Rolling into their meet against Millard North on Tuesday, Jan. 27, the Millard West bowling team went into this particular meet with high hopes as the end of winter sports approached along with this dual being the last for many of the bowlers. 

On the boys side, bowlers juniors Drew Lehman and Sean Murphy, sophomores Kai Smith and Brandon Ross and senior Bryan Stuckenschmidt were able to collect 846 pins collectively, but this could not match up to the opposing team’s 920 pins. Lehman led his team with 198 pins, and earned his team their single point of the game.

Beginning their match on a rather strong note, the girls bowled 702 pins and earned a quick win in contrast to the Mustang’s 612 total pinfall in game one. Juniors Emily Ciesielski and Jillian Weland, freshman Kelsey Maulick and sophomores Lacy Nemitz and Gwendolyn Naumann all competed in this dual against Millard North. Weland led her team with 175 pins, adding to the girls’ total pinfall, and scoring one of the three points from total pinfall. In addition, the team earned three and a half individual game points, ending their first game with six and a half points.  

“I felt pretty good going into this meet because we compete against Millard North a lot, and I’ve become familiar with some of their bowlers,” Weland said. “My personal goal for each meet is to bowl my best. At the same time, I try to score my average every time I bowl, and I did just that in this dual because I helped our team win the meet with only one baker game.” 

Coming off of a loss from game one, the boys sought for change and executed this game in their favor as they took over the scoreboard in game two. Knocking down the most pins, Murphy bowled 203 pins and earned his team one of three individual game points. Additionally, the boys’ competitive efforts earned them another three points from total pinfall and ended their first win of the match with six points. 

Game two brought more success on the girl’s side, with two back-to-back wins and with a dominating score of 6-2 points in game two. Maulick led her team with 170 pins, while Naumann scored closely behind her with 167 pins out of 745 total pinfall. Both girls scored one point out of their team’s three points from total pinfall. 

“My goal for the meet was to beat whoever I was versing,” Naumann said. “Along with getting the highest score I could and picking up all the pins. I think that meet I didn’t do my best. I tied the first game but then won, so I was a little paranoid at first but quickly found my groove.” 

In their final games resulting in opposing outcomes, the girls bowled 153 pins winning their third game and match overall with five points and a total of 17.5 points. The Mustangs bowled 129 pins and scored no points on their girls side but only 3.5 points altogether. The boys’ final game concluded in a tight scoring dual of the Wildcats falling to the Mustangs 185 pins to 178 pins. Millard West’s boys managed to go scoreless in their final baker game while the Mustangs collected five points which set their team up for a victory with a final score of 14-7.

“Boys lost their first game 2-6, came back and won their second game 5-3, but ended up losing the match in a very close baker game battle,” head coach Megan Smith said. “They showed resilience and a drive to win, and they came so close. Both our teams did a great job, and I hope they felt they had a strong finish to their season.” 

With this being their final dual of the season, the Wildcats seek to finalize this season off strong by making an impact on the State meet as Naumann, Lehman and Smith all prepare for their last taste of competition.