FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS – Alton’s boys bowling team finished eighth of a 40-team field in the O’Fallon Panther Team Challenge tournament at St. Clair Bowl in Fairview Heights Friday.
The format included three games involving all five team members for a combined score in the morning session. Teams then bowled four blocks of Baker-format games for a total of 16 Baker games; the Baker format has the five players on a team shooting one frame each through the 10 frames for a team score, with no individual scores kept.
The top eight teams following the Baker games moved into a bracket-style finale to determine a champion, with the Redbirds being eliminated in the first round by eventual champion Rockton Honenegah Purple by six pins after a two-game Baker match.
The Redbirds had a three-game total pinfall of 2,688 before rolling blocks of 744, 733, 724 and 669 in the Baker-format games for a pinfall of 2,900 for a total pinfall of 5,588. The Indian Purple team finished with a total pinfall of 6,153, followed by Machesney Park Harlem (5,995), O’Fallon Gold 5,939), Belleville East A (5,7950, Triad (5,777), Rockford East (5,693), Honenegah Gold (5,683), the Redbirds, Central IN (5,518) and Collinsville Purple (5,473) rounding out the top 10.
“The boys did great and worked well together as a team,” said Redbird coach David Meyer. “The boys have shown much improvement the last couple of week, showing they can have what it takes to compete.”
The Redbird JV bowlers also took part in the tournament. “They bowled well; they have a lot to learn, but they’re showing improvement,” Meyer said.
Other area teams included Civic Memorial (12th with 5,483 pins), Edwardsville with 4,994), Granite City (31st with 4,776), Roxana (33rd with 4,612) and the Alton JV 37th with 4,411).
