The Collinsville girls bowling team wasn't able to match its performance of two years ago, but the Kahoks still had a strong showing in last weekend's state tournament at Cherry Bowl Lanes in Rockford.
With a team score of 11,981, Collinsville placed seventh—368 pins behind first-place Tinley Park Andrew—and had the highest finish of any local team. O'Fallon (11,817) was eighth, and Belleville West (11,462) was 10th.
The Kahoks also had a pair of top 10 individuals. Sarah Crafton was sixth with a score of 2,641, while Amber Burns was ninth at 2,624.
In 2010, Collinsville won the state championship and had an individual champion in Frannie Steiner. Last year, the Kahoks didn't qualify for state.
"It was nice to get back there, and the girls bowled very well," Collinsville coach Sean Hay said. "We had some rough patches here and there, but we responded and that says a lot about the girls' character. We were in 17th place after the first game on Friday and they could have moped, but they came back and bowled a couple really good games.
"Having Sarah and Amber bowl as well as they did is really good for the team because they're just juniors. They can come back next year and be even better."
Senior Katie Crafton, Sarah's sister, had a score of 1,632. Jessica Fowler, the team's only other senior, bowled three games on Saturday and had a two-day pin total of 768.
"Jessica is a relatively new bowler, but that was probably the best set of bowling in her career," Hay said.
The rest of the Kahoks' state contingent included junior Courtney Bruncic (1,492), sophomore Courtney Otradovec (1,356), sophomore Sammi Kassly (1,122) and freshman Lindsey Collins (346).
"We have a good core of young talent, and they show some potential," Hay said.
The top bowler for O'Fallon was Erin Michelfelder, who finished eighth with a score of 2,628. Other bowlers for the Panthers were Jordan Kasza (2,607), Lindsay Kasza (2,065), Jordan Schlotmann (2,055), Raven Leflore (920), Abby Solomon (711), Alexis Toohey (545) and Kristina Greynolds (286).
The top bowlers for West were Emily Consevage (2,459) and Paige Shackelford (2,458). Also competing for the Maroons were Katlyn Loesche (2,293), Bri Ackerman (1,750), Syleena White (1,519), Kennedy Walton (682), Nikki Dunn (158) and Samantha Kohnen (143).
Belleville East senior Jessica Kowalski placed 10th with a score of 2,621.
"Most of the girls who rise to the top are part of a team, and the momentum built by the team doing well usually propels the individual to higher levels in the individual competition," East coach Gene Barrett said.
"This year, I had the privilege of having a bowler in that individual competition not only bowling against the other 29 individuals but also competing against the additional 120 girls competing as part of a team. Jessica was not to be denied in her fourth and final trip to state; she was determined to break into in the top 10."
