Boys bowling: Harlem in fine form at Lake Zurich's invitational
Several boys bowling teams warmed up for regionals at Deer Park Lanes in Deer Park on Saturday.
Harlem didn't need much warming up. The Huskies have been hot all season and showed again in the Lake Zurich Bear Invitational why they're one of the top teams in the state, as they totaled a winning 6,478 pins over the six games. St. Charles North (6,286) was second and Lake Zurich (6,026) finished third in the 16-team field.
St. Charles North started out strong with a 3,244 over their first three games (1,022, 1,143 and 1,079), then followed up with 1,089, 965 and 988.
"It's the best we've bowled all year, and I know that we have a lot of potential," North Stars coach Michelle Cook said. "We just need to pull it all together. They just did that as a team. This was huge for us to get this kind of score rolling into next week and the confidence it will bring."
St. Charles North's Joey Rayner threw a final-game 249 that moved him into the top spot. He finished with a 1,406 for a 234 average. He started the day with games of 228, 278 and 256 for a 762 series and followed up with 213, 182 and 249 for a 644.
"It's really like a mini state tournament bowling against Harlem, Hononegah and Freeport," Rayner said. "They are usually the top teams in the state. It makes you raise up to their level. You want to be the best you can be. My teammates are competing with each other a lot and pushing each other to bowl better."
St. Charles North's Blake Miller took fourth (1,357), while the North Stars' other contributors were Brian Belzey (1,271), Zach Mundt (1,161) and Mitch Leonard (1,091).
Lake Zurich's Billy Schroeder placed fifth with 1,311 and had an impressive 279 in his final game. Jason Gutkowski of Lake Park was sixth (1,304), and Vernon Hills' Derek Jarrell tied Grayslake Central's Greg Silverman for 10th (1,271 each).
It capped an outstanding week for Silverman, who bowled his first perfect game on Wednesday at Fairhaven Lanes in Mundelein and then tossed a 289 game Thursday at Brunswick Zone Hawthorn in Vernon Hills.
"I have put in a lot of effort to get where I am now," said Silverman, who has been bowling for only four years and averages 212. "It's paying off in my senior year of high school. ... Once I put up those high games, I just put everything behind me. I'm just focusing on my game. I thought I performed well (Saturday) and threw some high games with a lot of good teams here. Just a lot of good competition."
Lake Park (5,944) finished fourth followed by Vernon Hills (5,869) and Libertyville (5,812).
"We had a great confidence booster," Lake Zurich coach Mike Sutton said. "We've had an up-and-down season. We talk about peaking at the right time, and that's what we hope is going on right now."
Regionals take place next Saturday. Lake County schools will compete at Brunswick Zone Vernon Hills. St. Charles East and St. Charles North will roll at Funway Lanes in Batavia. Lake Park and Fenton will be part of the regional at Brunswick Roselle.