***By William Ly of the Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program funded by the Harry Anderson Trust.
The Kewanee High School girls bowling team kicked off their season last Saturday at the Rock Island Invitational tournament at Highland Park Lanes in Moline.
The Boiler Girls faced some tough competition and finished 13th in the varsity standings. Harlem was the overall team winner with a score of 5882 and Kewanee’s final tally was 3085.
The KHS bowling team is coached by Alexis Ruemker and Carl Rohrig serves as the assistant coach. This is Ruemker’s first year as a coach and Rohrig’s fourth year. Ruemker understands that bowling isn’t a traditional sport, but she believes that it can give students an opportunity to represent their school and something they can take pride in.
This year the team consists of 17 bowlers, with 13 of them being new to the team. Ruemker wants her returning bowlers Amy Entas, Marcedes Williams, Kristina Armstrong, Jazmen Moran and Riley McClimans to not only lead the team in scoring, but to mentor and assist their peers as well.
This season, Ruemker has three main goals. “I’d like the girls to work hard and have fun, represent Kewanee High School the best they can, and to be adaptable,” said Ruemker. She hopes her team can carry these three goals throughout the season and believes doing so will lead to success.
In high school bowling, each player is expected to bowl three rounds during a match and six during a tournament. With this in mind, Ruemker feels having a strong work ethic is important.
This season, the KHS bowling team will once again practice and hold their home meets at Pin Splitter Lanes in Princeton. Ruemker mentions that transportation can be hard for the team, but she’s grateful that they’re able to have an alley relatively close to Kewanee.
Kewanee hosts Ottawa Township Wednesday and will host the Kewanee Invitational Dec. 2 at 9 am at Pin Splitter Lanes.
