Lake Park's second-place finish a source of pride
Quickly joining the ranks of the area's most successful athletic programs, Lake Park's boys bowling team was recognized at the high school last Saturday for its second-place state finish.
The Lancers won the title last season, but if they were seen as favorites head coach Greg Edwards didn't take it that way. There was pride, not disappointment in his voice.
"We never go into a tournament thinking that we're the favorite," said Edwards, joined by assistant John Hobscheid in presenting the trophy to Lake Park Superintendent John Butts.
"That's one of the things that I coach my kids to believe - that you've got to be humble and worry about yourself. As long as you stay within your own realm and play your game you'll be fine," Edwards said.
The Lancers were led Jan. 29-30 at St. Clair Bowl in O'Fallon by Zach Tsiodras, Grant Jensen, Adam Keith, Tyler Sadowski and Ryan Keith, Adam's twin. They also got scoring from Marc Ostrowski, Gunar Rud and Aaron Adams; Alex Rios also is on the junior-based squad. Lake Park averaged 208.6 pins, behind state champion Plainfield South's 210.1. Fenton senior John Zalecki was the highest local finisher, in 12th place with a 218.8 average.
Edwards, whose Lancers won the inaugural Upstate Eight Conference title, then a third straight sectional title before state, described himself Saturday as "not just a bowling coach but a life coach."
It sounds like he's got it. Edwards praised his team for persevering instead of quitting when they were in fifth; he saluted Plainfield South, which lost a member of its team, Eric Brander, to a December auto accident.
"His spirit was there, and it was a great spirit," Edwards said. "If we were going to lose to somebody we were glad that we lost to them because they deserved, in remembrance of him, to be able to hoist that first-place trophy because he was a first-place individual."
Shake hands with the headpinThis weekend, good luck to the Willowbrook and Downers Grove North girls bowling teams coached by Larry Johnson and Mark Weiger, respectively.In the individual competition at Cherry Bowl Lanes in Rockford are Glenbard East junior Dayna Mackie, York senior Christy Chiappetta and Hinsdale Central senior Sabrina Cothard.Like mother like daughterA call came in Wednesday night from Wheaton North graduate Jeff Peltz. He was sitting on the floor at Los Angeles International Airport in the first of seven days he'll be missing freshman classes at Wheaton College while following his sister, Nancy, as she skates for the U.S. Olympic Team in Vancouver.Jeff, who played football at Wheaton College this year, his last year doing that before he too becomes a full-time speedskater, said Nancy will be competing for the United States in the 3,000-meter race, at 5 p.m. Sunday.Nancy, who earned her spot on the U.S. Olympic roster by winning the 3,000 at the U.S. Olympic Speedskating Championships in Utah on Dec. 27, is also part of the U.S. Team Pursuit that competes later at the Games. She is the 2009 U.S. All-Around Champion speedskater and was 18th in the World All-Around Championships.Nancy goes by Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr. Her mother, Nancy - sister of Wheaton College football coach Mike Swider; married to Wheaton College defensive line coach Jeff Peltz - competed in three Olympics and is a member of the National Speed Skating Hall of Fame.Couch potatoTrack and field only makes ESPN about once a week, so the timing was perfect last week, a couple hours before the Super Bowl. Watching the Boston Indoor Games where another Wheaton North graduate, Adam Harris, finished eighth in the 60-meter dash.Missed the Girls Junior Mile and the opportunity to see Benet Academy senior McKinzie Schulz finish seventh with a time of 5 minutes, 5.67 seconds. Schulz, by the way, recently signed her letter of intent to attend Notre Dame, where she'll run track and cross country.