Boys bowling: St. Charles East wins state title; Vernon Hills takes 2nd

Trying to knock down its first state boys bowling title, Vernon Hills was a couple games away from making it happen Saturday.

St. Charles East bowled a state tournament best-ever team score of 1,279 in the second to last game and rolled to its first championship at St. Clair Lanes in downstate O'Fallon.

St. Charles East finished in the top spot with 12,836 pins and was 159 pins better than runner-up Vernon Hills (12,677), while Minooka placed third (12,663).

The Saints took third place in 2015, their only other trophy finish.

In their record game that surpassed state champion Stevenson from 2016, Tyler Johnson threw a perfect game of 300, Edward Burgos followed up with a 298, Nicholas Cutrara had a 231, Connor Johnson 226 and Edgar Burgos 224. They also compiled a 1,073 and a 1,005 around the record-setting game for a finishing 3,357 series.

Johnson rolled a 769 series over his last three with a 247 and 222 in addition to the 300, and was the team leader with 2,677 over the two-days of 12 games. He finished fifth overall in a tie with St. Patrick's Jacob Perry.

The other Saints bowlers were Edgar Burgos (2,600), Edward Burgos (2,532), Cutrara (2,517) and Connor Johnson (2,510).

Vernon Hills has been to state 10 times and on Saturday picked up its third second-place trophy with the others coming in 2011 and 2012. The Cougars also placed third in 2006.\

As a school, Vernon Hills hasn't won a state championship in any sport yet with other runner-up finishes coming in Class 5A football (2017), Class 3A girls basketball twice (2012, 2013), boys volleyball (2015), Class 2A girls cross country (2018) and competitive dance (2014).

"We probably wanted first, we're a little disappointed," Vernon Hills coach Ron Long said. "It was a great accomplishment with these kids and it was so close and we still got a trophy."

On Saturday, Vernon Hills started on a roll and moved to the top of the leaderboard ahead of first-day leader Harlem. The Cougars started out with an 1,135 and followed up with 1,041 and 1,055 for a 3,231 series. They tried to keep it roll going over the last three games until St. Charles East jumped past them. The Cougars finished with games of 1,013, 1.006 and 1,007 for a 3,026.

"We did good all weekend long," Long said. "The kids fought hard, but St. Charles East broke it wide open and we still got second place. We still had a great time and I love these kids."

Joseph Napierkowski led Vernon Hills with a 12-game total of 2,593 that was good for 19th place overall. The sophomore rolled series of 664 and 558 with high games of 257 and 224. The other Cougars included Alex Kouvelas (2,554) with a high game of 254; Jacob Gates (2,549) with a high game 245; Brandon Cervantes (2,437) and Nicholas Schwind (2,484).

"Of course, we're disappointed, but I'm proud of the way the team performed," Napierkowski said. "You just want to do the best you can. We were really surprised of what St. Charles East did and we wanted to break a record too. Still, proud of how hard we worked together as a team."

Long has been the only head coach the Cougars have had for boys bowling for the last 17 years and will be retiring. He's been coaching in District 128 for 40 years, a tenure that has included football, track and girls golf. Longtime assistant coach Bill Spigner has also been a big part of the Cougars' success over the years.

Kyle Bailey of Glenbard East ended in eighth place with a 2,646. He rolled a 724 and a 607 series to move up and get a medal.

Diego Cortez of Waukegan took ninth place after a sixth-place spot last year. He finished with 2,636 and had a high game of 232.

Harlem's Ethan Pash was the tournament champion. He finished with a 2,811 total and averaged 234.3.