April 26, 2024

Newton bowling beats Pella Christian, Norwalk

By Jocelyn Sheets

On her approach is Newton’s Madison Humphrey during a warm-up toss. Humphrey led the Cardinal girls to a ninth straight bowling win in a home meet Saturday. (Jocelyn Sheets)

NEWTON — It was a full house for the boys’ competition at Saturday’s triangular bowling meet hosted by Newton at Cardinal Lanes. Newton, Pella Christian and Norwalk were working the boards on the lanes.

Newton’s girls battled with Norwalk. Pella Christian didn’t field a full girls’ team because members were gone to another school commitment.

The Cardinal boys racked up their second win of the season. They had a pin total of 2,612 with Norwalk in second at 2,377 and Pella Christian finishing third with 1,991.

Newton’s girls remain undefeated (9-0), beating Norwalk by 98 pins. The Cardinals finished at 2,135 pins followed by Norwalk at 2,037 and Pella Christian at 1,262.

Newton head coach Seth Banwell said he was pleased with the wins by his teams, “but we didn’t bowl to our full potential and our scores went down.”

In the boys’ competition, Newton took an early lead in the first individual games and it continued to grow the entire match. Banwell said the Cardinals didn’t bowl as well compared to previous meets.

Nick VerSteeg set the pace for the Cardinals with individual games of 169 and 202 for a team-leading 371. Bryan McMahon bowled a 368 (165, 203) followed by Payton Cox with a 342 (165, 177).

Reid Miller threw the top individual game with a 222 and finished at 341. Alex Bare bowled a 331 (183, 148) and Andrew Lammey had a 282 (125, 157).

“Nick averaged 186.  He threw multiple strikes in his second game to score,” Banwell said. “We have a long list of improvements that need to be made as we look towards competing at the regional meet next month.  The guys need to be consistent with each shot and hit their mark every time.”

In the Baker game round, Newton scored 179, 167, 168, 222 and 123 for an 859 total.

Pella Christian’s Jordan Pleima finished at 319. Grant Fynaardt bowled a 272 and Andrew Veenstra had a 265.

The Cardinal girls continue to roll. Madison Humphrey led the way Saturday with a 364 (198, 166) and Courtney Tabor tallied a 326 (159, 167). Erica Bailey finished at 280 (149, 131) followed by Kirsten Young at 233 (106, 127).

Mariah Gonzales bowled a 207 (119, 88) for the Cardinals. Makayla Tabor also had a 207 (84, 123). Newton’s Baker games were 127, 138, 161, 164 and 135 for a 725 total.

“Madison gave another solid performance averaging 182 in the individual round.  She is very dependable and makes great shots week after week,” Banwell said. “This is the lowest team score of the season and proves that anything can happen during our meets.  We will be working on a lot on converting spares next week in practice.”

Newton travels to Pella this coming Saturday for a dual with Pella Christian.