Belvidere North girls maintain tie for first in NIC-10 bowling

By Bob Balgemann

REPORTER

One-third of the way into the 2016-17 conference bowling season Belvidere North’s girls are 3-0 and in a tie with Harlem for first place. Belvidere is close behind with a 2-1 record.

The Lady Blue Thunder will entertain Harlem at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at The Cherry Bowl in Cherry Valley.

Meanwhile, there was a logjam in the middle of the NIC-10 boys bowling standings, with Belvidere North, Belvidere, Auburn, and Jefferson all having 1-1 records. The four of them met in week three of the season and, as a result, the Knights and J-Hawks have taken a step toward residency in the top five.

In girls’ competition, North swept all three games from Auburn while winning that match: 3,246-1,723.

Alexis Bendorf and Kylie Johnson passed the 600 mark over their three games, finishing at 615 and 607 respectively. That was a personal best for Bendorf, as was her high single game of 237. Same was true of Johnson, whose series included a 267 high game.

Contributions also came from Brynn Lambert with a 596 series; Rachel Nelson with a 556; Sidney Baird with a 506, and Giovannina Castaldo with a 366.

Belvidere’s win over the Lady J-Hawks was much closer, 3,167-3,034. The Lady Bucs also took all three games.

They had a number of personal best performances in that match, led by Holley Steelberg with a 669 series and a 244 high game. Hailey Carter also broke 600 for the first time this season, notching a 610 along with a 267 high game.

Alexis Sherman turned in a 567 series and a 222 high game; Hannah Lowery recorded a 522 series.

In addition, Hannah Whidby had a 404 and Elyce Turnipseed, a 390.

Boys’ games

Belvidere North’s win over the Knights featured a balanced attack led by Justin Bragg with a 639 series. Jose Gonzalez had a 597; Javier Martinez had a 579; Alex Schauer had a 556; and Max Rukhaberlen had a 505.

For Belvidere, Aaron Rochon had been averaging 196 for the sophomore Bucs. He was brought up to the varsity and had an immediate impact with a 639 series that included a high single game of 227.

Joe Gallagher continued to impress with a season’s best 671 series and 277 high score. His single game was the third highest among those bowled in the third week.

Other Bucs helping with the win were Ben Deardorff with a personal best 623 series and 226 single game; Brock Irwin with a 573 series; Greg Suthers with a 529 series; and Kevin Jenks with a 499 series.

At the junior varsity level, Belvidere North’s girls continued in a first-place tie with Harlem at 3-0. Belvidere was close behind at 2-1.

This next match set for Tuesday, Dec. 13 with Harlem at The Cherry Bowl also will be a big one for the Lady Blue Thunder.

Belvidere North’s boys were near the top with a 2-1 record; Belvidere was 1-2.