The host L-P Cavliers were in the running for the team championship well into the afternoon session of the IHSA La Salle-Peru Regional and saw top roller Marquis Lorenzi in the individual title picture right up to the final frame of the final game.

When that final frame had been completed at a packed Illinois Valley Super Bowl, neither of those races ended in L-P championships. The Cavaliers did, however, advance out as a full team, as did the Streator Bowlin’ Bulldogs, and a pair of area individuals – St. Bede’s Ryan Solimon and Ottawa’s Bentley Thumm – punched their tickets for next weekend’s Morris Sectional as well.

Lorenzi, an L-P senior, was the Illinois Valley area’s top finisher, placing third in the individual standings and just eight pins behind champion Ben Clark of team-champion Minooka. Lorenzi – a two-handed bowler competing with a still-recovering left shoulder injury suffered snowboarding – marked a 1,330 six-game series, with high games including his 267 to open things Friday morning and a 247 to start the afternoon session.

“I think I did pretty good today,” he said. “After coming back from an injury to my shoulder, I think I did pretty good ... and [the team] did pretty good. But I hope when we get to sectionals it’s a little bit better.”

Aiden McCray with a 1,257 series (257 high game), Grady Sandor’s 1,142 (218), Emerson Vasquez’s 1,136 (216) and Joey Patyk’s 1,064 (221) rounded out the host’s scorecard.

Behind champion Minooka (6,305 team score on the day), runner-up L-P (5,929) and third-place Bradley-Bourbonnais (5,484), Streator (5,369) passed Kankakee (5,347) in the day’s sixth and final game to capture fourth place and the final full-team advancing spot.

Bowlin’ Bulldogs junior Tyson Kolojay led the effort, finishing 11th in the individual standings with a 1,158 series (217 high game). He said he and his teammates tried not to worry about the standings while they fought for the final advancing slot.

“Just play and keep my mind off the scores,” Kolojay said.

“We’re excited, a little surprised. Our third bowler is out hurt right now, so I didn’t think we’d make it out, but we did. We made it out.”

Alongside Kolojay, Cody Taylor’s 1,151 (247), Brayden Bradley’s 1,081 (193), Konner Dulabhan’s 1,015 (196) and Zach Minick’s 964 (183) added up to the Bowlin’ Bulldogs’ first sectional appearance as a team since 2014, according to coach Nancy Longnecker.

Ottawa (4,975) placed seventh in the team standings of the 11 teams competing, just ahead of eighth-place St. Bede (4,884) and tenth-place Hall (4,739).

Both the Pirates and Bruins advanced an individual, with St. Bede senior Ryan Soliman capturing the eighth of the 10 individual advancing berths with a six-game 1,127 (254 high game).

“At lunch, we talked as a team, and we knew we had to lock in,” Solimon said. “I was out there trying to help my team. Even that last game, I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not.

“I was just doing my thing and having fun.”

Thumm, meanwhile, claimed the ninth of 10 advancing spots thanks to his 1,107 series (231 high game), the Ottawa sophomore saving his best two games for last.

“I changed my ball at the end. My first three games there was a lot of oil, so I switched when it started drying up. ...

“I’m very excited [to advance to sectionals]. I hope I can qualify for state.”

Minooka claimed the championship, led by a one-two finish on the individual leaderboard from regional champion Ben Clark (1,338) and runner-up Nolan Anderson (1,334).

“I was just trying to stay consistent and stay slow,” Clark said, “because I didn’t want to get myself going faster and start tugging the ball. It obviously goes downhill from there.”

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Teams bowl during the boys bowling Regional on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 at the Illinois Valley Super Bowl in Peru. (Scott Anderson)