Junior Caleb Mortensen found his spot during warmups as the Rochelle Hubs prepared to take on the Kaneland Knights in an Interstate 8 varsity bowling match Tuesday.
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ROCHELLE — Junior Caleb Mortensen found his spot during warmups as the Rochelle Hubs prepared to take on the Kaneland Knights in an Interstate 8 varsity bowling match Tuesday.
The result was an explosive opening performance from Mortensen, who fired a career-high 269 in his first game and finished with a career-high 652 series to lead Rochelle over the Knights 3,517-3,241 at T-Byrd Lanes. It’s the highest team total of the season for the Hubs (5-7, 3-2 Interstate 8), who saw two players eclipse the 600 mark and four others surpass the 500 mark. Senior Logan Frye rolled a 627 series for the Hubs, who will host Sycamore on Thursday.
“I found my spot during practice and I stuck with it,” Mortensen said. “It kept working and I didn’t end up having to move at all because my spot was working. It’s a big confidence builder for me because I feel like I can do a lot better in an actual meet. I’m hoping to do the same thing a couple more times. It was fun to see everyone bowl well because we all got to enjoy it.”
Rochelle opened the match with an 1,162-1,085 win during the first game, where freshman Josef Alanis bowled a 193 and Frye added a 192 for the Hubs. While Kaneland took the second game 1,151-1,144, Rochelle continued to post strong scores, with Frye spinning a series-best 224 and Alanis throwing a 192. Alanis, whose older brother Jonathan bowled at the varsity level for the Hubs last season, finished with a 586 series after rolling a 201 in the third game.
“My brother is the reason why I started bowling,” Josef said. “It was great to win and it felt like everyone bowled pretty well… During my last game, I was throwing the ball slower. I usually throw the ball slower, but I was throwing it faster during the first two games for whatever reason. Throwing the ball slower let the ball hook into the pins more. I think we’re bowling pretty good.”
The Hubs carried a 70-pin lead into the third and final game, where five of the six varsity starters on the Rochelle side surpassed the 200 mark in a 1,211-1,005 victory over the Knights. Junior Levi Waddle, who stepped up from the JV level on Tuesday, fired a series-best 211 to end the evening with a 566 series. Sophomore Luke Norris also bowled a 211, while Frye scored a 211 and Mortensen concluded the evening with a 203. Norris finished with a 578 series and sophomore Bryson Stewart totaled a 508 series for Rochelle.
“I was throwing the ball outside so I could hit the pins and everyone was chanting, which helped us keep our team morale up,” Waddle said. “It felt great to win and it stunk to be bumped down to JV, but it felt good to bump back up and pull my weight. Everyone was striking and we were all working together to reach our goal. Even when I’m not striking, I’ve been picking up more spares this year. I want to keep working on my 10-pin spares because I still struggle with those.”
