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Senior Cole Cartee rolled a career-best 1,368 series Jan. 16 in an IHSA regional at St. Charles East’s home boys bowling lanes.
No doubt, there’s something about Bowling Green Sports Center in West Chicago, but Cartee and the Saints are equally confident the Brunswick Zone in Roselle can double as a comfort zone during today’s Lake Park Sectional.
“It’s just all the practices,” Cartee said. “We’ve practiced a lot. Spare shooting. Strikes. Everything. Just knowing that there’s some guy behind you that if you fall down, they’ll be able to pick you up and carry you on.”
Cartee topped West Chicago’s Anthony Hernboth by 34 pins for individual champion honors, continuing a recent hot stretch that included a 1,315 series Jan. 9 at the Lake Zurich Invite.
East, which has not been shy about its lofty state series aspirations throughout the season, won the 13-team regional by 191 pins.
Juniors Dean Mudlong (1,223), Kyle Middendorf (1,180) and Andrew Culbertson (1,162) followed Cartee, the program’s lone senior.
“I’m really proud of my guys up to this point. I know we’re a pretty young team … and to see everyone coming up, stepping up to the plate, I’m really proud of everyone,” Cartee said. “And I’m really proud of all my coaches sticking with us. There have been some rocky times in the past, but I think that we’re going to come out of this pretty high.”
East took third among 12 team’s at last season’s state tournament. A top-six finish today would send the Saints back to state at St. Clair Bowl in downstate O’Fallon, where the two-day event begins Jan. 29.
Three athletes from Geneva – junior Jordan Soto and seniors Mario Gelfuso and John Zupke – advanced to sectionals as individuals alongside St. Charles North senior Alex Mundt. The top seven individuals from nonqualifying teams earn a berth to state.
Kaneland junior Tyler Rowe will attempt to advance to state from the Rockford East Sectional at Don Carter Lanes in Rockford.
Warrior laurels: Operation Warrior Wishes, a St. Charles-based nonprofit organization that helps wounded veterans and their families attend sporting events nationwide, looks to gain a greater share of the spotlight one day before the Super Bowl.
On Feb. 6, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will recognize Warrior Wishes, founded by father and son tandem Craig and Matt Steichen, at the Hall’s annual Merlin Olsen Luncheon. The lunch will be held at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel.
“We’ve always had a little bit of cooperation with the teams, but now that the Hall of Fame itself reached out to us, maybe that’s the next stepping stone, if you will,” Craig Steichen said. “We’re obviously a small charity and people know where we live, but it’s starting to get a little bit of legs.”
The Hall of Fame assisted Warrior Wishes in providing tickets for a small group of veterans to attend Super Bowl 50. Since the organization’s inception in 2012, Warrior Wishes has helped 1,700 veterans attend more than 400 sporting events. About half have been NFL games, Craig Steichen said.
Then-ESPN personality Rick Reilly delivered a video essay on Warrior Wishes during the early stages of the project, which aired on “Monday Night Countdown” around Veteran’s Day. Craig Steichen hopes this endeavor adds equal exposure.
“A persistence pays off kind of thing,” he said. “That’s what’s happening.”
Light of their lives: Left wing Karch Bachman earned his place in Chicago Steel minutiae at the 17:50 mark of Sunday's second period.
Bachman beat Muskegon (Michigan) goaltender Joey Daccord on a rebound to score the first Steel goal on the club’s new, state-of-the-art, team funded scoreboard at Fox Valley Ice Arena.
“Didn’t think about that,” Bachman grinned, “but yeah. … It was awesome. And, you know, my family got to come up and watch the game, so It was great to see them, and they got to see me score. Obviously, that was important for me. That’s a pretty cool experience when that happens.”
Bachman, a product of Wolcottville, Indiana – southeast of South Bend – wasn’t the only midwesterner to play a key role in the 3-1 win. Goaltender John Lethemon of Farmington Hills, Michigan stopped 30 of 31 shots to keep Muskegon’s side of the scoreboard uneventful.
“The board definitely gives the rink a little bit of a new look and a new, fun thing for the fans,” Lethemon said. “I think it’s great.”
Sunday marked the scoreboard’s debut and the Steel’s first home game since Dec. 12.
• Kevin Druley is sports editor of the Kane County Chronicle. He can be reached at 630-845-5347 or kdruley@shawmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinDruley.