Boys Bowling

The boys bowling team had a season of many highs and lows, but their best accomplishment was when the team placed second in regionals. They placed high in every tournament they were in, and had an altogether unforgettable season. They got hit with COVID more then once, and missed many matches because of it. Their schedule became depleted, and at one point the team had to halt practices due to the virus. Despite all of that, their season was filled with victories and will remain unforgettable.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

The most shining accomplishment this season however, has to be freshman bowler Evan Flath who made it to the IHSA state championship. The freshman bowler was the first bowler to ever make state in Carterville bowling history. He made state as an individual, as the team did not make it past sectionals. He placed 70th in state which is a huge accomplishment, with a total score of 2,360 over the span of 12 games, which is an average score of 196.7 per game. The future is bright, for Carterville bowling, but what might be even more interesting is how many seniors this team had. This team had 4 seniors, which is a large portion of the team, and two of which are two of the teams best bowlers. Other then Evan Flath, Luke Batchelor and Connor McCague were two of the teams top bowlers, and have both been on the team since they were freshman. When asked about what this senior season meant to Connor, he said this, “This was by far my favorite season. I’m so happy and proud of all of us for accomplishing so many things including making Carterville history.” The other two seniors are, Noah Jarvis, who was a first year bowler, but had some good frames at sectionals, that almost got the team to state, and Trent Bundren who has been on the team since he was a sophomore. They put in a lot of hours and hard work to turn around Carterville bowling to what they are today.

WHAT WENT WRONG

The teams fantastic season did have its fair share of downsides with the disappointing loss at sectionals, and the multiple COVID pauses. Going into sectionals, the team was feeling hot and ready to compete, but the hot streak did not continue onto sectionals. The boys only lost by 30 pins in regionals to Waterloo, causing some cause for optimism heading into sectionals. Despite their strong play in regionals though, the boys fell short at the sectional meet. The season did not end how they would like, but the team did make it to sectionals despite their setbacks.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

The future is very bright however for the Carterville Lions bowling squad however, there best finisher is freshman bowler Evan Flath, and other then two of the seniors, the rest of the starting lineup was made up of younger classman, who will compete next season. The loss of the four seniors will hurt the team, but they have more people coming back then leaving, so next season is set up to be a good one.

Girls Bowling

The Carterville Lions girls bowling team had a very memorable season. This season came with many challenges including having no senior bowlers, COVID, and the rescheduling of matches. However, that did not stop the lady lions. They finished 5th in regionals with three girls, Madison Eigenrauch, Emily Swain, and Adriana Bird, competing in sectionals.

OBSTACLES FACED THIS SEASON

While the girls did have a great season, many things did not go their way. Having no senior bowlers requires many of the junior and sophomore players to fill the role.  Along with this struggle many matches, practices, and tournaments were either canceled or rescheduled due to COVID. With the ever-changing schedule it was difficult for everyone involved to keep track of where to be and when to be there.

THE FUTURE OF GIRLS BOWLING

With the new season on the horizon, the future for this team is bright.  The team is set up for success with no turnover in senior leadership. Junior bowler Emily Swain mentioned, “Personally I think I had a great season and I can’t wait for next year. I am excited to have another great year with my teammates!” With new goals in mind this upcoming season will be one to look forward to.