Girls bowling: Knab, Voight roll to top-20 finishes
A pair of Lake County bowlers were in striking distance of earning state medals on Saturday.
For Antioch's Samantha Knab and Lakes' Emily Voight, it came down to the final game at Cherry Bowl in Rockford.
Bowling her fourth game, Knab counted seven standing 10-pins in 10 frames. The good part was she picked up her spares.
Even though she rolled a 181 in that game, she followed up with a 214 and 205 for a 600 series. The senior finished in a 14th-place tie with Joliet West's Camryn Feehan for a 12-game total of 2,437 pins.
The top 12 earn medals.
"I tried to get back up there," Knab said. "But it wasn't enough. In that game that I left seven 10-pins, I kept adjusting. But no matter what I did, I left a 10-pin. At least I was able to pick them up."
Knab finished 47 pins behind 12th-place finisher Brynn Lambrecht of Belvidere North. It was Knab's first appearance at state.
"I'm happy where I finished for my first time and bowling against these good bowlers," Knab said. "I've always thought it's not over until the last ball of the last frame."
Voight, who had a 31st-place finish at state a year ago, tied for 16th with Harrisburg Co-op's Elizabeth Davis (2,430). Voight rolled a 575 and 602, which included a high game of 246 in the afternoon.
The junior had a goal of placing in the top 10.
"It's not what I wanted," Voight said of her finish. "I did move up a lot from last year. Bowling is a lot of work. So far I've not reached my goal from last year. I'll just have to carry it over to next year."
Wauconda's Jasmine McKeel finished in 62nd place with 2,233. She rolled a 539 and a 532 during her six games Saturday. Antioch's Alyssa Olson ended up in 72nd place (2,148).
Harlem's Rebecca Hagerman won the state championship, rolling a 2,669 (222.4 average).
Harlem also won the state championship for the second straight year and seventh time since 2000. The Huskies rolled a 12-game total of 12,111 pins. Hoffman Estates was the runner-up (11,692), and Schaumburg was third (11,647).