The Beaver Dam High School Bowling Club wrapped up their season at the 2024 Wisconsin High School State Championships at Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley this past weekend. The Golden Beavers sent junior Adam Paul, sophomore Garrett Boettcher, and lone senior Alexis Vande Kolk to the individual portion of the tournament on Friday evening. All three battled hard but fell short of making the second round.
The Beaver girls, who qualified for the team portion, competed Saturday morning for team qualifying. The Beavers rolled their qualifying score of 2410 for the 15 baker style games which put them in to the second round of team competition in the fifth seed. Round 2 concluded on Saturday evening with a seeded stepladder match play format with the winner facing the top seed on Sunday for the coveted state title. Match play consists of a two-game total pinfall match with the winner advancing.
The Beavers started out match 1 against 4 seed Antigo. Handily taking 22 pin lead after game 1 the Beavers couldn’t get it going in game two and found themselves in a tie, forcing a 9th and 10th frame roll off. Antigo started the roll off hot with 2 strikes and a 9-spare for a two frame total of 49. The Beavers looked to junior Jennifer Bennett to come off the bench for an injured freshman Rylee Tesch to start the roll off. Bennett stepped nicely with a lead off strike. Anchor bowler, lone senior, and sister to the injured Tesch, stepped up in the in the final frame needing to match or exceed Antigo to move on. Vande Kolk fired two perfect shots plus 9 to win the roll off! Watch the clinching strike in the video below.
The Beavers moved on to match 2 against the 3 seed Campbellsport. The Beavers again to the lead after game 1 by just a mere 6 pins. Needing just to match Campbellsport in game 2 to move on, the Beavers struggled and lost the match 322-298 ending their season with a 4th place finish.
The Beaver girls, placing at State 7 out of the last 8 years, look to continue their success next season with all members returning less Vande Kolk. Vande Kolk with bowl next season for Judson University in the Chicagoland area.
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