Waubonsie in eighth place in bowling tourney

ROCKFORD -- Waubonsie Valley was raring to go Friday at the IHSA girls state bowling tournament.

The Warriors grabbed the early lead after opening with an explosive 1,112 as Samantha Johnson rolled a 277 and Rachel Rymer added a 235.

The Warriors added games of 894 and 929, a pinfall of 2,935 and fifth place after the first three games.

The Warriors slipped back a bit in the standings by the end of the six games, finishing eighth at 5,837. The Warriors roll six more games today.

"They were a little tight in the morning," said Waubonsie Valley coach Amy Rymer. "After that they settled down. We came in and expected some big things out of these girls. If they could bowl to their ability, then I knew they could make the second day."

Johnson rolled 641 for the first three games and followed with 604 the last three.

Johnson got rolling in the second game when she started with the first 5 strikes and finished with the last five. She had a split and a spare in the middle.

"It all came from my heart," said Johnson, who has a career-best 280. "Getting the game gave us a lot of intensity. With that game we were all getting strikes and spares."

The Warriors' other scores included Rachel Rymer with 1,243; Sarah O'Brien (1,138); Katie Dupuis (1,116); and Halie Szott (1,095).

Leading the team standings was Schaumburg with 6,041, 8 pins better than Rockford Jefferson (6,033). Hoffman Estates is third with 5,913.

In the individual standings, Salem's Vanessa Wells leads with 1,371, a 228 average.

East Aurora's Brooke Peterson is 10th with 1,295 pins. Peterson shot 629 in the morning and 666 in the afternoon, with a high game of 258.