L-P girls bowling qualifies for state: Saturday’s NewsTribune roundup

GIRLS BOWLING

At Dixon: La Salle-Peru racked up 5,609 pins Saturday at Plum Hollow Lanes to place fourth in the Oregon Sectional to earn a trip to the state tournament.

“It means everything,” L-P junior Kamryn Oscepinski said. “We worked so hard today. We started super low and not doing our best to blowing it out of the water. It’s such a great feeling to advance with my team.

“We all had a great mental game. I’m so proud of us. We kept it together and moved on after any bad frame.”

The Cavaliers also qualified for state in 2022 and 2023.

“From the jump, they’ve said their goal is to make state, so this means all their hard work to this point has been worth it,” L-P coach Aaron Guenther said. “They had a bad taste in their mouth from how last year ended, so the girls worked extra hard this season to make sure they could redeem themselves from last year.”

L-P had a tough start Saturday, sitting in 10th place after the first game and in eighth place after four games. During the fifth game, Guenther said the coaches told the players they were only 40 pins out of fourth, and the Cavs responded by jumping from eighth to fourth by the end of the game.

“I think what they did really well was weather the lows and enjoy the highs,” Guenther said. “Nobody bottomed out too low and when someone did something well, we celebrated as a team. That resiliency and must-win attitude is ultimately what made them successful.”

Oscepinski led the Cavs as she placed ninth with a 1,219 six-game series. Camryn Perra (1,154), Anna Ricci (1,109), Leah Ricci (1,106) and Kaitlyn Miller (1,021) also contributed for L-P.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Putnam County 47, Earlville 44: Maggie Spratt scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help the No. 10-seeded Panthers beat the No. 9 Red Raiders in a Class 1A St. Bede Regional quarterfinal in Earlville.

Addy Leatherman had 11 points and Eme Bouxsein added eight for PC, which will face No. 2 Amboy in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Addie Scherer had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Earlville, while Bailey Miller contributed nine points and seven rebounds.

Henry-Senachwine 49, Peoria Heights 19: Kaitlyn Anderson had 16 points, nine rebounds and two steals as the No. 5-seeded Mallards cruised to a win over the No. 12 Patriots in a Class 1A Roanoke-Benson Regional quarterfinal in Henry.

Rachel Eckert had 11 points and Grace Anderson added nine points and four steals for Henry, which will play No. 3 Mt. Pulaski in a semifinal at 7 p.m. Monday at Roanoke-Benson.

Fieldcrest 59, Midwest Central 47: Macy Gochanour scored 24 points as the No. 8-seeded Knights beat the No. 11 Raiders in a Class 2A Manual Regional quarterfinal in Minonk.

Pru Mangan had 18 points and TeriLynn Timmerman added 11 points for Fieldcrest, which advances to play No. 1 Deer Creek-Mackinaw in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Monday.

Metamora 50, La Salle-Peru 14: The No. 8-seeded Cavaliers lost to the No. 6 Redbirds in a Class 3A Washington Regional quarterfinal in Metamora. L-P finishes 12-18.

Sandwich 47, Mendota 32: Ava Eddy had 10 points, six steals and three assists as the No. 12-seeded Trojans lost to the No. 6 Indians in a Class 2A Princeton Regional quarterfinal in Sandwich.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Princeton 69, Winnebago 63: Noah LaPorte scored 21 points to lead the Tigers to a nonconference victory in Princeton.

LaPorte became the school’s all-time leading scorer (boys or girls) with 1,511 points, surpassing the 1,506 points by Tiah Romagnoli (1996-99).

Mendota 70, Oregon 64: The Trojans earned a nonconference victory in Mendota.

Princeville 57, Bureau Valley 46: The top-seeded Storm fell to the No. 4 Princes in the Lincoln Trail Conference semifinals in Princeville.

BOYS WRESTLING

At Washington: La Salle-Peru’s Gianni Verucchi (106 pounds), Reegan Kellett (138), Charley Clifford (150), Zach Pocivasek (157) and Eric Mateika (285) had their seasons come to an end in wrestlebacks at the Class 2A Washington Sectional.