you're tired after the lunch break, but we came back energized. We gave it everything we had."

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