Highland boys bowlers turn in productive performance at IHSA state tournament

The Highland boys bowling team enjoyed a positive end to a successful 2021-22 season when they competed in the IHSA state tournament Friday, Jan. 28, and Saturday, Jan. 29, at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon.

Highland, which made its last trip to the state tournament in 2005, finished 22nd overall as a team with 5,632 pins. That finish on the first day was not quite enough to crack the top 12 spots for the team final but it was a strong performance for an HHS club that fielded just two senior bowlers for the weekend.

“It’s been 17 years since we’ve taken a team to state, so I’m very proud of them,” Bulldogs boys coach Pam Schrumpf said. “I told the guys that you’re going up against teams from Chicago and that’s a hard hill to climb and that it takes two to four guys to bowl really good and one guy to bowl around his average ... that didn’t happen but, hey, they did alright.”

Schrumpf noted the lane conditions changed several times during the two days of the tournament which presented an extra challenge.

“Friday morning (the lanes) were pretty oily but by Friday afternoon they had kind of dried out,” Schrumpf said. “One of my junior boys bowled better in the afternoon once the lanes dried out a little bit. Saturday morning they were not quite as oily as Friday and by Saturday afternoon they broke down again and you just had to make sure that you kept your speed up to keep it (the ball) from going into the headpin (too high).”

Seniors Hunter Hediger and Logan Oestringer led the way for HHS as the team’s top two scorers. Hediger rolled a 215 per game average for the weekend while Oestringer posted a 196 average.

Hediger’s high game for rounds three and four of the tournament was a 256 and his low game of the final two rounds was a 192.

“Hunter’s just a very competitive bowler,” Schrumpf said. “He was bowling with some great bowlers also and when he misses a spare, something’s off — which he did miss one spare but it hit his ankle. He could have finished higher, but he caught some bad breaks, too, and some pins could have fallen (for him). That’s just bowling.”

How Highland got to state

The Bulldogs qualified for state Jan. 22 in Alton. After struggling early in 11th place, HHS rallied and pulled out a fifth place finish to qualify for state.

Schrumpf told her players to relax and have fun in the final game of the tournament and the Bulldogs followed suit.

“For sectionals, we went from 11th to fifth (place) and all five boys clicked that game,” Schrumpf said. “Every boy had 200 plus (scores) and they shot 1,117 for the five of them in that last game and we pushed out O’Fallon and went ahead of Belleville East. It was just unbelievable.”

Future appears bright

Hediger and Oestringer will graduate from the club, but Schrumpf said she believes, after making their first run to state in 17 years this winter, the Bulldogs definitely could be in a position to get back there in 2023.

“I’ve got some incoming freshmen that are hopefully going to bowl so we’ll have to wait and see how the year goes (with them),” Schrumpf said.

Girls Basketball

The Highland girls basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak Monday, Jan. 31, thanks to a timely 55-46 win over Mississippi Valley Conference foe Jerseyville at Highland High School.

HHS started strong on offense and rolled to a 32-18 halftime lead.

Addison Crask led three Lady Bulldogs scoring in double figures with 19 points. Larissa Taylor added 13 points and Grace Wilke pumped in 11 points.

Highland improved to 7-21 overall and 2-6 in MVC play with the victory.

Wrestling

Highland’s wrestling team moved into the postseason part of their schedule Saturday, Jan. 29, in the Mississippi Valley Conference Dual meet at Jerseyville on Saturday, Jan. 29.

HHS Coach Shorty Ohren’s young club got in plenty of work facing their MVC counterparts. The tournament was a definite learning experience for HHS, which went winless in all five matches.

Highland lost to Waterloo 52-24, dropped a close 37-36 match to host Jerseyville, and then lost to Triad (57-18), Mascoutah (42-27), and to defending conference champ Civic Memorial.

This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 12:29 AM.