By Joey Gelman

Mustangs Roll To Third Straight Title

Anyone who walked into Waveland Bowl for the CPL Girls Bowling Championship would have thought they were at a sold-out arena. Teams, family and fans were cheering at the top of their lungs, in support of the bowlers, without ever tiring out across the full day of competition.

And the biggest crowd on hand were the supporters decked out in orange and green, with custom jerseys and pom poms to support the Morgan Park Mustangs. Every bowler, spare and strike had its own cheer, and the alley echoed with the familiar chant all afternoon, ‘Ooh Ah, You Should’ve Been A Mustang!”

“We got to (be the loudest),” said Morgan Park Head Coach Anton Collins. “We got to keep the energy up, we want it to be fun, but we’re focused on winning… It’s a serious competition, but if you’re not having fun, then what are we doing?”

And the fans had a lot to cheer about, as the Mustangs dominated the competition, taking this year’s title with a team score of 5,023 pins, finishing with an impressive 217-pin margin of victory over second-place Lane Tech.

The win secured Morgan Park’s third-straight CPL Girls Bowling Championship, and 15th overall girls bowling championship, the most by a school in the history of the league.

“It feels amazing,” said captain Krislyn Berry, whose parents had custom ‘Kryslin’s Dad and Mom’ bowling jerseys. “We worked too hard to let this go to waste, so I feel like to work this hard, we had to go out with a bang, and that is what we did.”

Berry finished with a team high score of 1,086 pins.

“This is really a big one because this is not our first time, not our second time, but our third time. So it’s like, okay, they doubted us, they didn’t think we could do it, but we proved them wrong,” she continued. 

Berry set the tone as a veteran leader on the team early on this season and during the championships, re-setting expectations and encouraging her teammates, who knew they were good enough, but may have lacked the experience, with this year’s team only having three upperclassmen.

“My captain, Krislyn Berry, she was really instrumental,” Collins said. “We do things to make them (new bowlers) feel that we are a family. Krislyn (would say) ‘you gotta get right, I’m trying to get back (to state), let’s put in the work, let’s go,’ and sometimes that is better to hear from your peers than to hear it from me.”

Morgan Park Celebrates Their Title In Style

Morgan Park was well-prepared for the city championship, ensuring to have a consistent practice schedule, playing in invites across the state, and getting used to the six-game tournament style to help them persevere through the ups and downs of a long day of competition. 

The trophy case at Morgan Park is full of accolades and accomplishments from across many sports in the school’s history, but girls bowling is starting to compete with the best of them.

“It means a lot,” said Collins. “It helps kids be on a team and still represent their school. They get announced (over PA) just like basketball and that makes them feel like they belong at Morgan Park, and that they are part of the community.”

The Mustangs look to use this win to their advantage as they begin the IHSA State Playoffs, with their eyes on the state title.

Taft’s Allison Rutkowski Captures Her First Individual Bowling Title

Taft Junior Allison Rutkowski came into the Girls Bowling Championship chasing the elusive first-place finish. She finished third in her freshman year, second in her sophomore year, and tried to finally grab the top spot this year and capture the individual title.

And with a final pin total of 1,215, including totaling the second-highest single-game scoring total of the tournament (game 2) of 224, Rutkowski secured the first-place finish by 47 pins, and with it, helped her Taft Eagles finish third overall in the tournament. 

“I just came here hoping to do good,” Rutkowski said. “It feels really good, I’ve been putting in so much work to get to this point. I have a medal for third, second and now first, so it feels really good to place first.”

Her goal for the championship was to focus on her spares, saying that she had struggled with corner pins, especially ten pins all season. The pressure of the moment, however, didn’t seem to faze her, as she picked up every single one, but one, across her championship games, cementing her spot atop the leader board.

Rutkowski made sure to stay calm, lock into her game and not worry about the scores as she competed in the championship. And luckily for her, she had an incredible group of teammates , coaches and family keeping track, helping her stay focused and cheering her on.

“It helps a lot knowing that I have people behind me, rooting for me. If I get myself down, they’ll be there to pick me up right away,” she said.

And as Rutkowski heads into the IHSA State Tournament, she knows she can tackle any competition that lies ahead.

“I can have the mindset that I’m the best of the best, honestly, so it feels really good.”

Full Championship Results Can Be Found Here

Full Photo Gallery Can Be Found Here

Copy Of Digital Championship Event Program Can Be Found Here