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tinleyjunction.com Sports
the tinley junction | January 25, 2018 | 55
fastbreak
Boys Bowling
T-Bolts, Titans threaten trip to state
Tinley Parkers
fall just short at
sectional
Jason Maholy/22nd Century
Media
1st and 3
Tinley’s greatest
grapplers
1. Robbie Precin
(above)
After winning third
place in the state
tournament at
120 pounds last
season, Precin has
even loftier goals
this year. He got his
postseason off to
a good start with a
conference championship
at 126
pounds.
2. Ameer Aqel
Aqel was a standout
player for the Andrew
football team
this season. Now,
he is standing out in
wrestling, earning a
second-place finish
at 220 pounds in
the SWSC.
3. Luc Valdez
With Valdez’s
second-place finish,
the junior hopes to
follow the blueprint
that Precin established
last season.
RANDY WHALEN
Freelance Reporter
In sports, people often refer
to the home field advantage.
For the Lincoln-Way Central
and Lincoln-Way West
boys bowling teams, it was
the home lanes advantage.
Led by individual champion
Alex Nolan and the thirdplace
finisher Jack Davern,
Central cruised to the title of
its own sectional last weekend.
The Knights, who will
be making their first trip to
state since finishing third in
2008, led from the start and
put up a score of 6,343 on
Saturday, Jan. 20, at Laraway
Lanes in New Lenox.
That was 445 pins better
than runner-up Lincoln-Way
West (5,898), which also
calls Laraway Lanes home.
The Warriors, who were
equally led by their two
returning seniors, George
Dennison and Caleb Kirby
(1,232 each), jumped to second
in the final game and
advanced downstate for the
second straight season.
The other four qualifying
teams were Joliet West
(5,828), Minooka (5,789),
Plainfield Central (5,688)
and Oswego East (5,662).
The state finals are this
weekend, Friday, Jan. 26,
Tinley Park bowler Brian Rady finished 90 pins shy of a
state berth. Photos by Geoff Stellfox/22nd Century Media
and Saturday, Jan. 27, at St.
Clair Bowl in O’Fallon.
After finishing last in the
SouthWest Suburban Conference
meet, not much was
expected from Andrew in the
postseason. But the Thunderbolts
qualified out of the
regional and came within
21 pins of making it back to
state for the first time since
2016. They had a pinfall of
5,641, placing them eighth,
while Oswego East (5,662)
qualified in the sixth and final
spot.
“It was amazing,” Andrew
coach Mark Lobes said. “I
didn’t think we’d be in the
mix all day. But I brought up
two freshmen and a sophomore
who did well. We were
like the bare-knuckles Bad
News Bears.”
Lobes, a veteran coach
who has guided the T-Bolts
to a state title (in 2012) and
a second-place finish (2014)
wasn’t too happy with the
lane conditions, however.
“For Lockport and Sandburg
not to make it to state
is a disappointment,” Lobes
said. “That’s two teams that
deserve to be there. I was
amazed at how [Lincoln-
Way] Central did. But when
it’s your home lanes and the
shot is made for you, that’s
what happens.”
Jason Richmond, a freshman
who was recently
brought up to the varsity, led
Andrew with a 1,198 score,
which included a 243 in the
fifth game. Ethan Kosche,
Andrew’s Ethan Kosche closed his high school bowling
career with a strike in the final frame of his final game
Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Lincoln-Way Central Sectional.
Andrew was within 21 pins of a trip downstate.
the only T-Bolts senior in the
sectional lineup, followed
with a 1,152, which included
a high of 211 in the fourth
game. He added a 204 in
the final game and bowled
a strike, following a spare,
on his last ever high school
shot.
“My goal was to end on a
strike, and it felt good,” Kosche
said. “We didn’t think
we’d make it out of the regional,
so to make a run here
felt really good.”
Sophomore John Malinowski
(1,131, high of 248
in Game No. 4) and junior
Trent Smith (1,060, high
of 208 in Game No. 4), also
bowled all six games for Andrew.
Junior Jeffrey Serafini
(691, high of 197 in Game
No. 1) rolled four games,
and junior Rich Payton (409,
high of 220 in Game No. 5)
bowled the final two for the
T-Bolts.
The Titans had a pair of
individuals at the sectional.
They were seniors Brian
Rady (1,149, high of 221 in
Game No. 6) and Max Beno
(938, high of 181 in Game
No. 5). Rady, who was second
at the South Suburban
Conference Blue Division
meet on Jan. 5 at Oak Forest
Bowl, finished 90 pins behind
the final state qualifier,
sophomore Matt LaBonte
from Richards.
Listen Up
“Finish [the match], wrestle smart, don’t put yourself
in jeopardy, don’t get caught in things that you know
better.”
John Pfeffer— Tinley Park wrestling coach, on what his team must do to
have representatives advance from the Oak Forest Regional.
WHAT 2 WATCH
Wrestling — noon Saturday, Jan. 27
• Andrew, in a warmup for the Marist
Regional, travels to Sandburg to
meet with one of the area’s best
wrestling teams.
Index
49 - This Week In ...
48 - Athlete of the Week
Compiled by Sports Editor Tim Carroll, t.carroll@22ndcm.com