Boys bowling: Lake Zurich makes it to final round
Lake Zurich needed a strong afternoon run of games to extend its weekend at the boys state bowling tournament at St. Clair Bowl in O'Fallon on Friday.
The Bears have been one of the best bowling teams in Lake County this season, winning the North Suburban Conference championship and a regional title along with advancing past the sectional and they are showing that they can roll with the best teams in the state.
"We came to bowl in all six games," Lake Zurich coach Chuck Vozas said. "We had some pretty good games and needed all seven of our bowlers. Everyone really bowled well."
The Bears were on the outside looking into the second day in the 13th spot after three games, throwing a 3,064. But Lake Zurich came back strong with games of 1,025, 1,092 and 996 for a 3,113 afternoon set.
The Bears managed to move up to ninth place with 6,177 pins but had reached seventh after the fifth game.
"We needed to be over 1,000 in every game," Vozas added. "We reached our goal. Our boys have the no quit and stamina in them. We now can move on to Saturday."
Trevor Madura led the Bears with a 1,289 over the six games. He tossed a 686 and followed it up with a 603.
Billy Schroeder (1,272), with a high game of 242, Jason Morrison (1,256), Jason Czabaj (574 for three games), Joey Kovanda (364, two games) and Alex Kouras (186) also contributed to the team effort.
After the first day, Machesney Park Harlem leads the team standings with 6,421, followed by Minooka (6,390) and St. Charles East (6,368).
Edgar Burgos of St. Charles East was the top individual after day one with a 1,469 which is a 244.8 average. He also rolled a perfect game of 300 for a 790 series in the morning.
Diego Cortez of Waukegan was the top Lake County bowler, sitting in 12th place with a 1,342 series. He rolled a high game off 276 in his second game of the day. Cottez is making school history as bowing is in its first year at Waukegan.
Warren's Ethan Kailin advanced to the second day with a 1,271. He rolled a 664 in the morning and a 607 in the afternoon. His best games were 245 and 221.
"His emotions were definitely in play but he came through pretty well," Warren coach Jim Voutiritsas said.
"He's taking it like a champ and dealing with it one shot at a time. No doubt, he belongs with all these bowlers and he's in the moment."