Girls second in NIC-10; Boone boys advance to sectional bowling tournament

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter
BOONE COUNTY – Boys bowling teams from Belvidere and Belvidere North High Schools are on their way to the Rockford East sectional tournament, to be held Saturday, Jan. 23.
The Blue Thunder qualified Jan. 16 by finishing second in the Marengo regional. The Bucs made it by taking the fourth and final berth, a scant 17 pins in front of Huntley.
Others going to East will be qualifying teams and individuals from the Harlem and Vernon Hills regionals. The top six teams and first seven individuals not attached to a qualifying team will move on to the state finals, being held Jan. 29 through Jan. 30 at downstate O’Fallon.
Meanwhile, in concluding NIC-10 play it was case of déjà vu all over again for Belvidere North’s girls.
The Lady Blue Thunder and cross-town rival Belvidere finished the 2015-2016 regular season with 7-2 dual match records, which enabled them to tie for second place in the NIC-10.
Last year, North tied Harlem for second place, 3 1/2 points behind conference champion Freeport.
North’s boys made a comeback late in the season to wrap up a 5-4 record, putting them in a tie for third place with Freeport. The Bucs came in at 1-8.
Regional results
Belvidere overcame a difficult season in NIC-10 play to get out of the regional.
Senior Larry Tripamer led the way with a six-game 1,307 series, averaging 218 per game. Junior Joe Gallagher was close behind with a 1,266.
Other contributions came from junior Zach Brawner with a 1,101; junior Brock Irwin, a 917; freshman Kevin Jenks, a 713; sophomore Ben Deardorff, a 315; and sophomore Anthony Gutierrez, a 180 single game.
North was led by senior Jordan Paulson’s 1,340 series, an average of 223 per game. Another senior, Peyton Lutzow, recorded a 1,215 followed by junior Garrett Nelson with a 1,076; junior Josh Pawlowski, a 953; senior David Rayphole, a 940; and Javier Martinez, a 571.
Juniors Logan Blankenship and Jose Gonzalez also traveled with the team.
Conference results
It was the Lady Bucs who overcame a difficult three-game stretch for their near-top finish. They were 4-2 when the challenge arrived, then defeated Freeport (4-2) and Guilford (4-2) to create a one-game lead over those teams. They closed out the regular season by defeating Rockford East, 3,614 to 3,243.
Hailey Carter and Sara Deddo led the win over East with a 725 series and 258 single games, respectively. Each score was third high for the day, while the 725 was a personal best for Carter. Deddo also shot a 619.
Other contributions came from Madelyn Deardorff with a 594 series; Hannah Lowery, a 585; Holley Steelberg, a 551; and Alexis Sherman, a 540.
Team-wise, Belvidere’s 3,614 series and 1,298 single game ranked No. 2 for the day.
The Lady Blue Thunder wrapped up their seventh victory by defeating Boylan, 3,236 pins to 2,582.
All eight girls participated in the final regular season match, led by Ashley Platt with a three-game 595 series. She was followed by Annissa Hintt with a 524.
Remaining games were divided among Brynn Lambrecht with a 410 series; Kylie Johnson, a 372; Emily Nakashima, a 339; Marian Anderson, a 337; Alexis Bendorf, a 336; and Kaitlynn Trimble, a 323.
Team-wise, the Lady Blue Thunder’s 1,160 single game was second best for the day.
North’s boys won their fifth conference match by defeating Boylan, 3,582 to 2,989.
Paulson led the way with a 661 series followed by Rayphole with a 638; Martinez, a 627; Lutzow, a 562; Pawlowski, a 555; and Nelson, a 449.
The Bucs received some standout individual efforts in their regular season final but Freeport won the match, 3,992 to 3,409.
Gallagher rolled his second best series of the conference year, a 695, with his personal best 290 single game being tops for the day. That mark wound up tying for fourth place as high for the year.
Deardorff chipped in a 635 followed by Jenks with a 624; Brawner, a 598; Tripamer, a 551; and Irwin, a 476.