Tripamer, Nelson head south for state bowling tournament

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter
BOONE COUNTY – Belvidere and Belvidere North each will be represented by one bowler Friday and Saturday (Jan. 29 through Jan. 30) at the state tournament in downstate O’Fallon.
Belvidere senior Larry Tripamer recorded a six-game 1,374 series, averaging 229 per outing. That put him in fourth place among eight individual qualifiers from the sectional tournament held Jan. 23 at Rockford East High School.
Belvidere North will be represented by junior Garrett Nelson, who finished fifth among the qualifiers with a 1,368 series, an average of 228 per game.
Team-wise, Belvidere and North tied for eighth place in the field of 12 teams, with each ringing up 5,977 pins. The top six teams advanced to state.
Harlem won the sectional; Hononegah was second, trailing by 299 pins. Last year, Hononegah rallied to edge Harlem for the state title.
During the recently concluded regular season, Nelson averaged 201 for the Blue Thunder with a high series of 681 and high single game of 267. Tripamer averaged 190 and had a high series of 628, along with a high game of 258.
The last time a Belvidere team advanced to state was in 2010, when Belvidere North made the trip. That was the year senior Brock Dvorak bowled two 300 games, within 48 hours of each other, during the regular season.
Blue Thunder finished fourth as a team, while individually Tim Graf averaged 211, which was good for 22nd place.
Belvidere advanced as a team in 2006 and didn’t place.
Individually, the Bucs were represented by Kyle Pattalio in 2014, with North sending Austin Hintt in 2013.
Pattalio finished 97th on opening day, averaging 197 per game, while Hintt carried a 202 average, good for 69th. Neither made the cut to advance to the finals on Saturday.