EEEYUP-YUP-YUP
Bowling balls fly down tight lanes, spinning just on the verge of landing in the gutter.
YA-YA-YAHTZEE
Pins smash the floor in a flash as they collide with the balls.
BANG-BANG-BOOM
Every strike is another cheer for the Huntley varsity boys bowling team.
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, HHS went against McHenry High School at Huntley’s hometown bowling spot, Bowl-Hi Lanes.
The game started at an expected pace; players were getting their bearings and slowly gaining confidence after every bowl. Even though they wanted time to warm up, each player knew that every pin counted toward winning the game. To win the best of three, both teams would have to give their best against a formidable opponent.
“We started off a little slow but quickly got some great energy,” head bowling coach Jacob Wagner said. “McHenry is one of our top competitors in our conference so we had a lot of fun and a lot of respect for those guys too.”
Game one ended with a score of 1293-1197, giving two points to McHenry for winning that round. Even thought Huntley lost the match, one player, freshman Noah Waters, had a exceptional round, scoring 265 points individually.
This trend continued as in the next game, junior Mathew Fishman, scored an almost perfect score. Huntley began to turn the tide resulting from their hard work at practices.
“At the beginning of training, we test out the waters, see what balls work and what feels right,” team captain Austin Tenglin said. “We then do some drills and mainly work on spares since spares are one of the most important things in bowling.”
According to Coach Wagner and Tenglin, one of the team’s biggest weaknesses lies with spares. After getting a spare, a player’s gets additional points from their next roll. With a perfect game being incredibly rare, following up a weaker throw with a spare gets vital points for the team, ones that can separate wins and losses.
The third and final game gave light to a spectacular performance. As junior Nick Gaspari rolled his first few strikes, the crowd cheered then looked toward the next bowler, not noticing much out of the ordinary. After nine strikes in a row, the bustling, vibrant room came to a near silence and all eyes were on Gaspari. Three strikes later, he had a perfect game.
“My first game went all right and the second game my score went a little down,” Gaspari said. “Towards the end, I started figuring out what I was doing wrong, and the last game I found out the sweet spot; I was very nervous the whole time.”
The cheers and chants sealed the match, a 7-2 point victory for Huntley. The total scores were 3888-3803, with Lee McClellan from McHenry having the highest individual series of 717 points. For Huntley, Gaspari led with 694 points total and an unforgettable performance.
Looking forward, the varsity boys bowling team hopes to keep performing strong, winning games, and take home the conference championship title. Their next home game is Jan. 3 at Bowl-Hi Lanes starting 4:30 p.m.
“The guys come in, and they put in great practice,” Wagner said. “We practice Monday through Friday, excluding Thursdays, then we travel on every Saturday to go to a different invite or tournament. Seeing top competitors throughout the year really pushes us to be better, and we hope it’ll help us move past sectionals and regionals.”
