Boys bowling: Libertyville earns its 1st NSC championship

Libertyville won the North Suburban Conference boys bowling championship for the first time Friday, but Waukegan took the league's tournament title at Lakeside Recreation Center in Mundelein.

The Wildcats finished first for the season with 130 points, followed by Stevenson (124) and Waukegan (110).

Waukegan won the conference tournament in a close finish with 5,646 pins over the six games. Stevenson was second (5,632), Libertyville third (5,626) and Warren fourth (5,399). Lake Zurich (5,321) and Mundelein (5,154) rounded out the field.

"We have been in contention before and Stevenson got us that day," Libertyville coach Robert Sweno said. "We were able to pull it out. It was all a focus to win the conference and our group of seniors, juniors and underclassmen have taken it to heart this year and put in the practice. It's easy to get distracted throughout the season and lose sight of your goals.

"This year we stayed focused and knew what we had to do. We did well in the head-to-head matches to give us a cushion. Luckily, it was enough to hold up. Waukegan and Stevenson bowled awesome, and they came for us."

Libertyville's Vaughn Kator saved his best game of the day for last with a 278. He started with a couple of spares, then 9 strikes in a row before leaving a 4 pin on his last ball. He also finished second individually with a 1,269.

"I just thought the pair was easier than the ones before," Kator said. "I believe I helped my team significantly."

Rolling big games early set the stage for Stevenson's Ender Starr to take top medalist honors.

Starr started his day with an impressive 708 series with games of 245, 238 and 225. He was the only bowler to break 700. Starr followed up with consistent games of 206, 205 and 186 for a six-game total of 1,305.

"It really helped and kept my morale up for the second half," Starr said. "It really kept me going. I found a line and making spares really helped. The lanes were hooking a lot more (in the afternoon). You had to change balls and change lines. I got a few strikes each game and filled the rest with spares."

Will Grenier of Waukegan finished third (1,210) and Mundelein's Winston Petri (1,206) fourth. He rolled a 674 series over the first three games and had a high game of 233.