OP_022218

44 | February 22, 2018 | The orland park prairie Sports
opprairie.com
Girls Bowling
Great morning at state turns sour in Series 2
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
Sandburg girls bowling
coach Joe Geiger summed it
up best, “It went from the best
morning to the worst day.”
Indeed, things could not
have started much better for
the Eagles Friday, Feb. 16.
They led last weekend’s Illinois
High School Association
Girls State Bowling Finals
after two games by 34 pins
over eventual champion Harlem.
That included a school
record 1,077 score in the
second game. And although
Sandburg fell off to an 884
score in the third game, it still
finished with a school record
2,998 three-game morning
series, which left it second
place at that point.
But a combination of everything
that could go wrong
left the Eagles with a 2,502
afternoon session, nearly 500
pins down from the morning,
and a 2,500 total. It also left
them on the outside looking in
at the second day, as the team
placed 14th and did not advance
out of the Top 12 in the
tournament, which concluded
Saturday, Feb. 17, at The
Cherry Bowl in Rockford.
Unfortunately, a big issue
for the Eagles was an injury
to their top bowler, senior
Emily Schrader.
“It was a cut on my ring
finger of my right hand,”
Schrader said. “It stated in
the third game and opened
up really bad. Unfortunately,
it had to happen at state. I
was so upset. We had done so
well as a team.”
After bowling a high game
of 258 in the second game,
Schrader dropped to a 173
in the third. She still led the
team at the midday break with
a 617. But she fell off in the
afternoon and finished with a
team low score of 1,071.
“With her release, she just
couldn’t get a good feel for
the ball,” Geiger said. “It was
just a combination of the injuries
and everything. We lost
our focus in Game 5. It’s too
bad, but Emily will still go
down as one of the best bowlers
ever here.”
It was the fourth straight
state finals appearance for
Schrader, who placed 10th
as a sophomore. She hoped
to get another All-State performance
in her final high
school season, and first one
that she got to come down
with the team. But it wasn’t
to be for Schrader, who is to
continue her bowling career
at the University of St. Francis
in Joliet.
“I was disappointed with
myself,” Schrader said of
getting the injury. “But it was
nice to have the team down at
state, too. They made me not
be as nervous.”
The future looks bright for
the Eagles, thought. All their
other participating bowlers
were underclassmen. Junior
Alyssa Novak led the way at
the state finals with a score
of 1,121, including a high of
214 in Game No. 2. Sophomore
Vanesa Perez (1,119,
high of 258) followed. But
they just missed the cut to
advance to the second day as
individuals by two and four
pins, respectively.
Juniors Karlie Colbert
(1,098, high of 233) and Jill
Richmond (1,091, high of
214),along with Schrader,
rounded out the Sandburg
bowlers that scored.
Senior Cameron Manning
along with sophomores Jade
Hamilton and Alyanna Reyes
also were on the roster but did
not get to bowl for the Eagles.
Sandburg still had one of
the best stories from the tournament,
though. That was
senior Sophia Jablonski, who
participated in the wheelchair
division for the second
straight season. She won it
last year, with a 354 fourgame
series. But there were
only two wheelchair bowlers
at state last season.
This year, that amount
doubled and the amount of
total games went up to six.
Jablonski placed second out
of the four this season, with
a total of 588. Four of her
games were a 99 or better
score, and she had a high of
115 in the third game.
Jablonski did not care that
she did not win.
“I’m very glad to be back,”
Jablonski said. “I was very
anxious, excited and nervous
to be back here. But I’m very
excited because there were a
lot of other people competing
here. I feel that I helped
promote that. Win or lose,
there’s so many girls here,
and that’s good.
“I’m so glad that I brought
awareness to this and I hope
that it continues to grow. I
was very excited and very
proud that the whole varsity
team was here and that they
made it to state. I’ve really
enjoyed this season because
my younger sister Stephanie
Jablonski was a bowler on
the JV team.”
