Lauren Tomaszewski has worked hard to become one of the area’s top bowlers

Lauren Tomaszewski “is one of the hardest working bowlers I have ever coached,” said O’Fallon Township High School girls bowling coach Garrett Spencer, who is in his 12th season leading the Panthers. “She is a student of the game and is always working to get better even in the offseason.”

The hard work paid off last Saturday at Camelot Bowl in Collinsville. Tomaszewski took home a first-place medal in the Triad Invitational with a 1,342 six-game total and high game of 256 — a performance that also helped her team to a first-place in the tournament’s Gold Division.

“Lauren got off to a great start, but like every other bowler, faced some transition as the shot changed. Lauren made some real smart choices with her lane play to stay ahead of the changing shot and was able to still roll some big games to help the team out,” Spencer said.

“Bowling is my passion, and it is fun for me,” said Tomaszewski, the daughter of Dan and Kelly Tomaszewski and this week’s O’Fallon Progress Athlete of the Week. “I have been bowling since I was in sixth grade and thought it would be fun.”

Tomaszewski credits her parents and coaches with helping her attain her success on the lanes.

“I also have the support of my teammates, who push me everyday to get better and who I know I can trust to keep me going,” Tomaszewski said.

Members of a team need that support from one another, she said, because they know better than anyone else the demands involved with participating in athletics.

“(You have) to learn to juggle a busy schedule. When you don’t have a lot of time, you learn how to manage it,” Tomaszewski said.

“Having a bowler like Lauren on the team is obviously a huge help for the scores, but is even a better help for her leadership,” Spencer said of the 17-year-old OTHS junior on a team that has no seniors. “The work ethic that Lauren exhibits becomes part of a teams culture which in the end leads to success.”

“If you have a drive for something, don’t let one or two bad days get you down. You know that the next day, you got it,” Tomaszewski said about what she has learned during her time in competitive bowling. “And just don’t give up on your dreams.”

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 8:14 AM with the headline "Lauren Tomaszewski has worked hard to become one of the area’s top bowlers."