Alex bowling: Cardinal bowlers looking for repeat titles at state

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All five Alexandria teams will try to make it two championships in a row in the CI Division team competition at the 13th State Adapted Bowling Tournament, Friday, May 18, at Brunswick Zone in Eden Prairie.

Sophomore McKenzi Klimek will attempt to defend her singles title in the CI Division, and sophomore Jack Botzet shared the 2011 singles title in the PI Division.

CI DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS

All four members of last year’s championship team from Alexandria are back, but they are split between two different teams. Sophomores Dane Bellefeuille and Klimek are paired this year with a couple of ninth graders, Jared Greene and Tayler Mayer. Eighth graders David Madison and Jared McDonagh are paired this year with a couple of 7th graders, Dylan Timm and Lariah Lerin. If Alexandria wins, it will be their fourth overall championship.

Twenty-seven teams will compete this year. North/Tartan has seven separate teams entered and Alexandria has five. Alexandria senior Gideon Hartsell enters with a 131 average, tops for team competitors. His team’s combined average of 447 is also highest among all teams.

There are 105 boys and 76 girls entered in the singles competition. There are 77 pairs of bowlers entered in the doubles event.

Klimek is entered to defend her title in girls’ singles. She averages 62 this year. Alexandria’s Tayler Mayer, a 9th grader and 2011 runner-up, also returns and has an 89 average, ninth highest among the field. Simley has entered eight bowlers, followed by North/Tartan with six, and Alexandria, Anoka, Blaine, and Mankato East each have four entries.

A new doubles duo will emerge as champions. Tyler Rauscher, 8th grade, teamed with a senior last year and finished second, and this year has a new partner. He has an average of 83. North/Tartan is bringing 10 doubles teams to this year’s tournament, while Austin and Wayzata/Minnetonka follow with six each, and Alexandria has five.

PI DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS

Ten teams are entered in the PI Division competition. St. Paul Highland Park won the 2011 event and has two separate teams to attempt a title defense.

Last year Jack Botzet and Kris Bartz of Albany shared the boys’ singles title. Both are back to attempt title defenses. Bartz has a 102 average and Botzet has a 90 average.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

There are three competitions for athletes in both divisions — boys or girls singles, doubles, and team. Doubles pairs and teams may be co-ed. There is no limit on the number of bowlers who can compete in the various categories of competition. For example, a school could have 20 participants in singles competition, or five or six doubles teams, and more than one team from a school or co-op can participate in the same division. However, there is a restriction that an individual athlete cannot participate in all three categories.

Adapted bowling is one of four sports the Minnesota State High School League sponsors for athletes with disabilities and the first that allows for competition among individuals. Adapted soccer is conducted in the fall, adapted floor hockey is conducted in the winter, and adapted softball is also conducted in the spring. Competition is conducted in two divisions: one for athletes with physical or health impairments and commonly called PI; and the other for athletes with cognitive impairments known as CI.

THE SCHEDULE

The singles competition is scheduled for 9 a.m., followed by doubles competition at 12:30 p.m., and concluding with team competition at 3 p.m. There will be a 15-minute warm-up prior to the competition in each event. Awards will be presented approximately 15 minutes after the conclusion of each category of competition.

Results from the tournament will be posted on the League’s Web site — www.MSHSL.org.

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