March 28, 2024

Cardinal bowlers set up for strong finish in second half

sophomores Melanie Stice, Courtney Tabor and Erica Bailey.

“I was very nervous at the beginning of the year after having three seniors graduate,” Banwell said. “I knew Madison was a strong bowler and she’s been bowling since she was in Kindergarten, so I was expecting some big things from her.”

The boys side is a little different than the girls, however. Three different bowlers have led the Newton boys in first-round scores this season. Freshman Jake Karlzen paced the Cardinals with a 348 in the season-opening meet at Knoxville, sophomore Andrew Lammey rolled a 447 in the team’s record-breaking win at Oskaloosa and sophomore Payton Cox led the way with a 361 in the Cardinals’ home meet on Dec. 15. Meanwhile, senior Dylan Van Sickle usually isn’t far off the pace.

“I would say the varsity guys are pretty equal,” Banwell said. “You can expect their scores to be consistent from meet to meet, but they’ll have a guy with a different high score for each meet.

The Cardinals will kick off the second half of their seasons with their final home meet at Cardinal lanes on Jan. 5. It’s all on the road from there, including two meets at Knoxville, one in West Des Moines, one in Osceola and one in Pella. The site of the regional meet has yet to be announced, but it will be held on Feb. 14.