Oswego's Petosky Takes Third at State Bowling Tournament

ROCKFORD–The Plainfield Central girls bowling team didn’t lose the lead it built Friday during the final day of competition in the girls state bowling tournament at Cherry Lanes.

Central was defeated by a team bowling in its own house which won its fourth state championship in 11 years.

Although Machesney Park Harlem beat out Plainfield Central by 348 pins for the state championship Saturday, the Wildcats were anything but disappointed by bringing home the school’s best state finish in any sport.

“They earned it just like we earned second place,” Plainfield Central coach Connie McGrath said. “These kids didn’t let up and didn’t focus on Harlem. They could have collapsed and they didn’t. They stayed strong, true to their goals, they believed in one another, now they are reaping the reward.”

“We accomplished all the things we’ve been hoping for all year,” Plainfield Central senior Chelsea Oshita said. “This makes us feel good. Harlem bowled amazing and we’re happy for them.”

“It feels awesome,” Plainfield Central senior Tricia Zimmerman said. “We stayed focused on ourselves and didn’t think about anything else. This is a school record and we set an IHSA record, so we couldn’t have done any better.”

Plainfield Central set a state record with a 1,173 series Friday en route to taking a 22-pin lead over Harlem heading into Saturday’s action.

Harlem rolled a 1,116 to Plainfield Central’s 939 to start the day Saturday. That gave the Huskies a 155-pin lead. Harlem went on to roll a 12,533.

The Wildcats rolled games of 1,067, 1,061 and 1,059 to finish with a 12,185 pinfall. Rockford Jefferson took third with a 12,020.

“Awesome. Unbelievable. You can describe this in many words,” McGrath said. “We’re coming home with a big trophy. Nobody’s taken second place for girls. That’s awesome. We’re so happy.”

Also coming home with an individual medal was Zimmerman, who took eighth in the state with a 2,565 for a 213.8 average.

“I’ve worked hard for four years and it feels great for everything to finally pay off,” said Zimmerman, who has committed to Ashford University in Iowa.

Oshita, who will attend McKendree University in downstate Lebanon in the fall, missed an individual medal by one pin, taking 13th with a 2,553 (212.8 average).

Oswego moved up a spot after entering the day in sixth. The Panthers finished fifth with a 11,757 total.

“We’re so proud of the girls for being here and doing as well as they did,” Panthers coach Dan Okoren said. “We came into today sixth and made a little push. To me, that shows the heart of this team. They made great strides, worked hard all season and we really gelled as a team these last few weeks. That was the difference.”

Making a difference for the Panthers was Courtney Petosky, who won a third-place medal for rolling a 2,606 (217.2 average).

“I think we bowled the best we could,” Petosky said. “We did a lot better than a lot of people thought we would. I’m really proud of the team.”

“Last year, she was hoping to place a little higher than she did,” Okoren said of Petosky, who took 52nd in the state a year ago. “To make that much of a jump is great for her. We’re so proud of her.”

 “I could have done better, but I’m pretty happy,” Petosky said.

Minooka came on late Friday to sneak into the top 12 and advance to Saturday’s second day. The Indians finished ninth with an 11,571.

“We’re anything but disappointed with how the girls bowled today,” Minooka coach Frank Yudzentis said.

Senior Ashley Dylik was in the hunt for a medal for most of the day Saturday before finishing 20th (2,481, 206.8).

Teammate Courtney Johnston, a junior, took 22nd with a 2,476 (206.3).

Kelsey Johnson of Oswego East won the school’s highest medal by taking 10th place (2,545/212.1). Johnson is the school’s second three-time state qualifier in the sport.

“She figured it out, had a lot of confidence in what she was doing and she deserved it,” Oswego East coach Jeremy Hillman said.  “She beat her sister out and I think that was her main goal.”

Krystina Johnson took 11th in the state in 2008.

“It was a lot of work without my team here,” Johnson said. “I left a lot of 10 pins, but this feels really good. I worked really hard for it.”