First regional bowling tournament is Saturday at Guilford

By Bob Balgemann

REPORTER

Tournament season will get under way Saturday, Jan. 14 when Rockford Guilford hosts the boys bowling competition at Don Carter Lanes.

Belvidere and Belvidere North will be joined by the host Vikings, Harlem, Marengo, Boylan, Christian Life, Rockford Lutheran, Rockford Christian, Hononegah, South Beloit, and the Woodstock Co-op.

The top four teams and 10 individuals not attached to a qualifying team will advance to the Vernon Hills Sectional on Saturday, Jan. 21. There, they will compete with qualifiers from regionals at Lake Zurich, Oregon, and St. Charles East for the right to participate in state finals, scheduled Jan. Friday, Jan. 27 through Saturday, Jan. 28 at downstate O’Fallon.

NIC-10 opponent Hononegah finished second in the state last year, just 40 pins behind champion Stevenson. Harlem came in fourth.

This year, there will be 216 entries in the single-class tournament, up from 190 in 2016.

The two Belvidere boys’ teams have two matches remaining in conference action, while the girls have three more to play.

Most recently, the Blue Thunder (2-5) dropped a 3,548 to 3,225 decision to Freeport (3-4), in an important match that had implications for the team wanting an upper-half finish in the NIC-10 this year.

State qualifier Garrett Nelson recorded his fourth consecutive 600-plus series, a 656, to lead the Blue Thunder offense. His personal best series, a 731, came on opening day in the conference.

Jonathan Powell was next up against Freeport, with a 546 series, followed by Justin Bragg with a 538; Jose Gonzalez, with a 505; Javier Martinez, a 500; and Alex Schauer, a 480.

Belvidere (1-6) took on Guilford (3-4) and dropped a close one, 3,550 to 3,369.

The Vikings edged ahead early by winning the first game, 1,188 to 1,102. They added 65 pins to their lead in game No. 2 and took the match with a 1,178 to 1,148 advantage in the third and final game.

Joe Gallagher rolled his second best three-game series of the conference season, a 681, for the Bucs. His high series, a 723, came during Week 4 in NIC-10 competition.

Other contributors against Guilford were Kevin Jenks with a 588; Anthony Gutirrez, a 546; Greg Suthers, a 530; Brock Irwin, a 515; and Ben Deardorff, a 509.

At the junior varsity level, Freeport boys (5-2) edged Belvidere North (3-4) by 116 pins. Blue Thunder was ahead 1,912 to 1,903 after two games, but the Pretzels rallied to win the decisive third game, 1,107 to 982.

Patrick Bender currently leads North with a 180 average in the conference. John Sippel is averaging 164. There is keen competition for the high single game currently led by Anthony Taylor with a 220. Close behind are Jacob Hodge with a 215; Ryan Schwegler, a 213; and Cal Taylor and Bender, each with a 207.

Guilford (3-4) defeated Belvidere’s boys, 2,862 to 1,869.

Aaron Rachon currently leads the Bucs (1-6) with a 197 average, high game of 233 and high series of 649. Running next is Trace Dowley who’s averaging 162 with a 210 high single game and a 556 series. Both bowlers have seen varsity action this season.

Belvidere North (4-2) and Belvidere (3-3) are continuing their efforts to finish in the top half of the NIC-10 this season. The Lady Blue Thunder is hoping for a third consecutive trip to the state tournament at The Cherry Bowl in nearby Cherry Valley. The regional will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4 at Boylan Catholic with Belvidere hosting the sectional, at Forest Hills Lanes in Loves Park on Saturday, Feb. 11.