Hartington-Newcastle bowlers fare well in Norfolk
NORFOLK — The Hartington-Newcastle bowling teams took on some tough foes at the Boone Central tournament held Saturday in Norfolk.
The local team bowled one game against three different teams – the host, Humphrey Lindsay Holy Family and Bellevue West The boys beat Boone Central (7-1) and Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family (6-2) before losing to Bellevue West (8-0).
“It took a bit to get going in (the Boone Central) game, but as the game went on, everyone started getting dialed in,” HNS head coach Nate Holan said. “Ben Kleinschmit and Barrett Bruning stepped up. In the second game we bowled really well from the get-go. It was a close game all the way to the end.”
Bruning threw two strikes in the 10th frame to secure three points and the win.
HNS advanced to the Bakers bracket and fell to Howells Dodge 3-1, after winning the first game.
“We had our chances in those three games, but couldn’t quite get it done,” Holan said. “We finished the tournament 2-2. I was very pleased with how we bowled. Ben and Barrett bowled good all day and stepped up to help us win those first two games. That’s something I’d like to see continue as the season goes along.”
The girls rolled past Boone Central 7-1 after a slow start as Meredith McGregor and Rebekah Pinkelman set the pace. The girls then eased by Humphrey/LHF 6-2.
“Everyone bowled well and we won,” Holan said of the girls. “In the third game, we face Bellevue West. We continued our good bowling from the second game. It was a close game all the way to the end. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the team total and lost 5-3.”
The girls earned a Bakers firstround bye and then faced Grand Island Northwest, dropping two close, first games before bowing out in a 3-0 defeat to also go 2-2.
“Meredith and Rebekah did an excellent job all day,” Holan said. “I look forward to seeing what those two do this year. When they bowl like they did they make us a really tough team to beat.
“We need to continue to work on our spares as we missed too many single pin spares and continue to throw a better first ball.”
The Wildcats played at Norfolk Catholic Tuesday.
“We will continue to work on some of the things we are struggling with this week,” Holan said.
“We saw a lot of improvement from the first week and saw a couple bowlers really stepped up on both the boys and girls teams.”