Bowlers Can't Wait 'Til Next Year

Wait ‘til next year.

That’s the rallying cry used by some athletic teams when they fall short of expectations in a given season.

Or it can mean a foundation is laid and this is the start of something big.

All Evanston girls bowling head coach Ray “Sugar” Austin knows is that it didn’t take long for members of his squad to focus on the 2024-25 season after falling short of reaching the Illinois High School Association state finals Friday and Saturday in Rockford.

Evanston’s first trip to the state tourney in program history didn’t end like the thud of a ball dropping into the gutter, even though the Wildkits only mustered a team score of 5,052 after preliminary competition Friday, good for just 22nd place of the 24 teams competing.

The top 10 scoring teams made the cut for Saturday’s finals, with Joliet West capturing the team title by racking up the top pinfall of 12,223 over two days.

With five of the top seven scorers in this year’s lineup coming back next season, Austin believes the Wildkits are in a position to be ever better a year from now.

An undefeated regular season makes for a tough act to follow, yet improving on their postseason performances could be a driving force when the Kits seek a return trip to Rockford.

“As a team we’re so young, and we were just so happy just to get to State,” said Austin. “But even before we got home, all the girls could talk about was getting ready for next year. They’re already talking about how we WILL be back to State again. They’re hungry to do it again, and they know the hard work it will take to get there.

“We were right where we’re used to being Friday (as a team) after the first round (three-game total of 2,630). But as we knew would happen, the lanes were really dried out for the second round and we just couldn’t get it done. We just didn’t have enough firepower. Those other teams are there for a reason, and if you slip just a little, they’re going to pass you by.”

Austin insisted that the moment didn’t seem too big emotionally for his team’s first trip to the state environment. The Wildkits were led by senior Lily Pavelec, who fell just 24 pins shy of advancing to Saturday as an individual qualifier after games of 202 and 216 in the first round pushed her to a team-best showing of 1,092 for six games.

Next best in order for ETHS were junior Neva Whitcomb at 1,027; senior Kaleigh Burgess at 998; sophomore Jordin Gibson at 850 for five games; junior Bridgette Bueltmann at 510 for three games; junior Nina Fischer at 304 for two games; and junior E.J. Bock at 164 for her only game.

Another senior, Kaia Cmarko, totaled a 107 in her only game.

“That was a tough way for Lily to go out, just 24 pins over six games like that,” Austin noted. “Her last game (147) really wasn’t a good one for her, or she would have made it. She took it hard because it was her last time rolling for the Orange and Blue. Without question, it’s going to be tough for us to replace her (next season).

“It was not a bad ending to the season for us, not at all. I thought the kids played loose and enjoyed the moment. Nobody hung their heads after it was over.

“Now, we just have to go back to work. It’s the best season we’ve ever had and the best team Evanston’s ever had. Most of the teams there (at State) had kids who’ve grown up in bowling alleys since they were 7 years old, and all of our girls only have a couple of years of experience. We have the talent to get there again, though. They’re excited to get going again --- and we just have to keep pushing.”