Geiger said he loves that
Jablonski has not only done
well for herself but also
always very vocal about
cheering on her teammates.
Jablonski, who has cerebral
palsy, has been honored
by the Consolidated High
School District 230 School
Board and also the Village
of Orland Park for increasing
public awareness of the abilities,
aspirations and personal
qualities of those with disabilities.
Gymnastics
Giglio takes third on balance beam at state
Chris Walker
Freelance Reporter
Five-time Olympic gold
medalist Nadia Comaneci
said that she never ran away
from a challenge because she
was afraid.
“Instead,” she said. “I run
toward it, because the only
way to escape fear is to trample
it beneath your foot.”
The balance beam can
make or break, and even deflate,
the most strong-willed
gymnast, but some are drawn
to it.
Consider Sandburg/Stagg
co-op sophomore Maddie Giglio
to be like Comaneci.
Giglio was awarded a 9.425
on beam Friday, Feb. 16, during
the Illinois High School
Association state finals preliminaries
and then followed
it up with a nearly identical
effort that was scored a 9.4
during event finals Saturday,
Feb. 17.
That would have been
enough to give her the program’s
first state title since
Krystyn Misheck, who is now
an assistant coach and won
the floor exercise in 2009, but
a couple of other rising stars
from the DuPage area outdid
themselves.
Neuqua Valley freshman
Jane Riehs went from a 9.225
to a 9.475, before Wheaton-
Warrenville South freshman
Jamie LaBue went from a
9.375 to a 9.525 to win the
title.
Giglio still finished with the
third-place medal.
“She got her medal like she
deserved,” Sandburg coach
Mike White said “I’m sure she
wished she would’ve won,
but I don’t think anybody is
walking away disappointed.
And beam is the hardest event
to medal on, and being a sophomore
she’s still got two great
shots at it.”
By not putting too much
pressure on herself, but also
enjoying the adrenalin rush
the beam provides, Giglio
was able to do something
that some did not: avoid falls,
minimize wobbles and keep it
clean.
“I was just trying to place
in the Top 5,” she said “That
was really my only goal, and
I did a pretty good bream routine.
I just think beam is the
most nerve-wracking event,
because if you fall you might
not get another a chance, but
when you hit it’s a great feeling
and you get all relaxed.”
When Misheck won state
on floor in 2009 she also
qualified on beam but struggled
to a 10th place finish.
Last February, Giglio’s senior
teammate, Maddy Roe, was a
favorite to place on beam but
had a late fall that dropped her
to seventh place.
Giglio was reassure by having
Roe and Misheck at her
side. And they appeared to be
as thrilled for her.
“What she had been doing
had been working so well, so
we told here to get up there
and do what you want to do,”
Misheck said. “I can’t watch
when they’re on beam, so I
tell them to try to listen to the
music in the background and
block everything out and try
to enjoy yourself.”
Giglio also finished in
14th place during Friday’s
all-around competition with
a 36.7. Yet, another Maddie,
this time Glenbard West’s
Maddie Diab, won the allaround
with a 38.025.
Fellow sophomore Taylor
Talley joined Giglio on vault
during the preliminaries and
the two matched each other
with a pair of 9.375s.
“I did a vault that I’ve only
been doing for two weeks, so
I was pretty happy,” Talley
said. “I could’ve done better,
but I feel pretty good. Overall,
it’s been a really good season.
Even with being injured, I
think this was my best season.”
White has pretty much seen
it all during his long coaching
run, from missing state by
one-tenth of a point to seeing
his kids win state titles in Palatine.
This weekend, he witnessed
amazing team support
for Giglio and Talley.
“I was most proud that everyone
of the team is here and
stayed the weekend,” he said.
“I think that says a lot about
the team, and I think it helped
relax [Giglio] a lot. And they
were cheering so loud that
you would’ve thought our
whole team was here.”
And they actually were.