Glover area’s fourth individual champ in five years

Josh Glover finished third in the Minooka Regional at Channahon Lanes.

The Lincoln-Way West senior was second in the Andrew Sectional at Orland Bowl.

Last year, he finished fifth in the IHSA Boys State Bowling Tournament at St. Clair Bowl in Fairview Heights.

Considering he has done his bowling in an area that generally is considered as good as any in the state, he figured, “Why not go for the gold?”

Glover won the state championship last weekend and did it in record-breaking fashion. His 247.3 average for 12 games is a new state record.

Among the games on his card were 300, 279, 278, 277 and 266. He won the title comfortably. He was averaging 235-plus entering the state tournament, about 10 pins higher than he averaged as a freshman.

“I’ve bowled 18 300 games now and I’ve had a lot of 279s and 278s,” Glover said. “But the big thing at state was the consistency.”

Glover’s three-game series went like this: 751 Friday morning, 791 Friday afternoon, 741 Saturday morning and 684 Saturday afternoon.

“Sometimes I like to come from behind,” said Glover, who did not have that opportunity for very long last weekend. “This time I tried not to think about where I stood. It was always 0-0 in my mind, and I concentrated on making good shots.

“After being fifth last year, I wanted to take care of business. If I did that, I thought I would have a good chance.”

Glover becomes the fourth individual state champion from the Joliet area in the last five years. Lockport’s Kyle Anderson won in 2010 and 2011, Lockport’s Shane Matejcek in 2013 and now Glover.

Romeoville senior Dakota Vostry made a strong showing this year as well, averaging 236.8 to finish third. Minooka’s Zach Segatto and John Kauffman also had top-10 finishes, helping the Indians to fifth place in the team competition.

Although Glover competed at state as an individual, he brought along some Warriors teammates – Eric Ullian, Anthony Castanada and David Eggert – for support and the experience.

At school Monday, Glover was surprised with the congratulatory celebration in his honor.

“It has sunk in a little now,” he said. “I am blessed to see how the school surprised me. They showed me how much they cared.”

Glover, who works part-time at Lakewood Bowl in Richton Park, has been bowling since he was 3. He plans to pursue his sport in college and sometime in the future, perhaps attempt to bowl professionally. He said he will major in exercise science in college and go into a physical training field.

“I’m keeping my options open,” he said. “I should know in a couple weeks where I’m going to college. I have a good GPA; I am a student first and then a bowler.”

As a youth, Glover also enjoyed playing basketball. But the seasons coincide so he has not played basketball at West. There never was a doubt bowling is his No. 1 sport.

The state championship provides conclusive evidence.