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38 | January 24, 2019 | The orland park prairie sports opprairie.com Crowe will be flying solo in state bowling meet JEFF VORVA, Sports Editor The smile. That’s one of the first things you see when Sandburg senior Cameron Crowe is bowling. He can light up a well-lit bowling alley with his smile, and he flashes it quite often. One of the few things bigger than his smile is his goal in life. “Eventually, one day, I want to be one of the best bowlers in the world,” Crowe said. “That’s what I want to get to. I know I have to put the work in now.” But that smile was temporarily shut off on Saturday, Jan. 19. Even though he qualified for the Illinois High School Association state tournament as an individual with a dominating performance, he buried his head in his arms on a table at Orland Bowl as the Eagles missed qualifying as a team by 18 pins. Some of his teammates were in tears. It was a stacked sectional, to be sure, and some strong teams were going to be left out, but Crowe did not think it would be his team. “I don’t know what to say,” he said. “This is a tough pill to swallow. It’s hard to explain.” Frustrating finale Through five of the six games, Sandburg was in sixth place with a 24-pin lead over Lockport for the final qualifying spot. Crowe was in first place, gunning for his second sectional title. But in the final game, the Eagles rolled an 871 and finished with a 6,244, while Lockport (6,277) and Joliet West (6,262) leapfrogged them. “It’s the difference of making a spare,” Sandburg coach Jeff Kliwose said. “If CAMERON CROWE THROUGH THE YEARS Freshman year ■SWSC ■ Blue champion (1,378 pinfall) ■Andrew ■ Regional champion (1,497)* ■Sandburg ■ Sectional champion (1,433) ■39th ■ in the state tournament (2,618)** Sophomore year ■16th ■ in the state tournament (2,625) Junior year ■SWSC ■ champion (1,515) ■Sandburg ■ Regional champion (1,529)*** Senior year ■SWSC ■ Blue champion (1,393) ■Oak ■ Forest Regional champion (1,455)**** *-Tied for best regional score in state **-Top freshman score in the state tournament ***-Top regional score in the state ****-Second best regional score in the state by one pin you get a spare instead of getting a chop, we’re in.” “We were bowling out of our minds for five games,” Crowe said. “The last game was rough.” It’s the second year in a row the Eagles missed the state tournament after qualifying three straight years before that. Crowe finished third in the sectional with a 1,478 — a 246 average. Richards’ Matt LaBonte took first with a 1,499 and Brother Rice’s Tony Lundy was second with a 1,483. Sandburg junior Matt Bartlett finished 34th with a 1,260 and was the only other Eagle in the Top 50. Minooka, which had freshmen Efrain Soto and Brandon Caruso in the Top 10, won with a 6,630. Amazing resume Crowe opened his career as a freshman phenom who won conference, regional and sectional titles, which is almost impossible for anyone to do. But a freshman? He finished 39th in the state meet, which was the best finish by a freshman that season. Since then, he has had his highs and lows in the sport and on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25-26, he is scheduled to roll his final 120 frames for the Eagles in the state meet at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon. Sandburg’s team failed to qualify for state in 2018, and none of the individuals were able to advance after disastrous morning and afternoon sessions at Laraway Lanes in New Lenox. Crowe not making it to state was especially stunning because he had averaged 254 in 12 games at the SouthWest Suburban Conference meet and Sandburg Regional heading into the sectional. No one else in the state was that hot. Crowe averaged 186 in the sectional, and his team finished 13th out of 16 teams, causing Kwilose to recently say, “I never want to set foot at Laraway Lanes again.” Cameron Crowe usually has a bright smile when he bowls and hopes to be smiling one more time this weekend after the IHSA state tournament. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA The following day, Crowe said he went to Orland Bowl and threw 40-plus games of practice. “At first, I was blowing some steam off,” he said. “Then, I started trying different things. I was trying different positions with my hand.” Perfect at age 10 There are reasons to believe that Crowe could be, if not the best bowler in the world, a Professional Bowlers Association star. When he is on, his numbers are mind-numbing. They have been for years. When he was 10, he was the youngest left-hander in United States Bowling Congress history to roll a 300 in one of its tournaments with a perfect game in Hammond. Crowe is a two-handed bowler. That has become huge in recent years, but he did not develop the style because it was trendy. “I was really small — about 2 or 3,” Crowe said. “My dad [Kermit] was in a couple of leagues and would take me to the alleys. I wasn’t strong enough to throw with one hand, so I used two. I started using the two-handed delivery in 2004, and I had never heard of Jason Belmonte and never knew who those two-handers were.” Crowe said that he has “goofed around” with a conventional style and said he has rolled “a solid 140” using it. The Sandburg senior has made two state appearances with his team and this will be the first without his teammates competing. When he walks into a bowling center and everyone knows he is one of the players to beat, he said he tries not to worry. “I don’t really feel any pressure, mainly because I come into meet knowing that I put the work in and if I mess up, it’s something that I did wrong I’m going to go back to practice and work on it 10 times harder than anyone else would,’’ he said He has averaged a 218 in 24 state tournament games in O’Fallon and hopes to ratchet that up in his final quest for a state championship. Whether he is smiling or rarely hurting inside after a meet, he still loves the sport. “I love the competitive nature of bowling and always trying to be the best,” Crowe said.
