Consistency is crucial in bowling. Do the same thing over and over, and good things will usually happen.
But for the five Oak Park-area girls bowlers at Saturday’s IHSA sectional at Bowlero Lyons, a laser focus on consistency wasn’t quite enough to push any of them into state competition.
The closest was Trinity senior Josie Rodriguez, in her fourth sectional. She rolled a 1,017 series for six games, for an average of 169.50. She finished 21st overall, 150 pins behind champion Ella Shea from York. That placed her 14th among individual participants; the top five advance to state.
Her teammate, senior Sophia Gonzales, finished 35th overall with 950 pins and an average of 158.33.
Consistency is important, but at this level, so is mental preparation and toughness in the moment, considering it’s loud in a closed space, what with general excitement and chanting of other teams like Morton, which won the sectional team title.
“I’ve been here before, so I’m pretty familiar with the field of play, but it’s just trying to take it one spare at a time and making good, quality shots,” Rodriguez said, “just allowing myself to actually feel out the lanes and the ball, as well as just staying mentally tough and not trying to get into my head when other people are doing better around me.”
Gonzales agreed that mentally, it’s not an easy task.
“It gets very loud, especially when you’re with the other team,” she said. “Obviously, you’re not going to be, ‘Don’t cheer for your team.’ But you want a little bit of silence when you’re walking up to your approach so your vision doesn’t miss your mark or you don’t move your eyes somewhere.”
In the end, though, it was a great experience for Gonzales, especially because she enjoyed it with Rodriguez.
“My goal was to make it to sectionals and I achieved my goal,” she said. “This is my last meet as a senior. It’s a lot of fun, especially when you have another teammate with you.”
Fenwick was led by junior De’Ondrea Almond, who finished 50th overall with a 909 series and an average of 151.50. Her teammate, senior Mariya Mason, was 61st overall with an 836 series and a 139.33 average.
Mason agreed with her Trinity counterparts that mental prep was a key component Saturday.
“You have to have a strong mindset,” Mason said. “Some are bowling for their team, some bowling for themselves, we are all looking for the same outcome, so it’s just about who puts in the most work and is most consistent in picking up spares.”
Right behind Mason, in 62nd place, was Oak Park and River Forest junior Sophia Thompson, who rolled an 823 series, for a 137.17 average.
