Tom Ochal ended his successful bowling career at Notre Dame at the state meet at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon.
The senior finished 42nd with 2,613 pins for a 217.8 average on Saturday, Jan. 30, after a second-place showing last season. Ochal also competed at the state meet as a sophomore.
“I’m sad it’s over, but all good things come to an end,” he said. “I’m glad I had the experience I did. I’m going to miss it.”
But Ochal might not be gone for long. He said he already has expressed interest in returning to the Dons in the near future as a volunteer coach.
“I will be coming back at some point,” he said. “I mentioned it to the coaches, and they said they may need some extra help. They seemed all for it.”
During this season, Ochal served as a mentor of sorts to sophomore Connell Kelleher, who placed a team-best seventh at the state meet. Ochal said he tried to get Kelleher to stay positive, even if things weren’t going well for him.
“He could possibly be the anchor on the team next year,” Ochal said. “The kid has a lot of potential. I see him scoring higher than he did this year.”
Kelleher knocked down 2,799 pins and was 100 behind Stevenson junior Zach Singer, who posted 2,899 to capture the state championship. Kelleher is one of five bowlers in the Dons’ seven-person state lineup who has eligibility remaining.
As a team, Notre Dame finished 14th, but the Dons didn’t survive the first-day cut, missing out by 44 pins.
Niles North/Niles West
Sophomore bowler Avery Wolf said he didn’t set any goals once he qualified for the state meet.
That’s going to change next season.
“I was happy with getting there this year,” said Wolf, who attends Niles North. “I told myself let’s have fun and see how good I can do. I am going to raise the bar for next year. Now that I’ve been there, I am going to want to see how high I can get.”
In his first trip to the state meet, Wolf tied for 51st with 2,585 pins for a 215.4 average.
“The experience of being there was great,” he said. “I know what to expect for next time. There aren’t a lot of [competitions] like [the state meet], so it’s something you need to mentally prepare for.”
Wolf was the lone bowler on the Niles North/Niles West team to compete at the state meet. The co-op team took seventh at the sectional, missing out on a state berth by one spot in the standings.
Matt Harness co-hosts a weekly golf podcast called Teeing Off. Find it on Twitter (@Teeing__Off
More Top Picks Best Classical Guitars Under 500 Dollars
) or at www.facebook.com/teeingoffpodcast and on iTunes.Twitter: @harnesspreps