Saturday’s Plainfield South IHSA Boys Bowling Regional became a day to remember for Plainfield North as they set numerous and individual school records en route to winning their first Regional Championship.
Overall the Tigers set 7 records: Individual 3-game series, Individual 6-Game Series, Team 5-man game, Team 5-man final game, Team 5-man 3-game series and Team 5-man 6-game series and Team IHSA Playoff series record.
The Tigers started the day strong with an opening game of 1106 on the strength of Paul Conrad’s 258, AJ Auriemma’s 242 and Jack Baggs 225. It was only good enough for second place as Plainfield Central shot 1114, led by Hunter Fuss’s 266, Travis Oesterle’s 248 and Dakota Fuss shooting 247. Lockport was third with 1062.
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Game 2 saw the Tigers up the ante shooting 1111 as Conrad fired a 266, Baggs 254 and Auriemma 232. The 2217 total gave them a tenuous 8 pin lead over Lockport who fired 1147. Oswego was 3rd with 2131 and Central fell to 4 with 2116.
Game 3 saw the Panthers of Oswego fire an 1144 while the Tigers struggled in shooting 999. However, Paul Conrad shot 264 to set a Tiger 3-game record series of 788, breaking the old record of 778 shot by Patryk Bec 8 years ago. Game 3 saw Lockport shoot 1032 to drop the Tigers to 3rd place at the break. Oswego 3275, Lockport 3241, Plainfield North 3216.
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Game 4 began a run by the Tigers never seen before in school history. An 1126 game put the Tigers back into the lead. Conrad shot 238, Auriemma 226, Baggs 221, Ryan Carlson 232 and Robert Riley 209. Lockport put up another strong game with 1064, but surprisingly Oswego came out shooting only 908 to drop out of contention....and it became a 2-team race for games 5 and 6 with the Tigers leading 4342-4305 after 4.
Game 5 had Lockport staying strong shooting 1078...which would cut into the Tiger lead as the Tigers would put up a solid1056 led by Auriemma’s 258, Conrad’s 233 and Riley’s 220. But now the Tigers lead was just 15 pins 5398-5383 as the final game would begin.
Game 6 is one that will be long remembered at Plainfield North. Leading for the first time at an IHSA Playoff event after 5 games the Tigers could have been nervous or looking for the proverbial shoe to drop, but instead, the 5 bowlers went out and fearlessly shot the greatest single game in North history. The Tigers would have only 1 open frame on the entire team, recording 40 out of a possible 60 strikes in shooting 1201. Lockport would only be able to shoot 968 as the Tigers would go on to win their first IHSA Regional.
Game 6 scores included Robert Riley with a 260, Ryan Carlson with 256, Jack Baggs 249, and AJ Auriemma with 243. The 1201 was the greatest single game and final game score in school history. The 3383 3-game afternoon series also was a record and the 6599 is now not only a school record, but a District 202 record as well.
Paul Conrad was the top bowler of the day, winning the Regional. His 788 morning series is the new individual record and his 1452 6-game series is the new Tiger record as well. In fact, Conrad’s 1452, Auriemma’s 1350 and Baggs 1344 are the 3 highest 6-game IHSA State Playoff Series scores in Plainfield North history. Ryan Carlson added 1243 and Robert Riley 1210 to complete the historic effort.
The Tigers will go to the Sandburg Sectional at Orland Bowl on Saturday. 16 schools will be competing for 6 team spots to go to the State Championship at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon on January 29 and 30.
The 16 schools competing will be: Andrew, Bolingbrook, Brother Rice, Evergreen Park, Joliet West, Lincoln Way Central, Lincoln Way West, Lockport, Minooka, Morgan Park, Oak Forest, Plainfield Central, Plainfield North, St. Laurence, Sandburg and Shepard.
