OP_021617

52 | February 16, 2017 | The orland park prairie sports
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CHICAGO SOUTHWEST
CHICAGO NORTHSHORE
MALIBU
Girls Bowling
Emily Schrader advances to state
following return to form at sectional
Sophia Jablonski
advances to state in
Wheelchair Division
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
For the first time this
postseason, things were not
coming easy for Lockport.
The Porters had been in
second place the majority
of the day Saturday, Feb.
11, at the Andrew Sectional
at Orland Bowl. But as the
other teams started to fade
late in the day, strong play
from junior Bailey Delrose
and a lineup change
helped the Porters win the
sectional title and earn
their fifth consecutive trip to
state.
“It’s been a fantastic run,
especially these last three
years,” Lockport coach Art
Cwudzinski said. “You
don’t see girls with this
ability this often, and all
on the same team. It’s been
a pleasure to watch them
work and mature. They’ve
accepted both the good and
bad breaks.”
Lockport was the only
area school to advance to
state as a team. Andrew’s
Noelle Doody and Danielle
Stefanski qualified for state,
as did Sandburg’s Emily
Schrader. Sandburg’s Sophia
Jablonski advanced to
state in the Wheelchair Division.
Lincoln-Way West, Lincoln-Way
East, Lincoln-
Way Central and Tinley
Park did not qualify any
individual bowlers. The
lowest individual advancing
score was a 1,259.
The four highest-scoring
teams and five top-scoring
individuals who did not advance
with a team moved
on to state. The state finals
are scheduled for Feb. 17-
18 at Cherry Bowl Lanes in
Rockford.
Sandburg junior Emily
Schrader will be heading to
state as an individual for the
third consecutive season.
Schrader finished fifth
overall and first among individuals
without an advancing
team. Her 1,351 was 24
pins behind Minooka senior
Carmella Russell, who won
the individual sectional title
with a 1,375.
The 1,351 was 96 pins
better than her 1,255 at the
Plainfield South Regional.
She had a 1,288 at the conference
championship.
“It’s the old Emily,” Sandburg
coach Joe Geiger said.
“She had been bowling well
the past couple of weeks but
not up to her standard. This
was the Emily we know.”
Schrader bowled a 698 in
the afternoon session for the
second-highest three-game
score of the afternoon. She
had a 653 in the morning
session.
She scored a 266 in the
final game, which included
a run of seven strikes, to secure
her state berth. She did
not bowl lower than a 204
after struggling to a 169 in
the first game.
A 7-10 split in that first
game had her moving
where she lined up and
switching the type of ball
she used. Geiger and assistant
coach Tim Walsh
talked with her about nonbowling
subjects to keep
her mind off of overthinking
the bowling, and Walsh
told her jokes to keep her
relaxed.
“I think for me it was
more [about] not getting
down on myself,” Schrader
said. “That was what propelled
me today.
“I’m really proud of myself
that I stayed calm and
got my spares. That’s really
important at this time of the
year.”
This past year, Schrader
finished 10th overall at
state. She tried for 69th and
did not make it to the second
day of competition as a
freshman.
“It is fun, but, at times,
it can be a very tough situation,”
Schrader said of
bowling at state. “You have
to keep your mental game
in check. … Today, I didn’t
feel too much pressure, because
I had such a good attitude,
even after that bad
first game.”
Junior Sophia Jablonski
won the Wheelchair Division
to advance to state.
She bowled a 459. It is her
first year bowling in high
school.
“I was nervous at first, but
then I treated it as if it was
just a practice,” Jablonski
said. “I got better and better
[scores] every time.”
Family, friends and other
Sandburg bowlers who did
not advance to the sectional
came out to support
her.
“Cheering helps me a
lot,” she said. “I do better
with cheers than without. I
really liked the encouragement.”
“She just lit up today,”
said Naheda Jablonski, Sophia’s
mom. “She hardly
slept last night, because she
was so excited that she’s
able to participate in something
like this. She feels
just like any of these other
kids.”