For the third year in a row Oak Lawn’s Boy bowling team has rolled their way to The South Suburban Conference Red Championship. Earning a Three-peat.
Charlie Dell earned all-conference honors after finishing first, knocking down 1,376 pins. Vinny McBrien finished fourth overall and Justin Canvin finished eight over all, also winning all- conference honors.
Sam Bergamo and Gavin Rybicki made it just outside the top ten bowlers but were crucial to closing out Reavis in the sixth game deciding game.
“We were down fifteen pins heading into the last game and came out on top with a twenty- two pin victory when it was all said and done.” Head Coach Kevin Walery said. “Bergamo helped seal the deal with big strikes in the ninth and tenth frames. Way to go Spartans.”
Even after the big conference win, the journey is not over for the boys yet. They are making their way to the Illinois High School Association Regionals Saturday January thirteenth at their home lanes, Palos Lanes.
The timing was just right for the Oak Lawn Boys Bowling team as they made their way to regionals. Coach Kevin Walery says “We felt really good about it. We had been bowling our best for those last two or three weeks. We had really peaked there and it was nice we were able to do it at palos, our home lanes with gave us a great advantage, which we took.”
The whole team knocked down 6,298 pins in all getting over 1,000 pins per game, the team will advance to the IHSA Sectional meet at Palos Lanes where the top six of the sixteen competing teams, will advance to the IHSA State finals, in O’Fallon, III. If the boys make it to state it will be the first time Oak Lawn has made it to IHSA State Finals in fifteen years.
During the Regional competition as a Bergamo led the team with an average of 226 pins per game finishing in second place individually. Gavin Rybicki finished in fifth overall, Vinny McBrien in eighth, Charlie Dell in fourteenth, and Justin Canvin in eighteenth. The Spartans were on fire.
Coach Walery says the main factor in bringing the team so far is “That we were a team. Every week someone new stepped up. Charlie Dell at conference, Sam Bergamo at regionals, and the team as a whole helped us get over 5,000 pins at state.”
First, it was Charlie Dell helping the Oak Lawn Community High School Boy Bowling Team win the South Suburban Conference Red Championship. Next, senior, Sam Bergamo lead the team to the title at the Illinois High School Association Regional Meet. Then, sophomore, Justin Canvin providing the power at the IHSA Sectional meet, helping the Spartans advance to the IHSA state finals for the first time in fifteen years.
The boys practiced hard and played the best to make it to state finals, the ultimate challenge. Coach Walery says, “It was one of goals to get all the way down to state and we knew in order to get there we had to work hard.”
“The Boys bowled really great and have done this as a true team-nobody is bigger than the team” Coach Walery states, “We have eight guys who are all in this together. Coach Lauren Mueller and I are so proud and happy for this team.”
Even though the boys didn’t win state they made it very far in their season and won pretty impressive titles. “We’re just happy our seniors got the chance to go to state and that we have some sophomores and juniors contribute, and that they’re coming back next year. Our next goal is to make it to state again, but this time make it to the second day. Great Season” said by Coach Walery.
