Girls Bowling: Lockport wins 6th state title

ROCKFORD – Lockport won the IHSA Girls Bowling State Tournament on Saturday at The Cherry Bowl in an exciting back-and-forth battle with Machesney Park Harlem. The Porters rolled a two-day, 12-game total of 11,743. It was the Porters’ sixth title in the sport and first for coach Linda Siezega. The Porters also won in 2020, with no tournament last year because of COVID-19.

Harlem was the runner-up (11,536), with Oswego (11,321) finishing third. Minooka placed 11th, its fifth consecutive top-12 finish.

The Porters started Saturday with a 49-pin lead over Harlem in this two-team race for the title. Lockport lost six pins in the first game but gained back nine pins in the second of three morning games. Then things got real interesting as Harlem beat Lockport in the third game by 99 pins to go up by 47. But the Porters came back after the lunch break and bowled a 1,036 to Harlem’s 894 to take a 95-pin lead and never looked back.

Lockport, which tacked on a 1,045 in the next game, had its best two games of the day after the lunch break to seal the title.

“I have no words right now, and I can’t breath,” an emotional Siezega said. “At the break I told the team that they had lost their spirit in the third game, and we weren’t playing as a team. They weren’t doing their job, and if they didn’t want to do it, then go sit with your parents.

“Adversity has been a key for this team all season, and they responded today just like they have all year, and to do it on the biggest stage shows what kind of team this is, and I’m so proud of them. Today, our spare shooting was the key. We aren’t a big strike team, and today they picked up the spares, especially in the afternoon.”

It was Lockport’s third state title this school year, having won titles in football and cheerleading.

“It’s just so awesome to experience all that we have this school year so far,” Lockport athletic director Mike Dwyer said. “It’s a testament to our coaches, students, administrators and community for what we have been able to accomplish. It started in the fall with such a great energy and has carried forward, and I’m so proud.”

The Porters were led by the All-State (top 12 individuals) performances of seniors Isabella Colon in sixth (2,515) and Emma Punter in 10th (2,454).

“This means so much to me, especially coming back to the team,” Colon said. “I was a part of the title in 2020, but this one means a little more because it’s my senior year, and you can walk away on top.”

“This proves that goals can be met,” said Punter, who was a part of the 2020 team but didn’t bowl at state. “We talked at lunch about getting out of our funk, and we knew it was a do-or-die situation. We had to stay focused on what only we could do. This is a lifelong dream that has come true.”

Individually, Plainfield East senior Hailey Bozych led the area with a second-place overall finish to earn All-State honors. The senior rolled a 2,627 and averaged 218.9 over the two days. She is the first Plainfield East bowler to earn All-State honors.

“This means the world to me, and I’m so blessed,” Bozych said. “I knew I could do it, and it started out a little rough, but I didn’t get down on myself and just kept grinding, and all the hard work over the years paid off.”

Vandalia’s Madison Ferguson took first, averaging 236.8.

Also earning All-State honors was Joliet West junior Malaya Chavez with a 2,496, as she placed eighth.

Plainfield Central’s Grace Dillingham took 26th, Minooka’s Bri Gillson finished 31st, and Lincoln-Way Central’s Abby Nolan was 37th.