Boys bowling: Sterling takes third at own regional; Dixon, Oregon, Erie-Prophetstown individual advance to sectional

STERLING – Coming into Saturday’s IHSA boys bowling regional on their home lanes, the Sterling Golden Warriors were confident about their chances to be one of the four teams to advance to next week’s Hononegah Sectional.

Led by seniors Ethan Melcher and Andrew Doughty, the Warriors were able to do just that, bowling a 5,617 to take third in the 12-team regional. Freeport won the title (6,132) and Geneseo was second (5,866), while Rockford Jefferson (5,519) claimed the final advancing spot.

Oregon was fifth (5,388), Dixon took seventh (5,186), and Erie-Prophetstown placed 12th (4,464), but all three teams sent individuals on to the sectional.

“We were feeling pretty confident looking at the lineup of teams,” Doughty said. “We knew how some of the other teams bowled, and we figured there were about six of us that probably could have moved on. We were feeling pretty confident that we could end up in the top four.”

Sterling went into the day with the mentality to collect every pin possible, and the game plan worked. Melcher placed ninth individually with a six-game series of 1,184, and Doughty was 11th with a 1,168. Dylan Doss (20th, 1,110), Mikah Hernandez (21st, 1,105) and Tristan Oelrichs (28th, 1,050) all finished in the top 30 for the Warriors.

“Really, just every ball matters,” Melcher said. “That’s kind of the mindset that I keep and what I try to tell the team to keep, is that every ball does matter, and every pin does matter.”

“We really worked on our spares and made sure we got just about every pin we could,” Doughty added, “because when it comes down to it, if you’re not picking up those pins, you’re not going to move on. We had to make sure we got as many pins as we could.”

Sterling set itself up in good position after the morning session, and sat in third place through the fourth game to open the afternoon. The Warriors stayed right there after the fifth game, and cemented their spot in the final game.

Doughty said they paid some attention to the other teams in the running, but ultimately it came down to the Warriors bowling their own games and letting the chips fall where they may.

“We look at the other teams a little, but eventually if you spend too much time worrying about everybody else, it plays mental games with you and you’re not going to be bowling real well,” he said.

Melcher marveled at the growth the team has shown throughout the season, adjusting to a new coaching staff and still finding ways for different bowlers to step up to help the Warriors find success.

“Everybody has grown, everybody has learned through the coaching – we have a brand new coach and brand new assistant coach – and they really just took us and we hit the ground running,” he said. “Every team has their little hiccups in the road, but we kept going through it and working hard and winning. We really just are able to take what we have a work with it really well.”

He said it will take more of that next weekend if Sterling wants to advance to the state meet.

“Really, it’s going to be about consistency,” Melcher said. “A lot of times we do have really good games, but then there are some iffy games. As long as we can keep that consistency up, like how we did today, then I believe that we’ll be able to make state.”

Oregon finished fifth, unable to make up enough ground at the end to advance as a team. The Hawks were fourth after the first afternoon game, but fell to sixth after the fifth game of the day, and they could only get back one spot in the final game.

Senior Isaac Kaltenbrun was near the top of the individual leaderboard all day long, and ended up placing sixth with a 1,204. He was the second-highest advancing individual not on the top four advancing teams; the top 10 individuals not on those teams also moved on.

“Just keeping my head consistent, bowling consistent, having my team there to help me out when I felt down,” Kaltenrbun said about the keys to his performance. “Also, picking up spares; I did that pretty well. I’m going to have to pick it up a little more next week, but other than that, I think I can make it to state.”

He’ll be joined by teammate Brandon Rowe, who placed 17th with a 1,121. The junior ranked sixth among the 10 advancing individuals, and said it was his mental game that made the difference. He also said he’ll likely feel less pressure next weekend without having the team aspect to worry about.

“When I was in a rough spot, I was able to push myself through it and tell myself the right things to finish it off,” Rowe said. “And next week, I’ve always felt in the past that bowling as an individual always helped me bowl better, just because I didn’t have to worry about the team, only myself. We’ll see what happens.”

Dixon also has a pair of individuals competing next week, as freshmen David Laird and Cody Geil punched their tickets to the sectional.

Laird led the Dukes with a 1,121, good for 16th place, and fifth among the individual advancers. He said a strong finish was made possible by learning to adapt his game throughout the day.

“I had to adjust how to curve it, because in earlier games I didn’t curve it right,” he said. “I also did a new thing where I just tapped my foot on the ground three times and adjusted from there, just trying to keep myself in rhythm.”

Laird surprised himself with how well he bowled, and said he didn’t really think he’d be so much higher than his average in a couple of games during the day.

“I expected to do well, around my average of 160. I didn’t expect to get over 220 or something like that. That was pretty crazy,” he said. “That gives me a lot more confidence for next week.”

Geil knew if he bowled the way he has all season, he’d likely advance. He was able to accomplish his goal, rolling a 1,094 to place 23rd overall, seven pins ahead of the final individual qualifying pinfall of 1,087.

He said it was all about concentrating on the task at hand each roll, and will look to take the same approach next weekend.

“I just had to take my time, focus, and just hit my mark. I thought, ‘Just bowl your average and you’ll make it,’ so that’s what I did,” Geil said. “Next week, I have to really focus and make sure I hit my mark every time. If I don’t do that, I probably won’t make it to state.”

Erie-Prophetstown senior Michael Miner made the most of his final regional, rolling a 1,134 to finish 14th overall and claim the fourth individual qualifying spot. He said it was his focus and improvement throughout the day that made the difference.

“I just went out there, focused on hitting my marks. I definitely played better in the afternoon, just knowing the lanes better than the morning,” Miner said. “My main goal was to move on to sectionals, and I achieved that. Next week, though, I think I’m going to have to pick it up from my average by 20 pins or so. But I’ll keep working at it.”

Two other locals nearly joined their teammates at sectionals, but came up just short. Dixon senior Ethan Tate’s 1,085 was just two pins behind the final individual qualifier, Rock Island’s Sean-Anthony Jackson, and Oregon sophomore Brady Davis rolled a 1,073, missing that last spot by 14 pins.