Bowling season preview: Sycamore girls roll into season with new coach

The IHSA bowling season is finally off and rolling after more than a year layoff because of COVID-19.

One major change in the area is that the longtime dominant Sycamore Spartans girls team will have a new head coach.

Joey Johanning takes the helm of a Sycamore team that has had a stranglehold on the Interstate 8 and before that the Northern Illinois Big 12 for the past few years.

“Coming in, it’s some big shoes to fill to keep moving forward because we’re always trying to keep that success going,” Johanning said.

Johanning does have familiarity with Sycamore, having coached against them at his previous stop in Rochelle.

“The girls who have been around for a few years, I’ve seen them twice a year in meets for that last two, three, four years, and I’ve seen them at tournaments,” Johanning said. “And I’m from the area, so I know them quite well.”

One of the top returners from last season, senior Maddie Lathrop, is ready for the season to begin and carry on the Spartans’ winning tradition.

“I want us to do the best that we possibly can this year,” Lathrop said. “We’ve worked really hard to get where we are. We keep working hard to keep up the reputation.”

It’s not just the girls ready to get back to the lanes. The Sycamore boys have been getting ready and are prepared to compete.

“A couple of them haven’t missed a beat,” Sycamore coach Aaron Williams said. “I don’t know how they did it, but a couple of them are bowling really good. Three or four of them are bowling really good.”

The Spartan boys have three bowlers standing out so far: Jeffrey Gasso, Christian Lanan and Thomas Reboletti.

“They’ve been mid-500 to high-600 [series],” Williams said. “Christian and Jeffrey are my seniors, so they should be up there leading the team.”

Despite the excitement, coaches aren’t sure what to expect with how the competitions will run.

“I’m not sure how the head-to-head meets are going to work,” Johanning said. “You’re used to bowling with someone, but now we’ll be bowling with the entire team on one lane, so that presents a totally different dynamic.”

Williams isn’t sure how the season will go either, but he is happy just to get going.

“I’ve been talking to my assistant coach every two or three days,” Williams said. “We’ve got to go. I’ve been missing this all year.”

DeKalb coaches Allen Collins and Mike Davis could not be reached.