With six freshmen on a 12-player roster, the future looks bright for the O'Fallon girls bowling team.
Despite the Panthers' youth, though, the present looks solid as well.
O'Fallon didn't qualify as a team for the state tournament last season, but Natalie Goodman (now a senior) placed eighth after finishing third as a sophomore.
"We lost one of our leaders from last year, Melissa Mecagni, who got a scholarship to Marian (Ind.) University and I was worried about replacing her, but we've had some other girls step up," Panthers coach Gary Spencer said. "We have a lot of freshmen this year with some considerable skill.
"Natalie Goodman is our anchor bowler and you can always count on her. One of the freshmen, Jordan Kasza, has stepped into the starting lineup. She's a lefty like Natalie."
Sophomore Jordan Schlotman is back for her second varsity season and senior Taylor Sebesta is another varsity veteran. Senior Jill Seifert rounds out the top five.
"It's early, but I'm optimistic about this team and I see a lot of potential to do well," Spencer said. "Lindsay Kasza, Jordan's twin sister, is a strong bowler as well and she's rolled some big games for us."
Other bowlers for O'Fallon are junior Abby Solomon, sophomore Sara Gruberman and freshmen Kristina Greynolds, Raven Leflore, Katie Pendegraft and Jordan Massey.
The Panthers took a 3-1 record (2-1 in the Southwestern Conference) into Tuesday's match at Edwardsville. O'Fallon will play host to Granite City on Wednesday before bowling Thursday at Alton.
Spencer's squad finished second among 16 teams at Saturday's Abe Lincoln Tournament in Taylorville. Sebesta was the tournament leader with 1,359 pins (190, 232 and 268 in the first three games and 232, 191 and 246 in the second set). Schlotman shot a 257 game.
"Going to state as a team is the No. 1 goal for us," Spencer said. "This is going to be a huge year for Natalie and I'd like to see her teammates up there with her to get a taste of the excitement and the competition. For younger girls, that will show us where we need to be next year and the year after."
