Comet boys and girls win Baker Invitational titles

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

The perfect strike ball will make contact with only four pins.

But how did Nathan Schultz’s first ball, which hit the headpin, knock down only four pins total?

After leaving the good old 3-4-6-7-9-10 split, Schultz was able to recover enough to bowl a 200 in the latter game of his 355 two-game series, which led the Charles City boys team during its dual meet against Waverly-Shell Rock, Friday at Waverly Bowl Inn.

Though the Comets went on to average 198 in the subsequent Baker Rotation round, the team bowled a season-low 2,599 — 40 pins behind the Go-Hawks.

“Even though that was our lowest score ever for the boys, they didn’t throw the ball that bad,” said Comet head coach Doug Bohlen, whose boys team fell to 4-2 for the year.

“We were getting a lot of washouts and light-hit buckets,” Bohlen said. “The conditions are much different from at Comet Bowl, and I tried to prepare our guys at practice to slow their ball down.”

After the setback, the Comets were back at it the following day for the District Baker Team Invitational at Cadillac Lanes in Waterloo, which will again be the site for the State Bowling Championships.

Just as they did while trying to salvage a tough night at Waverly, Charles City’s boys averaged in the high 190s through 10 games rolling Baker style. The Comets girls averaged 161 through their 10 games as both Charles City teams earned No. 1 seeds in their best-of-three games, single-elimination bracket.

On the boys side, the Comets advanced past North Fayette Valley in the first round, defeated Waverly-Shell Rock — which defeated them the night before — in the semis, before facing Oelwein in the final.

“We lost the first game, and we were down a mark through five frames in the second,” Bohlen said. “But then our three, four, five bowlers struck in the eighth, ninth, and 10th frames with Cade Schmidt striking out in the 10th to get us to the third game.

There, the Comet boys won easily, defeating Oelwein by 50 pins for the title.

“I’m real proud of the way they responded,” Bohlen said.

Meanwhile, the Comet girls defeated Denver, Sumner and Waterloo, Columbus in order to win the girls title.

The night before, the Comet girls soundly defeated Waverly-Shell Rock, 2,416-2,108, to improve their undefeated record to 6-0.

A week after bowling a team-season-high 523 two-game series at Comet Bowl, Charles City senior Madison Ross showed why she is a legitimate 215-average bowler by shooting a 418 series on the much slicker synthetic conditions at Waverly Bowl Inn.

“I tell my bowlers not to get too caught up in Quik Stats,” Bohlen said of the site that keeps running statistics in most Iowa prep sports. “There may be three or four girl bowlers in the state who have higher averages than Maddie, but I can assure you that they haven’t bowled on the type of conditions that Maddie has bowled on.”

AT WAVERLY BOWL INN

Boys Varsity

WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK 2,639,
CHARLES CITY 2,599

CHARLES CITY — Nathan Schultz 155, 200-355; Cade Schmidt 133, 134-267; Noah Reams 149, 186-355; Cael Bohlen 179, 135-314; Nicholas Roney 155, 181-336; Dawson Solomon 121, 151-272. BAKER ROTATION: 165, 209, 241, 204, 168.

WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK — Lane Shears 198, 197-395; Peyton Dougan 152, 182-334; Adam Hein 154, 203-357; Malcolm Newell 115, 135-250; Ethan Hennings 134, 171-305; Noah Jeppesen 143, 199-342. BAKER ROTATION: 256, 157, 159, 164, 170.

Girls Varsity

CHARLES CITY 2,416,
WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK 2,108

CHARLES CITY — Madison Ross 249, 169-418; Sarah Mitchell 159, 151-310; Joslyn Cotton 189, 162-351; Abby Hillegas 143, 170-313; Jadyn Hegtvedt 139, 143-282; Brianna Ross 147, 167-314. BAKER ROTATION: 138, 189, 118, 135, 138.

WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK — Jentry Eick 107, 132-259; Brynne Steckelberg 139, 112-251; Lauren Fox 111, 130-241; Jasmine Ator 133, 166-299; Amanda Ostman 118, 180-298; Ashlyn Carnes 145, 154-299. BAKER ROTATION: 136, 139, 130, 138, 177.

District Baker Team Invitational

AT CADILLAC LANES, WATERLOO

Boys Championship

CHARLES CITY d. OELWEIN

Girls Championship

CHARLES CITY d. WATERLOO, COLUMBUS