Hawks, Saxons tie for MSL lead

It isn't easy having a first-round bye.

That's what happened to two-time Mid-Suburban bowling champion Hoffman Estates this season, and the Hawks have been slightly behind Schaumburg, the league's front-runner, almost the entire year.

But that finally changed Thursday, when Schaumburg drew a bye in the 11-team and Hoffman drew Wheeling.

Hoffman Estates defeated the Wildcats 9-0 to pull dead even with Schaumburg. Both teams have won all 72 points available and still have a head-to-head meeting in the final three meets of the season.

Other than Hoffman catching Schaumburg, everyone else in the league stayed the same on Thursday.

Third-place Prospect swept Buffalo Grove 9-0 to remain in third place. The Knights were led by Ashley Ruszczak, who bowled a 655 (227-203-225) and anchor Hannah Wrenn, who shot a 653 (234-234-185). Prospect was up by 450 pins heading into the third game.

"We had a pretty good solid day today," said Prospect coach Greg Troyer. "Hannah's pretty consistent. There's always one of those meets where I circle the calendar and this was the one."

Finals begin today for District 214, but it's not as simple as it seems, either.

"For us, it's a short schedule," Troyer said. "We don't start testing (Friday) because it's not a full day. We haven't hit our peak but we looked good today. We're still looking for more consistency. We adjust too slow. A lot of that is experience, and how to react to that. Four of the five are new to varsity."

Conant started out the winter as if it wouldn't be any where near the conference race, but lately the Cougars have stepped it up and sit in fourth place after defeating Palatine 9-0.

"We're coming on at the end," said Conant coach John Braglia. "We set some very attainable goals. We have good dynamics on the teams. Brianna Carroo is developing very, very well. Michelle Nadler and Lucy Krol, both seniors, are our second and third bowlers. They've done just wonderfully. They dug their heels in and saved their position on the team. We have a lot of seniors on the team. Pam Wawrzyniak was just amazing."

Wawrzyniak bowled a 627 (213-213-202).