Roundup: L-P’s Ethan Picco qualifies for state bowling

Coming into the Sandburg Sectional on Saturday, La Salle-Peru junior Ethan Picco knew he had to perform better than he did in the regional.

“It was a big motivation to keep going and try harder,” Picco said.

He did just that, rolling a 1,389 six-game series at Orland Bowl to place seventh in the sectional and earn a berth to the IHSA State Tournament.

“It feels great,” Picco said. “I was really hoping I made it.”

In the first three games, Picco bowled a 177, 239 and a 266 for a 675 series. He followed that up with a 267, 234 and 213 for a 714 final series.

“I did really well with keeping my mark and being consistent,” Picco said.

Picco will compete in the state meet at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon on Jan. 28-29.

St. Bede senior Trenton Acuncius rolled a 1,347 series, just one spot and nine pins shy of a state berth. He’s listed as a potential at-large qualifier on the IHSA website.

L-P junior Chance Hank rolled a 1,272 series, while classmate Peyton Baker had a 1,078 series.

BOYS SWIMMING

At La Salle

Joe Ovanic won the individual title and helped the La Salle-Peru/Ottawa co-op to the team title Saturady at the Cavaliers’ pentathlon.

Ovanic racked u 4,266 points for the individual crown, while teammate Ryan Nelson was second with 4,088.

The Cavs scored 14,639 points to beat Morris (13,284) and Olympia (4,604).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

St. Bede 56, Kewanee 34

Lia Bosnich scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Saturday to lead the Bruins to a Three Rivers Conference East Division victory in Kewanee.

Leah Smudzinski also had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds for St. Bede (9-12, 5-2 TRC East).

Princeton 45, Orion 26

McKenzie Hecht scored 16 points Saturday to help the Tigresses to a Three Rivers Conference crossover victory in Princeton.

Isa Ibarra added nine points for PHS (14-2).

Prairie Central 47, La Salle-Peru 30

Brooklyn Ficek scored 18 points Saturday as the Cavaliers fell in a non-conference game in Fairbury.

Sarah Peters, Angela Smudzinski and Addison Duttlinger each had four points for L-P.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Earlville 74, Ashton-Franklin Center 51

The Red Raiders picked up a non-conference victory Saturday in Earlville.

Henry-Senachwine 69, Lowpoint-Washburn 53

Holdyn Carr and Eric Garrison each scored 17 points Saturday to help the No. 8-seeded Mallards past the No. 9 Wildcats in the first round of the Tri-County Conference Tournament.

Henry advances to play No. 1 Midland in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Monday at Putnam County.

Rock Falls 53, Mendota 36

Krew Bond scored 21 points and hauled in eight rebounds as the Trojans fell in a non-conference game Saturday in Rock Falls.

Mendota led 17-14 at the break, and stretched the lead to 21-14 just two minutes into the third quarter, but the Rockets went on a 21-3 run over the final 4:27 of the third quarter and first 2:19 of the fourth.

GIRLS BOWLING

At Rockford

La Salle-Peru placed fifth among 22 teams Saturday at the Guilford Invitational at Cherry Bowl Lanes.

WRESTLING

At LeRoy

Princeton’s Matthew Harris won the 126-pound bracket at LeRoy’s Randy Bowman Invite on Saturday.

He won by 11-2 major decision in the title match.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

South Suburban 75, IVCC 55

Andre Ballard had 12 points and six rebounds Saturday as the Eagles lost a non-conference game to the No. 1-ranked team in the nation in South Holland.

Bureau Valley graduate Tyler Gustafson added 11 points for IVCC, which trailed by just two points at halftime.