Bowling roundup: Hodag boys’ varsity splits opening matches

The Rhinelander boys’ high school club bowling team split its first two matches of the season in Wisconsin High School Bowling Club District 9 competition Sunday. The Hodags started with a 7-2 loss to Antigo before bouncing back with a 6-3 win over Iola-Scandinavia.

Coach Mike Bourcier said the matches went pretty much as expected for a younger Rhinelander squad, with plenty of ups and downs along the way. Despite that, the team was consistent throughout the day, with only three total pins and one fill the difference between its two matches as it averaged 151.5 pins per game with a 58.3% fill rate. 

“I wasn’t 100% sure what I was going to get out of the kids, but knew we were going to have a tough match right off the bat because we had Antigo to start with,” he said. “The first match, not knowing what to expect, knowing we’re bowling Antigo who proved to be a strong (opponent). I don’t know, our kids just couldn’t get going. I don’t have a good answer for that other than spare shooting.”

The Red Robins ran the first seven games against Rhinelander, including a 208-195 decision in Game 2 that proved to be the Hodags’ highest score all day. The Robins had four games in the 200s as they rolled out to a 7-0 lead before Rhinelander took the final two games 156-130 and 181-164. 

After splitting the first four games with Iola-Scandinavia, the Hodags went on a four-game winning streak to clinch the match. Rhinelander’s top score in that match came in a 172-135 victory in Game 3.

Junior Dominic Hakala paced the Hodags on the day, filling 29 of his 36 frames with 14 strikes. He was followed by Alex Hall (26 of 36, 16 strikes), Blake Klingen (24 of 36, 12), Jackson Fuss (17 of 36, 11) and Jaxton Tatrow (9 of 36, 4). 

“Dom was best for the day. We got him moved around and staying smooth and he had a great ball reaction,” Bourcier noted.

No longer co-oping with Tomahawk or any other schools has allowed Rhinelander to drop back down to Division 2 in the WiHSBC. While there are still strong teams within the district, such as Antigo, that are also D2, Bourcier said he left Sunday’s tournament encouraged about what his squad could do as long as it continues to improve throughout the year. 

“In the long run, we’re 1-1. Looking at some of the other teams, I saw some big games and saw a lot of little games,” he said. “It’s going to be an open thing. There’s going to be a chance from what I saw to get these kids … more consistent and pick our spares up, we could be contenders from what I was seeing out there.” 

Girls’ varsity drops close one to Amherst co-op, goes 0-2

The Rhinelander/Elcho girls’ squad lost its opener against Antigo 7-2 on Sunday before dropping a decisive ninth game in a 5-4 loss to Amherst/Stevens Point/Iola. Despite the results, coach Cory Dellenbach said his squad showed improvement from last year as it averaged 138.2 pins per game and filled 52.8% of its frames over the two matches. 

“Right off the bat I’m going to say I was not disappointed at all in how the girls did in the first two matches of the year,” he said. “Last year we struggled at times to put up even 100 pins and this year we came out and you could see the improvement they’ve made.”

The Hodags got out to a 3-0 lead against the Amherst co-op, only to see the Falcons rally back for four in a row. Rhinelander/Elcho had its best score of the match to take Game 8 167-127, but lost the finale 165-131. 

In the opening match against Antigo, the Hodags took Game 4 with their best game of the match, 166-161. They also won Game 7, 134-129.

Senior Johanna Dellenbach paced the squad, filling 28 of her 36 frames on the day with 11 strikes. Addison Habeck was 20 of 36 with seven strikes, Alyssa Habeck was 17 of 36 with three strikes, Katrina Roof went 16 of 36 with eight strikes and Alexia Corey-Luse was 14 of 36 with six strikes.

“The girls were having fun and I think they can taste a win on the tip of their tongues,” coach Dellenbach said. “We’ll get it this year, we just have to push to it and prove to ourselves that we can.” 

JV squad loses both matches

The Rhinelander/Three Lakes JV squad played a pair of Stevens Point JV squads, losing to SPASH No. 1, 9-0 and SPASH No. 2, 7-2. The squad averaged 97.0 pins per game on the day and filled 33.3% of its frames. 

Coach Dellenbach said the squad, primarily comprised of the club’s newer bowlers, were able to get a taste of what it’s like to bowl in high school competition.

“It’s nice getting them playing time rather than them sitting on the benches on the varsity teams and that is what matters,” he said. “I think all of the bowlers learned today why making it to practices is so important. There were missed spares in every match and plenty of room for improvement.” 

Freshman Oren Alsager led the way, filling 20 of 36 frames with eight strikes. Oliver Doppke, the lone bowler on the roster with previous high school experience, was 16 of 36 with six strikes. Logan Campbell was 11 of 32 with four strikes, Silas Johnson was 9 of 32 with four strikes, Joselyn Sorenson had three spares on the day and Zeva Barrett had one spare.

Middle schoolers win opener

The Rhinelander middle school squad opened the season with a 7-0 sweep over Antigo’s No. 4 squad on Sunday. The squad averaged 118.3 pins per game, with the high-water mark coming in a 155-97 win in Game 3. The team also filled 42.9% of its frames on the day. 

“This is Antigo’s 4th & 5th grade kids,” coach Dellenbach noted. “Their kids didn’t hang their heads, they bowled well. Someday I hope to see our bowling program as strong as Antigo’s.” 

Eli Miller led the way for the Hodags going 9 of 14 with six strikes. Natalie Dellenbach and Brighton Walkowski were close behind, both going 8 of 14 with four and there strikes, respectively. Charlotte Preuss was 4 of 14 with two strikes. Newcomer Xane Kallio was 1 of 14 on the day. Kallio’s presence allowed the team the remain eligible for state competition, which requires all members of the team be in grades 6, 7 or 8. 

Up next

The second round of District 9 play takes place Nov. 17 at Dale’s Weston Lanes. The Rhinelander boys’ squad will face Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Lakeland, the Hodag girls will take on the Wittenberg/D.C Everest/Mosinee and Merrill/Tomahawk co-ops, the JV squad will face Amherst and Antigo and the middle school squad will take on D.C. Everest No. 1.