COLLINSVILLE – Ashley Westbrook emerged as a leader for this year’s Civic Memorial girls bowling team.
The sophomore was one of 10 individuals who advanced to the Feb. 11 IHSA Belleville East girls bowling sectional tournament thanks to a effort that put her in third place among individual qualifiers coming out of Saturday’s Triad Regional at Collinsville’s Camelot Bowl.
Westbrook had a six-game total of 1,119 and a high game of 222 on the day. “It was a rough day, but I’m pretty proud of myself,” Westbrook said. “The conditions were rough; it took me a minute to adjust.”
Westbrook is happy to be advancing to the sectional, but wishes she could bring her teammates along with bowl with her. “I hope my team will be there to cheer me on,” Westbrook said. “I want to go to Rockford really badly (for the Feb. 17-18 IHSA state tournament at Cherry Bowl).”
The road to the state tournament will get a bit more difficult going into the sectional. “Anything is possible,” Westbrook said. “I’ll probably practice all week and go (to Bel-Air Bowl, the sectional venue) on Thursday or Friday to practice.
“I’m very happy” to have advanced from the regional, Westbrook said.
The sectional tournament begins at 9 a.m. Saturday; the top four teams and top five individuals from non-qualifying teams move on to the state tournament.”