Over the weekend, on January 27, and 28, two Lockport athletic teams, boys bowling and competative dance, competed at their state championships.

The boys bowling team went to State hoping to bring home their first state championship since 2013. Head Coach Ron Davis said that he was pretty happy that the team made it to State after starting the season 1-4 and they worked hard to prepare for the tournament, which included practicing on the oil pattern that the IHSA used for the 2016 state tournament.

“Every team  there was a contender, but there were a few that I knew were formidable challenges,” said Davis, speaking of the competition the team faced. “All of the Rockford teams are good, and O’Fallon [High] is always in their home house.”

At State, the team finished Day 1 in 12th place with a total of 6,004 pins, with Junior Alec Buchaas leading the team with 1,287 pins. They beat out Notre Dame College Prep in Niles by forty-eight pins to advance to Day 2, where they had an almost identical performance, knocking down 6,008 pins. Sophomore Caleb Derrig led the team on Day 2 with 1,357 pins. The team totaled 12,012 pins, finishing in 10th place and averaging about 200 pins per bowler per game. Buchaas finished the two days with a team high of 2,552 pins. Harlem High School from Machesney Park took home the championship with a total of 12,998 pins.

“The entire process was a struggle,” said Davis. “Andy Sims, our highest average bowler, has been struggling for the last month. Alec Buchaas was sick [but still bowled], and the rest of the team had no experience [at State]. Otherwise, it went fine. They were the 10th best team in the state this year, after starting out 1-4 this season.”

As the bowling team competed at Day 1, the competitive dance team was also performing at State. Last year, they didn’t make it, so that was their main goal this season. They didn’t win any competitions, but it didn’t matter when they placed 4th at their Sectional, enough to advance along with twenty-nine other teams from Class 3A.

“They’ve done really well at all our competitions this year. Their scores were improving, and they were doing great,” said Poms Co-Coach Julie Rolston. “Our goal was to get to State, so I definitely think we’re at the level we want to be at. Our new goal was to get to Day 2.”

Unfortunately, the team was unable to accomplish that new goal, finishing their routine with a score of 83.30 and in 27th place. Only the top ten teams advanced, so Lockport’s state run ended on Friday. Adlai Stevenson High School from Lincolnshire finished the preliminary round in 2nd place, but they were the ones who won the Class 3A state championship.

The results for both sports are listed below:

Boys Bowling:

Competitive Dance:

* State Champions