NL_120816

46 | December 8, 2016 | The New Lenox Patriot sports
newlenoxpatriot.com
Knights hand Warriors first dual loss of the season
Freshman Nolan
leads way with 435
between two games
RANDY WHALEN
Freelance Reporter
Usually bowling teams
don’t look forward to dual
meets as much as they look
forward to the weekend
tournaments. But last week
there was an exception.
That’s because it was a
crosstown meeting of the
schools from New Lenox
as Lincoln-Way West faced
host Lincoln-Way Central.
Not only are the teams in
the same town, they came
into the dual meet with only
one loss on the season between
them.
But on this night it was
Central that was the better
team. The Knights used a
435 series from freshman
Alex Nolan and a 422 series
from sophomore Jack Davern
to roll to a 1,922-1,710
victory over the Warriors in
a SouthWest Suburban Conference
matchup on Nov. 29
at Laraway Lanes in New
Lenox.
Central (7-1, 4-1) bowled
a steady 981 in the opener
and 941 in the second game.
The Warriors (5-1, 3-1) also
bowled steady with an 860
and an 850. But that was
not the type of steady they
wanted as they were dealt
their first dual defeat of the
season.
“It’s fun to play them and
it’s fun to beat them,” Central
coach Coley O’Connell
said of West. “But this
[competition] will also get
us ready for tournaments
later on in the year.”
On the other side, the
Warriors believe they will
be ready for the tournaments
too.
“It wasn’t our day; we
were off,” West coach Scott
Ullian said. “But I’m confident
in our guys in any sixgame
tournament. Lincoln-
Way Central is a good team
and we still are one of the
best on any given day, too.
“No one shot average
[against Central], but we
can still run the table. I’m
still confident.”
Both teams have great
reason to be confident. The
Knights, however, were the
ones that made more shots
last week.
“We’ve been doing it together
and sharing roles,”
said Nolan, who had games
of 203 and 232. “No one has
fallen off and if they do, we
pick them up. It’s nice to
Warriors top bowler Eric Ullian bowls during warmups.
bowl my best games with
[the Knights], it’s been unbelievable.
“Against [West] we needed
to be fired up. If we put
our heads down, we’d go
south. We didn’t.”
There were no seniors in
the Knights starting lineup.
A trio of juniors rounded
out the roster against West.
They were Steven Plane
(193, 184 – 377 series),
Trevor Amir (185, 174 –
359), and Ricky Wesel 164,
165 – 329).
“Consistency and attitude,
that helps a lot,” Davern
said. “We all have each
others back and we have
great attitudes, that’s important.
We’re all good friends,
so it’s fun and more competitive.
“If we just go out and do
our best, we will go far.”
Senior Eric Ullian (208,
186 – 394) led West. Junior
Caleb Kirby (179, 197
– 376), sophomore Mike
Nork (169, 176 – 345), senior
Nick Baber (170, 158 –
328), and junior Alex Kubitz
(134, 133 – 267) rounded
out out the Warrior scores.
Both teams are likely to be
in the same regional, which
is just over a month away,
Lincoln-Way Central freshman Alex Nolan follows through
on a roll during warmups before a crosstown matchup
against Lincoln-Way West Nov. 29 in New Lenox.
Paul Bergstrom/22nd Century Media
and both have large rosters.
O’Connell, who was the
boys coach at Lincoln-Way
North and took the Phoenix
to a sixth place state finish
two seasons ago, is very
happy with the all aspects in
his first season at Central.
“We have 19 total kids in
the program and had even
more come out,” he said.
“I’ve always had good assistants
and do again here. I
have Joe Infantino, who was
previously the head girls
coach coach at North, and
Bob Clayton is our skills
coach and has been great.
“From the get-go, we’ve
done well. We won the
Plainfield North Baker
Tournament [on Nov. 5 at
Brunswick Zone in Woodridge]
to open the season
and Jack [Davern] threw a
300 against Lockport [on
Nov. 9 at Laraway Lanes].”
Both Central and West
will be at the Lincoln-Way
East Invite this Saturday,
Dec. 10 starting at 8 a.m. at
Orland Bowl.
Athlete of the Month
Lockport swimmer earns state medal, November competition win
Bill Jones, Managing Editor
Lindsey Merk already has
a great way to show just how
talented a swimmer she is,
after taking home the bronze
medal in the 100-yard butterfly
from this year’s Illinois
High School Association
State Swimming &
Diving Finals.
But in the event that she
needs an insurance policy,
she also now can call herself
22nd Century Media Southwest
Chicago’s Athlete of
the Month for November,
after earning the most votes
to take home the honor.
The Athlete of the Month
competition pits featured
Athlete of the Week selections
from our south suburban
newspapers against one
another in an online voting
contest.
The next contest is to begin
Saturday, Dec. 10.
To vote, visit newlenox
patriot.com, hover over the
“Sports” menu tab and click
“Athlete of the Month.” Readers
can vote once per session
per valid email address. Voting
ends at 5 p.m. Dec. 25.
All athletes featured in
the November Athlete of the
Week sports interviews are
automatically entered into
the contest.
Lockport swimmer Lindsey Merk earned the most votes
to be named 22nd Century Media Southwest Chicago’s
November Athlete of the Month.
22nd Century Media File Photo