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WATERLOO — The Panther girls bowlers finished their season where they wanted to once again.
Despite the location being different — state bowling was contested at Waterloo’s Cadillac Lanes rather than Plaza Lanes in Des Moines after a December fire — the Panthers were excited to get back and compete with the best in the state.
Creston/Orient-Macksburg finished seventh in the state for the second consecutive season, tallying 2,251 pins.
“As much fun as it is to participate in the state tournament, I think we came away a little disappointed in that we didn’t do as well as we probably could have,” coach Ron Pendegraft said. “We did shoot over our team match average by 100 pins, but we still left so much out there that we could’ve had, which would’ve improved our score considerably. But having said that, it was still a great experience for our fans and our kids to compete at that level.”
The Panthers finished 120 pins ahead of eighth place Forrest City and 42 pins behind Tri-Center in sixth.
Junior Laura Weis, the reigning South Central Iowa bowler of the week, bowled a 351 series for the Panthers with games of 162 and 189. Her score was good for the 17th-best score in Class 1A at state.
Casey Batten’s 317 series came by way of 172 and 145 games. Kim Orr bowled a 295 series with games of 161 and 134.
Maddie Frey’s 279 series (149, 130), Sara Williamson’s 237 (106, 131) and Sophie Schuler’s 207 (105, 102) scores rounded out the Panthers’ day.
The atmosphere was different, and Pendegraft was not sure if his players ever truly adjusted as well as they could have.
‘You’ve got to compete no matter where you bowl and we did but it was, after all, the state tournament and you’ve got to bring it to compete at that level,” Pendegraft said. “I’m still very proud of our girls for earning their way into that company.”
Creston/O-M’s season ends on a high note, as the squad says goodbye to six seniors.
“As another state tournament ends, the season ends also. That means we say goodbye to some seniors that have been with our program for a long time, and have contributed greatly to our success during that time,” Pendegraft said. “Sara Williamson, Casey Batten, Kimberly Orr, Dylan Linch, Jonathan Seals and Evan Taylor, — Jerry and I thank you, wish you good fortune and believe it or not, we’ll miss you too.”