Girls Bowling: ‘Super special’ Oswego takes home third place at state, first trophy since 1998

Lani Breedlove does not need a refresher course on Oswego bowling history.

The Oswego junior’s aunt bowled on the school’s state championship team in 1998. Breedlove’s older sister, Brittany, was an All-State bowler who placed 11th in 2015.

On Saturday, Feb. 19, Breedlove added her name to that legacy and had a big hand in bringing a trophy back to Oswego.

Breedlove placed fourth individually, and Oswego as a team took home a third-place state trophy from The Cherry Bowl in Rockford.

It’s the third trophy in Oswego program history, first since the Panthers took second in 1997 and won the 1998 state title.

“It definitely means a lot,” Breedlove said. “The girls bowling program at Oswego hasn’t had a team this successful since the 1990s. It’s definitely super special. We have worked so hard to get to where we have gotten. We’ve been saying from the start that we were capable.

“Tradition is a big thing in our family, so it’s definitely super special and great to see generationally how the sport has been passed down. I think it’s super cool that we brought home a trophy, just like my aunt did.”

Oswego needed some clutch bowling late Saturday to clinch the third-place trophy.

The Panthers were in fifth place after Friday’s first round, and were 10 pins behind York for third place going into the sixth and final game Saturday.

Coincidentally, the lane rotations had Oswego and York paired up next to each other for the final game.

“I’ve never had that feeling that I had in the last game in my life,” said Evelyn James, Oswego’s lone senior. “The adrenalin rush was insane. We knew each and every shot had to be thrown with discipline in order to place. Every spare was important during that last game. It was so satisfying to see my teammates pick up spares and to see York leave splits.”

Oswego bowled a 916 in the last game to finish comfortably in third place with a 11,321 total, behind only Lockport and Harlem.

“It was getting loud and exciting, we kept putting up frames and [York] started to miss their spares and we started to run away with it,” Oswego coach Dan Okoren said. “Our goal was to win a state trophy at the beginning of the year. I didn’t know if it would be first, second or third, but we knew we had a shot at it. It was a great effort by the girls. They came through, especially in that last game.”

Breedlove bowled a 2,570 total over 12 games for fourth place, the third-best finish ever at state by an Oswego bowler.

“My patience and ability to grind all weekend was what did it,” Breedlove said. “I made a lot of really good shots. There were a lot that didn’t carry, but I stayed patient and continued to grind. It came down to who threw the most strikes. I don’t know if I bowled great, but I controlled the pocket. I know my time will come.”

“She’s just an incredible bowler, and as great of a bowler as she is she’s an even better human being,” Okoren said of Breedlove said. “She is our team captain, very much a players’ coach. She helps out with the girls outside of bowling. She understands the whole game and has the mindset to compete at a high level. Nothing rattles her.”

Oswego sophomore Hailey Jourdan backed Breedlove’s effort with a 2,368 for 27th at state. Junior Katelyn Watson bowled a 2,241 and James a 2,025.

Watson bowled a personal best 1,239 series Friday, Feb. 18, and Jourdan a personal best 1,258 on Feb. 19.

“They really stood up when we needed it,” Okoren said. “We were just looking at the scores. We really didn’t shoot anything below 900. We stayed steady across all games, just stayed in control and it paid off.”

The best, too, could be yet to come, with all but one girl returning next season.

“I definitely believe we have the ability to compete for a state championship,” Breedlove said. “It’s super exciting to think about the possibilities.”