opprairie.com sports the orland park prairie | January 24, 2019 | 39 fastbreak THURSDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK Hope this doesn’t trickle to high school level JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA 1ST AND 3 A FEW ATHLETES/TEAMS TO KEEP AN EYE ON IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS 1. Taylor Talley The Sandburg gymnast (ABOVE) was a state qualifier last year and hopes to return to Palatine High School for the state finals in February. 2. Patrick Nolan The senior Sandburg wrestler finished fifth in the state at 120 pounds in Class 3A as a freshman and fourth in the state at 132 pounds. What will be in store for him this year? 3. Sandburg cheerleaders The Eagles finished fourth in the state last season and is longing for its first state championship since 2012. Jeff Vorva j.vorva@22ndcm.com I understand the argument. I actually agree more than disagree with the argument. But I really hate the argument. A few years ago, some college football players opted to sit out bowl games to concentrate on beefing up their stock for the NFL. They would have rather worked out on the skills they would need for camps and combines. Now, in the world of college basketball, there is a thought that after Zion Williamson of Duke took a poke to the eye in a game and talented teammate Tre Jones suffered a serious shoulder injury, maybe the big guy should just shut it down for the rest of the season and concentrate on getting ready for an NBA career. One of the people who thinks this is a great idea is Bulls legend Scottie Pippen. Pippen appeared on ES- PN’s “The Jump” and said Columnist Jeff Vorva is concerned that the actions of some college players could trickle down to the high school level and that football players might consider skipping their state championship games because they don’t want to risk injury. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA that Williamson could risk serious injury if he played, which I agree with. But he can also get hurt driving a car or walking down the street. Pippen also said Williamson has “done enough for college basketball.” That’s something I don’t agree with. At the time of Pippen’s comments, Williamson played all of 429 minutes. He was great in those 429 minutes, but it was still just 429 minutes. He hadn’t played a postseason game. He hasn’t played much in his league yet. Even if you wanted to take a me-first stance with this, there are two reasons this isn’t a good idea. First, it robs him of playing in some high-pressure games in March, when the spotlight is scalding. You would think that NBA bosses, even those who are convinced that he is the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, want to see him perform under pressure. Second, most NBA rookies usually hit a wall because they are used to playing 30-40 games in a college season. How much will it help or hurt to just play 16 games? But the biggest problem I see if he were to heed the advice of Pippen and others is that if Williamson does it, others college players will follow. And with the trickle down effect, if might not be long before that attitude leaks down to the high school level. It would be crummy to see the day when a prep football player commits to a college and decides not to play in his state championship game. It would be lousy to see a star basketball player commit to a college and then tell his coach, “Hey, I’m going to sit out the regionals and I’m done for the year. I’ve done enough for high school basketball. Good luck, coach.” Something like this can filter in other sports, such as baseball, softball and wrestling. We already have situations in some sports such as soccer, tennis and gymnastics where the elite athletes tend to stick with club sports and skip the high school experience. We really don’t need more high school sports watered down. LISTEN UP “We were bowling out of our minds for five games. The last game was rough.” Cameron Crowe — Sandburg bowler, on his team missing the state tournament by 18 pins What 2 Watch Boys bowling and competitive dance, various times Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 • The IHSA state finals take place in bowling in O’Fallon and competitive dance in Bloomington. INDEX 36 - Girls Basketball 34 - Athlete of the Week Compiled by Sports Editor Jeff Vorva/J.VORVA@22ndcm.com
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