Collinsville boys’ bowling team showing improvement

By Mark Jurgena

The Collinsville High School boys’ bowling team is on the upswing as they turn the calendar to the new year.

They won the Silver Division of the Alton Holiday Invite on Dec. 23 and took second in their own Zach LeCuyer tourney on Dec. 27.

Finally, the boys took on the top squads in the state at the Carterville Invitational and brought home a seventh-place finish in the Baker style format.

“We’re getting contributions but we’re not getting consistent contributions from everybody. One day, one person will be really great, but then in the next tournament, they will struggle. It’s our job as coaches to get them to that spot where they can just trust and do well.

“I will say that Brody Hogenson has done well the entire time. The one tournament he didn’t do well in was the Zach LeCuyer (in Collinsville) because he was at home sick and we almost won that tournament. I feel that had he been there, we would’ve won first.”

“Sullivan Frye is starting to be back in the form that he was last year,” said Hay. “I think at the beginning of this year, he was wrestling with expectations and he’s negotiating it and now he’s back on track.

“His brother, Simon, has started to step up and become a lot more dependable.”

Both Frye brothers and Hogenson are averaging over 200 recently.

Alton

Collinsville brought home the Silver Division title at Bowl Haven Lanes in Alton just before Christmas.

The Kahoks just missed qualifying for the Gold Division by 23 pins but took advantage of their opportunity in the afternoon session.

“Once we got in the Silver Division, we started handling business like we really should’ve,” said CHS coach Sean Hay. “A couple of the teams really went off at Alton and we just did decent. We just weren’t able to pop off a really big game and that’s why we fell just a little short.”

In the Baker tourney, they beat Highland, Belleville East, Alton (Marquette), Cahokia and Jerseyville while averaging 200 each game.

Individually, Brody Hogenson had a three-game series of 668 with a high score of 241. Bradley Georg shot a 657 with Sullivan Frye shooting a 606 series.

Marcellus Goodknecht of Mascoutah shot a 779 three-game set in the morning for the high score, including throwing a 299 in his opening game.

Mt. Vernon, currently ranked number four in Illinois, won the Gold Division over 19th-ranked Columbia.

LeCuyer Tourney

Collinsville competed hard but fell just short in the annual Zach LeCuyer Tourney at Camelot Lanes on Dec. 27.

Columbia won the tournament with a pinfall total of 3,942 while the Kahoks finished 24 pins behind.

Carter Williams had a big day at the LeCuyer Tourney, taking third place individually with a four-game set of 848 with a high game of 242. He averaged 212 for the day.

Sullivan Frye rolled 805 for 10th place, with Bradley Georg finishing with a 771 series for 13th.

Simon Frey rolled a 755, good for 16th, with Amarion Hall rolling a 739 for 18th place.

Carterville Invite

On Jan. 3, Collinsville took seventh at the Carterville Invitational at SI Bowl.

“After the first half, we finished in seventh,” said Hay. “It’s obviously lower than we wanted, but there was definitely some good bowling. But we pretty much stayed in seventh [place] all day.”

Individually, Sullivan Frye took home 13th place with a 671 series, with Hogenson shooting a 628 series for the 23rd spot.

In the tournament, Collinsville took on Mt. Vernon, where they fell to the Rams 501-314 to end their day.

Mt. Vernon was upset by the host school in the semifinals. In the title match, Mascoutah beat Carterville to claim the crown.

Mascoutah pulled their own upset in the semifinals by knocking off the state’s second-ranked team and defending state champion Harrisburg.

CHS Schedule

Collinsville had the annual Charity Challenge in Taylorville last month, with the proceeds going to Special Olympics.

They bowled at Bel-Air Bowl in Belleville to face Belleville West on Jan. 6 and hosted Belleville East on Jan. 7.

On Jan. 10, they are at St. Clair Bowl for the Panther Invitational and back in O’Fallon on Jan. 13 for day two of the SWC Tourney.