Comet girl bowlers roll over Go-Hawks for fourth-straight win

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

WATERLOO — Most definitely, a high school bowling dual meet heats up when it reaches Baker Rotation.

Up until that point, varsity squads have their top five Individual Round two-game series combined to see how many pins to protect or chase going into the latter round.

Then the race picks up with the “house” volume usually turned up as strikes and converted splits are cheered more emphatically among teammates and fans. Now, the bowlers are rolling more as a team with the five appointed players assigned to throw two frames a game in the five-game round.

During Friday’s double-dual at Cadillac Lanes in Waterloo, the hosting Waverly-Shell Rock boys team had a 45-pin advantage over Charles City going into the Baker Rotation.

Not really a good place to be if you’re the Go-Hawks.

Charles City has traditionally been greater than the sum of individual parts. And that can be statistically proven, especially with the boys team, in how their Baker “team” scoring average regularly supersedes the team’s overall individual scoring average.

Granted, that history is based on previous CC teams. This Comet boys team is younger and lesser experienced compared to seasons’ past, but they do have a budding ringer in sophomore Keaton Ross, who anchors the Comets’ Baker Rotation games and is usually good for at least two marks when he’s not striking out in the 10th frame.

After four Baker Rotation games, the Comets pulled within 5 pins of the Go-Hawks. But in the fifth game, Charles City struggled while compiling an uncharacteristic 126 calamity while WSR shot a 189 to complete the 2,676 to 2,608 win.

Levi Schulde and Cody Buchholz led the Go-Hawks (3-3) in the Individual Round with respective two-game scores of 415 and 409.

Comet senior Chris Tull attained prep career highs in game (236) and two-game series (405) while leading the Charles City boys.

Ross (391), Xander Graeser (385 — PR), Cole Jones (342) and Sullivan Gerleman (304) rounded out the scoring for the Comets (3-3).

* A week removed from compiling their highest dual-meet total of the year — let alone season — the Charles City Comets girls team won its fourth meet in a row while rolling over WSR 2,245 to 1,879 at Cadillac Lanes on Friday.

Comet senior Imigin McHenry led all varsity girl bowlers with a 367 two-game series.

Claire Girken (308), Jenya Stevenson (290), Payton Hadley (264) and Isabel Crawford (257) accounted for Charles City’s Individual Round scoring total, which put it nearly 200 pins in front going into the Bakers, where the Comet (4-2) added to their lead.

Both Charles City squads will be back in action Tuesday (Jan. 17) to take on Independence at the 319 Social House.