July 27, 2024

Cardinal boys rise to top of Twin Rivers Conference

Wiles finishes third to lead Newton in individual round

By Troy Hyde
Andrew Wiles

Newton senior Andrew Wiles celebrates a strike during the conference bowling tournament at Cardinal Lanes on Saturday. Wiles finished third in the individual portion of the tournament to lead the Cardinals. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

A pair of Cardinals finished in the top 10 of the individual portion of the Twin Rivers Conference tournament on Saturday and then the Newton boys’ bowling team rolled 200 or better in eight of the 15 Baker games to capture the team championship at Cardinal Lanes.

Andrew Wiles started fast and stayed consistent to lead the boys in the opening round and Sebastian King also was a top-10 finisher in the tournament.

“I feel like a broken record, but these bowlers are amazing kids,” Newton head bowling coach Christie Hughes said. “They have worked so hard to get where they are.”

Newton boys bowling team

The Newton boys bowling team won the Twin Rivers Conference team title for the first time in Christie Hughes' tenure as head coach. (Submitted Photo)

The Cardinals opened the team competition with a 225 and posted Baker scores of 227, 235, 224 and 225 along the way and that helped them edge defending champion Gilbert in the team standings.

Newton won the conference championship with 3,058 pins. Gilbert was next with 3,033 and the rest of the top five were Oskaloosa (2,891), Sigourney-Keota (2,818) and Ballard (2,816).

The Indians were last year’s runner-up. The Cardinals finished fifth. This is the first conference team championship for Newton in Hughes’ coaching tenure.

The remaining 10-team field featured Pella (2,800), Bondurant-Farrar (2,758), Norwalk (2,649), Knoxville (2,581) and Pella Christian (2,143).

All 15 Baker games included Wiles, King, Owen Guldberg and Tamion Adams. Alex Kearse and Austin Kennedy rotated in, too, as the fifth bowler.

The Cardinals added Baker scores of 199, 197, 195 and 190 to their eight 200-plus games.

“We made a mistake and watched Gilbert bowl a 266 in game 10,” Hughes said. “That brought our game 10 down considerably. But they rallied back and stayed consistent, which is important.”

Austin Kennedy

Newton junior Austin Kennedy bowls in the individual portion of the conference tournament at Cardinal Lanes on Saturday. The Newton boys were crowned conference champions later in the day. (Troy Hyde/Newton News)

Wiles was the top individual finisher for Newton. He finished third overall with a three-game series of 704. He turned in single game scores of 244 (career best), 225 and 235.

King was next in eighth and Adams finished 13th. King had single games of 235, 190 and 210 for a 640 series and Adams finished with scores 173, 236 and 213 for a 622 series.

The rest of Newton’s lineup featured Kennedy (587), Guldberg (586) and Kearse (483). Kennedy had single games of 196, 168 and 223, while Guldberg was closely behind with games of 201, 203 and 182. Kearse finished with single games of 147, 180 and 156.

Sigourney-Keota’s Brock Anderson won the individual conference championship with a 742. He edged defending Class 2A state champion Trey VanWyk by two pins.

Anderson had single games of 245, 260 and 237 and VanWyk’s individual games were 248, 247 and 245.

King was a first-team all-conference bowler this season, while Guldberg was a second-team selection. Andrew Wiles earned honorable mention recognition.