Record Newspapers Athlete of the Week: Dale Horstmann, Yorkville, bowling, junior

Name: Dale Horstmann

School: Yorkville

Sport: Bowling, junior

Why he was selected: Horstmann bowled a 1,236 series (206 average) to win the individual championship at the Freeport Invitational, leading the Foxes to fourth place as a team. He also had a 732 three-game series against Plainfield East.

Horstmann was voted by readers as the Record Newspapers Athlete of the Week. Here is his interview with Sports Editor Joshua Welge.

Welge: The Freeport Invitational, were you leading most of the day?

Horstmann: I was in first place after the first three games and the team was in fourth. I opened up with a 220 team, I think the team was in first after the first game. It put us in a good spot. I think I followed that up with a 170 and then a 180, and opened the second block with my high score of 235, it gave me a medal for high game honors.

Welge: Have you won a tournament before? How good of a score was 1,236?

Horstmann: This was my second tournament win of the year. I won the Sycamore Invite at Mardi Gras Lanes. For Sport Shot a 1,236 is really good; the scores are generally lower. I was surprised with how low the scores were and how well the team did compared to everybody else. To win a Sport Shot tournament after sitting on the bus for two hours was pretty thrilling to say the least.

Welge: How about your score against Plainfield East, did you feel pretty good about that one?

Horstmann: I think that was my high score of the year, which was huge. We’re coming down to the wire in conference points. To break out with a 732, to get six conference points, the team takes 10 conference points, is great. It puts us in good position going into the conference tournament.

I also want to thank my coach, Kendall Sims. She has done so much for me and my team.

Welge: How did you get started bowling?

Horstmann: When I was in seventh grade, my brother was a sophomore in high school. He wanted to start bowling, and my dad was involved in many adult leagues. I also picked it up at that point. I started bowling competitively in eighth grade. I took fourth in sectionals as an eighth grader and it carried over into my freshman year of high school.

Welge: So it sounds like bowling runs in the family, right?

Horstmann: My dad has been bowling for at least 15 years, and my grandpa used to bowl in pro tournaments back in the day. So yeah, I guess you could say that it runs in the family.

Welge: What’s your lifetime high score?

Horstmann: I’ve actually had two 300s. My first one was summer going into freshman year. Second one, I shot on my birthday, February 13. Happy birthday to me, I guess.