After placing eighth at the IHSA state tournament as a junior, La Salle-Peru’s Kamryn Oscepinski said she “definitely felt pressure” entering her senior season.

“Pressure is a privilege is what [L-P coach Aaron] Guenther likes to say to me,” Oscepinski said. “So having that pressure really pushes me to be better. I don’t really focus on the pressure. I usually focus on what I’m doing with my team and just staying positive and just doing my best.”

Oscepinski did a good job handling the pressure and had another successful season to cap her career at L-P.

Oscepinski had an area-best 195.6 average, won the Interstate 8 Conference Tournament, placed top 10 at the Oregon, L-P, Charles Butterfield and Belvidere North invitationals, won the La Salle-Peru Regional, placed fourth at the Harlem Sectional and finished 40th at state.

For all she accomplished this season, Oscepinski is the 2025-26 NewsTribune Girls Bowler of the Year.

“The pressure was definitely on because last year was such a good year for me,” Oscepinski said. “But I think it’s not about trying to be better than last year, it’s just trying to keep doing your best, and I think I did that.

“I had a really good season. I was really happy with how everything turned out. I think I had a good postseason. I was just really happy with how I did.”

Oscepinski is the NewsTribune Girls Bowler of the Year for the second season in a row.

“Kam came in with high expectations given how both she and the team finished last year, and I thought she handled that pressure well,” Guenther said. “It’s easy to do well when you’re kind of the underdog, and you don’t have high expectations, but coming in as somebody who had gotten eighth place at state, that’s going to add a whole lot of pressure to your season, and I thought she handled that well.”

Oscepinski was able to handle the expectations in part because she worked on her mental game in the offseason.

“Sometimes when you’re throwing bad shots or a bad game, it really takes a toll on you and what you think,” Oscepinski said. “Staying positive was probably one of the things I grew in the most. I just grew to become mentally.”

Oscepinski said she was able to stay positive by focusing on her teammates rather than dwelling on her bowling between shots.

Guenther said she did a particularly good job of shaking off bad shots and moving on during the conference tournament and postseason.

“We always talk about wanting your game to be 80% clean, meaning you want at least a spare or strike on 80% of your frames,” Guenther said. “I think she did a better job toward the end of the season, being content with spares. I think she was able to stay in the moment a little more, accept spares and make the adjustments so the strikes would come.”

Oscepinski excelled in the conference tournament with a career-high 1,331 six-game series. At the regional, Oscepinski rolled a 1,267 to win the individual crown over Sterling’s Sarah Doughty, who went on to win the state title. She bowled a 1,316 at the sectional. Oscepinski had rounds of 1,185 and 1,159 at state.

She also helped the Cavaliers to their fifth consecutive conference title, fourth straight regional title and fifth consecutive undefeated dual record. Her career also included two team trips to state.

“From the beginning, I never thought I would be where I am today with this sport and with this team, but it really has been the best four years of my entire life,” Oscepinski said. “I’ve gotten new best friends along the way. I’ve met new people along the way from so many different schools. I’ve had different coaches who all helped me in multiple ways. I’m super grateful for the experience. I’m really sad it’s over, but all good things come to an end.”