Back in November, reaching the state bowling tournament was the furthest thing in the mind of Collinsville High senior Elizabeth Beauchamp.
Mired in a terrible early-season slump, Beauchamp was just trying to survive.
"It was pretty tough," the 18-year-old recalled.
Beauchamp, a member of the Kahoks' state championship team last February, hit rock bottom with a dismal 150 score in match against O'Fallon.
"My release was all messed up," she said. "I just wasn't sure what I was doing."
Times have certainly changed.
Beauchamp bounced back from the slow start with an eye-popping performance last weekend in the Alton Sectional at Riverboat Lanes in Godfrey. She posted a six-game total of 1,219 - nine pins off the lead. Her third-place finish was good enough to earn her a berth in the state tournament, which will be held Friday and Saturday at Cherry Bowl Lanes in Rockford.
The top two finishers at sectional that are not connected with a qualifying team advance to the state tournament. Beauchamp finished third behind Courtney Brown of Belleville East and Natalie Goodman of O'Fallon, who both tied for first. Belleville East won the sectional crown and advanced as a team, which gave Beauchamp an individual berth in state championships.
"I was kind of surprised," said Beauchamp, the Kahoks' team captain. "I was concentrating more on the team and that part was kind of disappointing."
The Kahoks finished sixth at the sectional and will not be able to defend their title.
Those early-season struggles are a distant memory for Beauchamp, who is at the top of her game at the right time. She closed the six-game sectional meet with a scores of 201 and 225 in the final two games.
"It just took her a while to shake off the rust," Collinsville coach Sean Hay. "Right now, she's just hitting her stride."
Beauchamp carries a solid 188 average into the state tournament. That total is even more impressive given her 150 and 160-pin performances over the first month of the season.
"There's always a little doubt when you are not performing the way you want to," she said. "But I was pretty sure I was going to get better."
Hay also had faith in his veteran.
"She's smart, she has the ability to adapt and change," he said. "It wasn't a question of whether she was going to return to form. It was just a case of when."
Beauchamp spent most of the summer traveling. She set bowling aside for several months taking a school-sponsored trip to Australia. She went on a lengthy family vacation as well.
"I felt like I just needed a break," she said.
Beauchamp says last year's state tournament was, "mentally and emotionally tiring."
So she decide to play the role of average teenager for a summer.
Now, after a short down period, Beauchamp has returned to form. Hay says a medal-winning finish somewhere in the Top 12 is a reasonable goal.
"The way she's going now, anything is possible," he said.
Bowling is big in the Beauchamp family. Elizabeth's older sister, Katie, was a member of last year's state title team. Joanna Beauchamp, a freshman, will be making some noise on the lanes over the next few years.
The key to Elizabeth Beauchamp's success is her uncanny ability to adapt to different lane conditions. Instead of forcing things, she knows how to work with the lane setup.
A top-flight student, Beauchamp will attend Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., in the fall. She has an academic scholarship and hopes to walk on to the bowling squad.
But first, Beauchamp has some unfinished business in Rockford. She received a taste of the state tournament last season, bowling in several games as part of the Collinsville team.
"I'm just going to go up there and concentrate and focus," she said. "I'm proud of the way I've ended the season. I just want to keep it going."
