Comet bowlers honor Comet Bowl owners for their support

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — In the sport’s jargon, a bowling alley is often referred to as a “house.”

In normal speak, a “house” is often considered a “home.”

For the last three years, Comet Bowl has been the house and home for the Charles City boys and girls bowling teams.

Brother and sister owners Mark Barry and Peggy Sweet were the ones who opened the door and let them in.

“We couldn’t have done it without them,” Comet bowling coach Doug Bohlen said of the owners.

“They give the kids free bowling for practice during the weeks of the season. Then after we leave, they’ve got to turn things around to get the place and lanes ready for the adult leagues at night. I know from working in a bowling alley that’s a lot of extra work.”

Comet Bowl also hosts the Comets’ home meets which this year included the state qualifier for both boys and girls.

After the Comets won both the boys and girls qualifiers, they competed at the Class 1A State Tournament in Des Moines last week. The Comet girls took home the third-place trophy while the boys placed fifth.

In individual competition, the Comets boasted four Top 10-finishing medalists. Junior Macy Ross came up three pins shy of claiming her second straight girls individual title and had to settle for third while teammate Katie Sickman placed seventh.

For the boys, senior Drew Mitchell tied for fourth and junior Kaleb Ross placed sixth.

On Monday, the Comets showed their appreciation to Barry and Sweet while taking a group photo with them with the most recent trophy.

The Comet boys, who have qualified to state in all three years since Charles City started the program, earned a third-place state trophy at the conclusion of their first year in 2015.

“If it wasn’t for the support from them, we would never win trophies or even have a bowling program,” Bohlen said.

Barry and Sweet’s contributions to the program extend even further than providing the Comets a home.

About five years ago, Bohlen, Sweet and Barry’s son Tad Barry began to relentlessly petition the school board about adding a bowling program.

Good advice to Barry and Sweet may have been, “Be careful what you wish for,” but the siblings saw the need.

“We knew it was going to be a lot of work,” Sweet said, “but we knew it would be worth it.”

With the high school program set up with a “house” in place, there was no problem finding willing rollers. Growing from year to year, this past season the Comets had more than 40 bowlers come out for the two teams.

From that large pool has emerged a group of varsity bowlers who boast some of the highest averages in the state.

“We always been proud of the kids,” Sweet said. “Not just because they’re good bowlers … it’s because the way they carry themselves away from the sport.”

Now with the season over and kids out of the house, Comet Bowl is a little more quieter during the weekday afternoons.

“Some still come in here and bowl after school,” Sweet said. “But for the most part, we have more time to work on and fix things that need to be done.”