Newton bowlers sweep Gilbert

AMES — The Newton bowling teams were not at their best on Saturday. But the Cardinals still found ways to win against Gilbert.

The Newton girls placed all six of its varsity bowlers in the top seven and downed the host Tigers by 448 pins, while the boys trailed Gilbert through the first two Baker games but rallied for a narrow victory during non-conference competition at Perfect Games Bowling and Family Entertainment Center.

“We’ve never bowled at Perfect Games before and Gilbert is new competition for us this year,” Newton head bowling coach Christie Hughes said. “We knew the boys’ matchup would come down to the last Baker game. The girls struggled a little bit but worked hard to bring home the win.”

The Newton girls led Gilbert 1,561 to 1,330 after the individual games and then dominated the Baker games for a 2,374 to 1,926 victory.

The Cardinal boys trailed the Tigers 1,959 to 1,871 after the individual round and stayed behind after the first two Baker games. They rolled a 224, 202 and 201 to finish in front 2,814 to 2,777.

“It was an exciting day on the lanes for the boys,” Hughes said. “Such a close one.”

Bailey Hansen, Beka Weithers, Libbie Keith and Gabbie Humphrey finished with the top four scores in the girls’ matchup.

Hansen’s 364 series placed first and she had single games of 213 and 151. Weithers rolled a 309 series with single games of 146 and 163 and Keith totaled a 303 series with single games of 156 and 147.

Humphrey rolled single games of 158 and 141 for a 299 series. Genessa Slings finished sixth with a 286 series and she rolled single games of 127 and 159. Olivia Pickerell registered a 273 series and placed seventh. Pickerell opened with single games of a varsity career-best 154 and a 119.

Newton’s girls improved to 3-0 in head-to-head competition this season, while Gilbert fell to 0-3.

The Newton boys handed Gilbert its first loss of the season.

Austin Kennedy made his season debut with the varsity and led the Cardinals with a career-best 424 series. He opened with a 178 and finished with a career-best 246.

Jordan Killmer was third overall with single games of 232 and 184 for a 416 series.

Tamion Adams and Sebastian King were seventh and ninth, respectively, with series of 357 and 348. Adams had single games of 173 and 184 and King’s single games were 162 and 186.

Owen Guldberg (326) had single games of 137 and 189 and Logan Bown (325) registered single games of 147 and 178.

The Newton boys improved to 3-0, while Gilbert dropped to 2-1.

Notes: The Cardinal boys junior varsity defeated Gilbert 2,768 to 2,264. Alex Kearse (372), David Holmes (341) and Toni Aldama (341) led the way. … The Newton girls JV defeated Gilbert by 271 pins. Maria Baxin and Nevaeh Bown led the way with series of 276 and 274, respectively.