This Is How We Roll

Newton High’s Cardinal girls have their sights set on doing well in Tuesday’s Iowa High School Class 2A State Bowling Tournament.

They have marked up a 9-3 dual record in 2014-15, a fifth straight championship at the Knoxville Invitational, a Little Hawkeye Conference championship and a Class 2A District 1 substate championship. The Cardinals claimed the substate championship a week ago, qualifying for the state tournament.

“Going into state Tuesday, Seth and I just want the girls to have fun no matter how they are bowling,” said Brett Jacobs, Newton head bowling coach. Seth Banwell is the assistant coach.

“We sat down during Friday morning’s practice and each of the bowlers wrote down some personal goals as well as some team goals,” Jacobs said. “I feel that the team is capable of shooting a match score of 2,700 if everyone is dialed in and covering all their spares.”

Tuesday, Newton’s girls return to Plaza Lanes in Des Moines to compete on the same bowling lanes they won the substate crown.

“We make a really good team. We got a good handle on the lanes that day and we know what to expect on those lanes for state,” said Melanie Stice, a senior who finished third at the substate and qualified for the state as an individual as an at-large spot.

“I got a lucky penny from a friend Tuesday and I say it was the cause of my success at substate,” Stice said.

Stice, seniors Erica Bailey and Courtney Tabor combined with juniors Madison Humphrey and Mariah Gonzales and freshman Alyssa White to win the substate title. The seniors and juniors came very close to qualifying for state a year ago, losing by 19 pins to Knoxville.

“We knew going into substate we had a very good chance of winning it. A lot of us had a really strong day which allowed us to realize our goal of state early in the tournament,” Gonzales said.

“I didn’t feel I deserved to be going because I wasn’t bowling my best that day, but for the team to finally make it after losing to Knoxville last year by such a close margin, it feels really good.”

For five of the bowlers, Tuesday will be their first state bowling tournament. Bailey bowled for Newton in the 2012 tournament as a freshman finishing 15th.

“It’s a pretty great feeling to be going again after going my freshman year and not the next two years,” Bailey said.

Humphrey carries the top averages for the team going into the state tournament. She has a total of 4,497 pins, which averages as 187.4 per game and 374.8 per series. Her high game of the season was 263 while her high series was a 451.

Bailey rolls in with a 178 game average and 355.9 series average. Bailey has knocked down 4,271 pins this season. Her high game was 217 and her high series was 413.

“I knew qualifying for state was definitely there for us this season. This was the year to do it and I knew we could do it,” Humphrey said.

Stice, who had a team-high 403 series in the substate, has a 292.4 series average for the season. Her top game was a 214 and her top series was a 358. Gonzales has a 143.9 game average and a 287.8 series average. Gonzales had a high game of 187 and a high series of 323.

“It feels great to be going to state,” Tabor said. Tabor has a game average of 133.6 and a series average of 267.1. The senior had a 287 series as her top this season and rolled a 163 high game.

White had a 306 high series for the season. Her series average is 259.3 while her game average is 129.6. White had a 167 as her game high for the season.

“It’s exciting,” White said about qualifying for state. White took sixth at the substate tournament.

White and Tabor both said their personal goals were to beat their scores from the substate tournament which were 333 and 259, respectively. Tabor said she also planned to make sure the team was pepped up and ready to go.

The secret to the Cardinal team success this season?

“We get along outside of bowling as well,” Stice said.

“We know each other on a personal basis,” Tabor said. “We cheer each other on and support each other in our bowling meets.”

Newton’s highest match score this season was 2,589. The Cardinals average for a match is 2,395. In competition, teams bowl two 10-pin individual games per bowler then the bowlers combine for Baker game scores.

Several of the bowlers admitted to some superstitions or habits they have on the lanes.

Bailey said she dries her hand off before each roll of the ball. She said she really doesn’t have any secret to her success — “it’s about practices, bowling in leagues during the summer and fall and high school bowling.”

“I listen to music before each meet to get pumped up. It has to be rock and roll,” Tabor said.

Humphrey has a towel.

“No, I never wash it. I hold it in my hand and pat it up and down before every ball. I also wipe my ball off with it,” Humphrey said.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com