Entering a tournament after a holiday weekend is not an easy transition; however, the boys varsity bowling team took on this challenge and had a successful tournament run.

On Tuesday, the boys ventured to Park Center Lanes for the Christmas Baker Tournament. Out of 11 teams, the boys placed fifth, falling short of fourth place by only four pins. If it weren’t for those four pins, they would’ve qualified for the playoffs and had a chance to win the entire tournament.

In this tournament, each team played 15 baker games, which seems like a lot of games but it was a manageable amount for the boys. There were a lot of teams there but a few of the schools that the boys went up against were East Kentwood, Sanford Meridian, Cedar Springs, and South Haven.

Senior Peyton Price was one out of two players who had an exceptional performance at the tournament today. He bowled a plethora of strikes and a multitude of spares while holding up his part of the baker games as the anchor.

“The highest we bowled today was 211 and it was a great game. We needed to have more of those high-pin type of games earlier on in the tournament if we wanted to advance further,” Peyton stated.

Another player who stood out today was Collin [CK] Kirkman. CK filled his frames with pins and bowled fourth in replacement of Luke Stiles. He bowled a strike and a nine in his two frames during bakers. It was a great day of bowling for CK despite making minor mistakes.

Two outstanding players who normally never see on the bench were benched today. Luke Stiles and Wes Baldwin were exhausted and were taken out of one match to rest and replenish their abilities for the bigger obstacles ahead. Important games were coming up soon and the team needed these two players on their A-game in order to secure a win. Sadly, these plans did not happen as in the end, the boys were four pins short.

Overall, the boys played well and although a fourth-place title would’ve been nice, a fifth-place title was well-earned. The boys’ next game is January 9, at East Brooke Lanes versus Northview. It will be a highly competitive game as both teams have a lot of talent. Be sure to mark that date on your calendars because it will be one you won’t want to miss.