Williams rolls 300 game to lift Elk Grove
Elk Grove senior bowler Caerlina Williams has enjoyed a brilliant high school career, but the one thing missing from her resume was a 300 game.
Until Saturday, that is, on the biggest stage of the conference season.
Williams fired the 300 in Game 2 of the 6 games series at Saturday’s Mid-Suburban League championship tournament at AMF Lanes in Rolling Meadows, and the perfecto helped lead the Grens to their first MSL title since 1993.
“It was nerve-wracking,” said Williams, who recorded the only 300 of the conference season Saturday. “I was trying not to faint — and trying not to think about it. I didn’t want it to get in my head.
“After I threw the last strike, I screamed and jumped in the air — it was amazing.”
That the senior acheived perfection was no surprise to Grens coach Kim Sander.
“I knew it was there all the time,” said Sander. “She was so consistent all day. She was dead-on and focused. I am just ecstatic right now.”
Hoffman Estates finished in second place in the conference, 9 points behind the Grens, while Schaumburg senior Jodi Gawlik took the individual crown.
Gawlik’s season average of 221.95 was more than 18 pins better than her nearest competitor.
“It’s very cool to say that you’ve been conference champ two years in a row,” said Gawlik, who also took the crown last year. “I never had a really high game, but I felt that I was very consistent all year.”
Gawlik knocked down more pins (1,372) than any bowler Saturday, while Hoffman’s Ashley Femrite did all she could for the Hawks with games of 258 and 244.
Julie Einbinder of Conant rolled a stellar 245 game, and Whitney Schmidt of Prospect excelled while firing at 242.
Kelly Lawless from Prospect and Paula Noh from Rolling Meadows both bowled 235 games.
For the winners, Tedra Tado enjoyed an outstanding meet. The Grens junior rolled the second-best three game series of the MSL campaign, a 707 (including games of 256 and 247) in the morning session.
Tado finished second in overall and individual average (203.79) in the conference season, while classmate Ashley Dolce (202.95) was third.
Bowlers from Elk Grove included Williams (4th, 202.44), Micaela Powell (13th, 191.95) and Sarah Ray (190.82); Schaumburg (Cheryl Halas, 190.97, good for 14th place); Hoffman Estates (Liz Saffold, 6th, 199.36), Kaily Schlosser (198.33, 7th), Femrite (193.77, 12th); and Prospect (Lawless, 5th, 201.44, Schmidt (196.10, 10th); Allison Walsh (195.49, 9th place); Emily Victor (194.18, 10th), and Mary Styzek (193.92, 11th) claimed the top 15 spots in MSL cumulative average.
“We’ve been working hard for this for a long time,” said Elk Grove junior Dolce of the Grens’ first title in 18 years. “It’s been a big goal for us and it’s finally come true.”
Elk Grove held first place in conference until the final meet of the season, when they were overtaken by Prospect, and that gave the Grens a little extra boost, according to Dolce.
“It was tough to fall out of first place after being there all year,” said the junior. “But I think we used that as a little extra motivation for today.”