For the Lincoln Southwest varsity bowling teams, they have many duals and tournaments that are important. But, one of the essential tournaments is the Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) Championship, which took place on Thursday, Jan. 15 for both boys and girls. They competed against other LPS schools for a chance to win both team championship and individual medals. It is evident that the stakes were high by the preparation that went into the tournament, and the determination of each bowling team is even higher.
“Our team gets three days a week in the bowling alley,” boys bowling coach Mr. Mark Hickson said. “We work on spare drills, and then the Baker format. It gets those guys prepared for the match.”
The Baker format follows a system in which one person bowls the first frame, another bowls the second frame, another bowls the third frame and so on and so forth. In the LPS championship, much of the tournament follows the Baker format, which means prepping using it is very crucial to the outcome of the tournament. The boys team has an overall record of 6-4 and a seeding of 12th in the wildcard round, which means this tournament would’ve impacted their standings, positively or negatively.
In regards to the girls team, they seemed confident in their ability to do well in the LPS Championship. Senior Alaina Mosley remarks that this is one of the biggest teams she has been on, but it is the one she has seen the most tight knit. This close community has proven to be beneficial to the team’s success, with their comprehensive record being 8-3.
“I feel like there is less pressure this season,” Mosley said. “Going into the championship, we are the best ranked Lincoln school, so that takes some of the pressure off.”
Overall, the boys team earned runner up in the tournament, and the girls took East in bracket play to win 3-1, earning them first in the LPS Championship. It was a day of competing, laughter, and teamwork that proved to be beneficial to the Silver Hawks.