Hawks take second at Harlem bowling regional to advance to sectional

The Oregon Boys bowling team continued its strong late-season tournament surge with a second place finish at the Machesney Park Harlem Regional at Forest Hills Lanes, Loves Park on Saturday, Jan. 18.

“In a field with three of last season’s IHSA top 10 state finals teams, another top 20 ranked team and yet another honorable mention team, the Hawks continued to more than hold their own,” said Coach Al Nordman.

Oregon recorded a 6,249 series and was led by a pair of IHSA Regional medalists; second place finisher Matthew Stahl with a 1,330 series (277, 230, 173, 226, 209, 215) and fourth place finisher Gavvin Surmo with a 1,298 series (213, 247, 192, 187, 212, 247).

In yet another complete team-effort performance, Surmo and Stahl were followed closely by RJ Keene with a 1,276 series, Ethan Smice 1,197, Aiden Currier 791 (four games) and Caleb Brooks 357 (two games).

“With the top four teams advancing from the 13-team field, the Hawks stayed in contention all day long, starting the day in second place after the initial game, dropped to third after the second game, fourth after the fourth game, but then rebounded with their two highest games of the day in the fifth and sixthg to take home second place as a team,” Nordman said.

Harlem was the regional champion with a 6,449 series.

With their second place finish, the Hawks advance to the Oregon Sectional, Saturday, Jan. 25, at Plum Hollow Family Center, Dixon.