December 22, 2020 at 11:04 a.m.
Local bowler to compete collegiately
Local bowler to compete collegiately
McCarthy, a senior from Elcho High School, will be heading to Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she will continue her competitive bowling career. She officially committed to the program in a signing ceremony at Nick's Hodag Lanes.
McCarthy is one of the standouts on the Rhinelander/Elcho/Three Lakes high school club bowling team. She was an individual qualifier for the Wisconsin High School Bowling Club state tournament last season and is looking to make a return trip to state, currently sitting sixth overall in the WiHSBC District 9 standings.
"She's got really good form. She's got drive to bowl well, fairly consistent," Hodag bowling coach Mike Bourcier said. "She's just someone's who's got a passion for the game. That's what teams need, someone that's going to want, be willing to learn, make adjustments, make changes. Coaches see something in her, which is great."
McCarthy said Mount Mercy has been on her radar ever since eighth grade and a trip she took to a youth bowling tournament in Iowa.
"My mom told me that I had to talk to one person that I didn't know," she said. "The girl that I talked to was actually a bowler from Mount Mercy and she was telling me about the college and the bowling team."
That encounter led to an email and further information from Mount Mercy head coach Andy Diercks.
"I started to research it and I really loved the nursing program that they had and their bowling program looked amazing," she said. "I fell in love with everything about the college. It's a really small college. It's about the same size as Rhinelander, which is good because I go to Elcho, which is even smaller than that, so I'm not used to a lot of people."
McCarthy becomes the fourth bowler, and first female, from the Rhinelander co-op program in the last five years to go on to bowl collegiately, joining Tommy Strauss, Darin Bloomquist and Calvin Schneider.
"It's exciting that were getting bowlers up here in the Northwoods that you don't hear a lot about but are able to prove themselves and are able to getting signed with colleges," Bourcier said. "That's a real cool thing."
This is not the first time that Dierks has recruited in the Northwoods. He signed Bloomquist, the 2018 WiHSBC boys' state champion, to his men's program. Ironically, McCarthy said that initially made her hesitant about following in Bloomquist's footsteps.
"Actually, that was a reason I looked into other colleges, instead of Mount Mercy, because I didn't want people thinking I was just following Darin or anything like that," she said. "I looked at different colleges, but I just kept looking back at Mount Mercy and comparing everything at that college and I finally decided it didn't matter if Darin was there or not."
McCarthy will join a Mount Mercy program that's on the rise. Last season Mount Mercy won twice while finishing second twice and third once. Prior to the 2019-20 season, the Mustangs only had one top-three Tier 1 finish since the program began competition in 2011. The Mount Mercy men's squad also ended up in the NCBCA top 20 for the first time in school history, checking in at No. 16. Diercks won the Kerm Helmer Women's Coach of the Year award from the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association.
"When you get to college, most of them are the cream (of the crop), especially Mount Mercy. They're a good program that's been building and getting better and stronger," Bourcier said. "She's going to learn a lot. She's going to learn a lot more than she's learned from us."
McCarthy said bowling has already taught her several life lessons.
"I take friendships that I didn't have. I take confidence I didn't have," she said. "Before I bowled, I was super shy, never talked to anyone, stayed in my own little bubble and didn't do anything. I met new people that I'll have forever and friendships I'll have forever, and a new strategy as to how to work as a team and how to work as an individual."
McCarthy added she's relieved to have the recruiting process over so she can focus on the rest of her senior year, both academically and athletically. On the lanes, McCarthy said her goal is to try to finish at the top of the District 9 standings at season's end. Those hopes took a bit of a hit in the Hodags' last competition, as she dropped down to a .757 fill percentage.
"I want district champion, that's my one goal," she said. "Before last meet I was in first and then I bowled really bad, so I have to fight my way back up to the top but I'm hopeful."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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