Bowling: L-P boys, girls win own Cavalier Classic

Last year, the La Salle-Peru boys’ bowling team placed second in the Cavalier Classic, just 56 pins behind Naperville Central.

On Saturday, the Cavaliers entered the final game of the 2022 Cavalier Classic trailing Naperville Central by 50 pins.

This time, L-P overcame the Redhawks.

The Cavaliers rolled a 981 in the final game of the day — 128 pins better than Naperville Central — to claim the title with 6,105 pins.

“It feels very good,” said L-P senior Ethan Picco, who tied for second individually with teammate David Lawrence. “Last year, (Naperville Central) ended up coming back and beating us, so it feels good to finally get that come back on them and take first place in our tournament.

“(Going into the last game) we knew we had to keep going and work as hard as possible. We just kept up a good attitude and kept pushing.”

The Redhawks finished with 6,027 pins, Mendota (5,378) finished fourth, Dixon (5,351) took fifth, Oregon (5,228) was sixth, Streator (4,970) placed eighth, St. Bede (4,931) was ninth, Ottawa (4,566) was 11th and Hall-Putnam County (4,102) was 12th among the 12 teams.

“It was hard,” Lawrence said. “(Naperville Central) would come up but then we would come and beat them by a couple. It was just back and forth.”

Picco and Lawrence each rolled a 1,314 six-game series.

Picco threw his best three games in the first session with a 235, 247 and 268.

“I had a very good first half,” Picco said. “The second half was rough. I wish I could have done a little bit better, but I’m very happy with the outcome. It’s very fun to have (second place) with my teammate. I’m glad we can share this.”

Lawrence had a 675 in the morning session and rolled a 639 in the afternoon.

“It’s nice,” Lawrence said about placing second. “It’s the highest I’ve ever placed as an individual.”

Streator’s Brady Grabowski repeated as Cavalier Classic individual champion as he rolled a 1,380.

“It feels pretty good,” Grabowski said. “Every time I come here I’m pretty comfortable. It almost feels like home. It kind of feels natural.”

Grabowski bowled a 651 series in the morning and followed that with a 729 in the afternoon, including a 280.

“Honestly, I started off the season pretty slow,” Grabowski said. “But I’ve been going up. This is my best weekend so far. I’ve been working on being more consistent and I’ve been focusing more on my arm swing. That’s been my biggest challenge.”

Dixon’s Clark Bonnewell (1,243) placed sixth, while Mendota’s Paxton Bauer (seventh, 1,229), L-P’s Chance Hank (eighth, 1,224) and L-P’s Aaron Siebert (10th, 1,215) also finished in the top 10.

On the girls side, L-P rolled an 856 in the first game — 79 pins better than Belvidere — and led the rest of the way.

The Cavaliers bowled an 800 or better in four of six games, including a 904 in game five to give them a comfortable 304-pin lead entering the final game.

“It feels really good (to win the team title,” said L-P junior Olivia Weber, who placed second individually. “We all worked as a team. It was a lot of ups and downs but everyone is happy about it.”

Weber rolled a 1,141 series, while teammates Christine Ricci (1,089) and Makenzie Hamilton (1,059) placed fourth and seventh, respectively.

The Cavs racked up 4,967 pins to beat Belvidere by 252. St. Bede (4,714) placed third by one pin, Oregon (4,396) finished fourth, Hall-Putnam County (3,746) was seventh, Mendota (3,517) was eighth, Streator (3,458) was ninth and Ottawa (3,337) was 10th among the 10 teams.

St. Bede’s Aubree Acuncius claimed the individual title as she rolled a 1,262 series. Acuncius said she didn’t know where she was in the standings throughout the day and learned she won from her father and St. Bede assistant, Eric.

“It feels good,” Acuncius said. “I was surprised. There are a lot of great bowlers here.”

Acuncius entered the final game with a 43-pin lead.

She started off the sixth game by rolling seven consecutive strikes and she finished with a 246, the highest game of the day among the girls.

“I was really nervous but (coach) Buck (Emmerling) tells me all the time, ‘Next frame. never look back on what you’ve already done.’ So it’s always good to keep that mentality,” Acuncius said.

Hall’s Sarah Beier placed third with a 1,109, Oregon’s Ava Wright placed ninth in 1,003 and St. Bede’s Maddy Fabish was 10 with a 999.