LZ’s Schmitt stays hot in Cougar Classic

Mike Schmitt has been on a big roll lately.

The Lake Zurich junior extended it Saturday.

Schmitt had rolled a 300 game and a 799 series earlier this week in a match against Libertyville. A week earlier, he threw a career-best 804. Both those performances were at Brunswick Zone-Deer Park.

On Saturday, Schmitt picked up another honor as he earned the individual title in the 26-team field Cougar Classic held at Brunswick Zone in Vernon Hills.

Andrew captured the team title with 6,290 pins.

Schmitt had a pin total of 1,402 over 6 games for a 233.67 average.

“It would’ve been nice to have the team with me,” said Schmitt, who also rolled the highest game of the day with a 278. “It was tough to find a line all day. It was a tough shot out there. Sometimes it clicked and sometimes it didn’t.

“Every time I go out there, I just do my best. Fortunately, the last couple of weeks I’ve been higher then usual.”

Among the other top individuals were Vernon Hills’ Eric Swanson (1,331; fifth place), Lake Park’s Zach McClaughlin (1,305; sixth place) and Jake Thompson of Libertyville (1,272; 11th place).

Host Vernon Hills finished fourth in the field (5,784), just ahead of Deerfield (5,653) and Stevenson (5,645). Lake Park (5,629) placed seventh, Libertyville (5,588) eighth and Lake Zurich (5,505) 12th.

“The shot was a little different and being in our own house was not a big advantage for us,” said Vernon Hills coach Ron Long, who was hosting several of the state’s best teams in the field. “This tournament keeps growing every year. I love the competition of this tournament.”