Lake Zurich advances to state
Lake Zurich's boys bowling team has had a strong season, winning the North Suburban Conference championship and Warren regional title last weekend at Betrand's Lanes in Waukegan.
The Bears were one of six teams that qualified for the Rockford Jefferson sectional at Dick Carter Lanes on Saturday.
Lake Zurich needed a strong final game, as it trailed Oregon by 60 pins, and the Bears delivered. Their score of 984 edged Oregon (884).
However, it was a waiting game for Lake Zurich whether it would advance to state because it finished a few frames before Oregon. The Bears got the news they wanted.
They will be making a trip to St. Clair Bowl in O'Fallon next weekend.
"This being my first year coaching, it was almost a heart attack for me," Lake Zurich coach Chuck Vozas said after his Bears finished sixth. "Our boys never quit all season, It was a team effort from all seven of our bowlers."
Lake Zurich needed every bowler to execute after learning early Saturday that Kyle Lamb would miss the day because he came down with the flu."
The Bears finished with a six-game total of 5,846. They opened with an impressive 1,097 and stayed above 900 for last five games.
Brett Schnur led the way with a 1,276. Lake Zurich's other contributors were Billy Schroeder (1,235), Trevor Madura (1,195), Jason Czabaj (850), Jason Morrison (731), Joey Kovanda (368) and Alex Kouras (191).
St. Charles North won the sectional by 16 pins over Harlem, 6,335 to 6,319, followed by Hononegah (6,123), St. Charles East (6,012) and Rockford Auburn (5,990). All of those teams advanced to the state meet.
Individually, Warren's Ethan Kailin (1,348), Waukegan's Diego Cortez (1,340) and Grayslake Central's Miles Pletcher (1,315) all qualified for state as well.
Kailin rolled a perfect game of 300 earlier this season and had a 299 the day before. The sophomore will be making his first trip. After a 705 first set, he followed up with a 643. He threw high games of 246 and 243 on the day.
"I'm really excited," Kailin said. "I'm really nervous about this. I couldn't do this without my coach."
Grant's Nick Bresen (1,314) and Stevenson's Nicolas Sternes (1,313) are sitting as the Nos. 1 and 2 at-large qualifiers. But they have to wait until after the Alton sectional finishes on Monday to see if they are headed to state.