Card bowlers: Titles abound for Alexandria at state

• Klimek

Alexandria's McKenzi Klimek got a hug from Cardinals' head coach Carol Feldmann after Klimek won the female singles division title last Friday.

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The Alexandria adapted bowling team continued to prove itself as one of the best in Minnesota at the 2011 state tournament last Friday.

The Cardinals took home three titles and plenty of other accolades in almost every division. David Madison, Dane Bellefeuille, Jared McDonagh and McKenzi Klimek won the team title with 1,729 points in the CI Division. That was 66 more than the second-place team from North Tartan.

That was part of a big day for Klimek. The freshman set the tone for the day with a singles title in the CI girls’ division. Her game one score of 253 got her going as she finished game two at 236 to give her a 489. Her teammate, Tayler Mayer, was right behind her in second place with a 444.

Jack Botzet also took home a singles title in the PI male division. He rolled a game-one score of 226 before finishing game two at 237. His 463 total tied him for the championship with Albany’s Kris Bartz.

“We talk all season about teamwork and having fun and being a family,” head coach Carol Feldmann said. “And it just really came out in the competition on Friday. The kids worked together.”

Alexandria showed off its depth with four teams finishing in the top six of the CI Division. Jon Klein, Scott Horman, Tyler Rauscher and Torii Erickson were fourth with a score of 1,641. Justin Hanson-Simmons, Gideon Hartsell, Andrew Winter and Patrick Takeda took fifth (1,637), while Matthew Froemming, Jared Greene, Ryan Frick and Zach Long were sixth (1,625).

“They were just at the top of their game,” Feldmann said of all her athletes. “Our No. 1 goal was to have fun. Two was to work together as a team and encourage teammates and the third one is if we got into trouble with our bowling, to stop and think and problem solve. What we had bowled was in the past, and we had to start new from that frame on. The kids did an awesome job.”

Alexandria almost added a fourth title to its winnings. Klein and Rauscher teamed up to take second in the CI doubles division. They combined for an 849, just 22 behind Dylan Knudsen and Oliver McDowell of Mahtomedi.

The Cardinals had plenty of other bowlers reach the 400 mark. Greene led his Alexandria teammates in the boys CI singles division with a 407. Kaila Seidel had a 400 to finish tied for 25th in the female singles division, while Bellefeuille and McDonagh finished 18th in doubles with a combined score of 805.

It was a fitting ending to another strong season for this program. Alexandria finished undefeated in CI team competitions.

The whole Alexandria team was greeted with a warm welcome on its way into town after the state tournament. Three officers met the bus near the interstate exit and provided a police escort back to Garden Center Lanes where fans were waiting to cheer them on.

“You should have heard the kids,” Feldmann said. “It just gave you goose bumps.”

2011 STATE ADAPTED BOWLING

ALEXANDRIA RESULTS – PI DIVISION – BOYS’ SINGLES – Jack Botzet – first place, 226, 237, 463

CI DIVISION – TEAM – David Madison, Dane Bellefeuille, Jared McDonagh, McKenzi Klimek – first place, 1,729; Jon Klein, Scott Horman, Tyler Rauscher, Torii Erickson – fourth place, 1,641; Justin Hanson-Simmons, Gideon Hartsell, Andrew Winter, Patrick Takeda – fifth place, 1,637; Matthew Froemming, Jared Greene, Ryan Frick, Zach Long – sixth place, 1,625; Amanda Thoennes, Kendra Holm, Tayler Mayer, Kaila Seidel – 15th place, 1,564

CI DIVISION – DOUBLES – Jon Klein, Tyler Rauscher – second place, 849; Dane Bellefeuille, Jared McDonagh – 18th place, 805; Scott Horman, Patrick Takeda – 26th place, 796; Gideon Hartsell, Torii Erickson – 33rd, 786; Matthew Froemming, Zach Long – 36th place, 777; Amanda Thoennes, Kendra Holm – 45th place, 769; Andrew Winter, Justin Hanson-Simmons – 49th place, 753

CI DIVISION – FEMALE SINGLES – McKenzi Klimek – first place, 253, 236 – 489; Tayler Mayer – second place, 224, 220 – 444; Kaila Seidel – 25th place, 400

CI DIVISION – MALE SINGLES – Jared Greene – 18th place, 211, 196 – 407; David Madison – 66th place, 196, 162 – 358

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, adapted, bowling, cardinals