Comet girls win Baker tournament by 1 pin; Comet boys place 3rd

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

WATERLOO — Jeff Bridges’s iconic “Dude” in The Big Lewbowski relaxed by way of listening to the audio recordings of bowling tournaments.

Had he listened to the audio of the high school Baker Tournament held at Cadillac Lanes on Tuesday, it would have sounded like a Who concert.

“There is nothing more intense than these Baker tournaments,” Charles City head bowling coach Doug Bohlen said. “Sometimes it comes down to which kids cheer the loudest.”

The Comets had plenty to cheer about in the girls division. After the preliminary round consisting of 10 games, Charles City girls were seeded No. 2 among the 10 out of the 12 participating teams surviving to the single-elimination bracket where teams square off in three-game matches.

The Comet girls advanced all the way to the championship match where they faced Forest City, and beat the Indians by 1 pin.

“Their best bowler was up in the 10th frame, and if she throws a strike, they win,” Bohlen said. “She looked like she got it, but the 5-pin slid all the way over to the 4-pin spot while staying up.

“Goes to show you, every pin counts.”

The Comet boys averaged better than 200 in the preliminary round and got the No. 1 seed. Charles City defeated Forest City in the first round, but lost to Waverly-Shell Rock in the second round.

The Comets later defeated Decorah to secure third place. Tripoli placed first and W-SR was second.

“We were right in the pocket but were leaving a lot of corner pins,” Bohlen said. “Our bowlers throw harder than most teams, but on synthetic lanes that doesn’t always help.”

In a make-up dual against North Iowa to close the regular season, the Comets traveled to Buffalo Center on Thursday.

The Comet girls completed an undefeated season while winning the overall pincount at 2,362 to 1,913.

The Comet boys improved to 8-1 after out-rolling the Bison 2,711 to 1,894.

After an individual tournament at Cadillac Lanes on Saturday, the Comets will complete in the Class 1A State Qualifiers on Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 15-16) at Viper Lanes in Oelwein.

The boys qualifier will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday; the girls qualifier will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday.