As winter sports are beginning, the bowling team has just three matches before it competes in sectionals on December 18th.

Last year, the boys’ team, coached by Mike Glenn, had a challenging season because of COVID regulations and ended up with a 2-8 record. However, some players did stand out, such as senior Daniel Striegel, who qualified for regionals.  

The girls’ bowling team, coached by Paula Glenn-Tharp, also worked hard last season with a 7-3 record. Additionally, senior Katie Matthews shared the team’s mental attitude award with Callie Clowers, who graduated in 2021.

This season, most of what happens during bowling practices has stayed the same, but the team thinks there will be more adults attending the matches due to less COVID protocols. 

“I hope there will be more parents [at matches] because there’s less regulations,” Striegel said.

Matthews also feels confident about the 2021-2022 season and hopes it will be fun for the bowling team, especially since it’s her last year at Roncalli.

“I think [bowling season] will be better because of my senior year,” Matthews said, “It will be more exciting.”

As of now, the bowling team has been practicing since mid August, and matches began in late October. These matches are typically the routine of finding lanes, setting everything up, praying together, and then finally beginning the match. When doing the actual bowling, it is not about the independent scores of each person.

“We do not just bowl as a team; we bowl as individuals too,” Matthews said.

Like many other RHS sports, bowling matches follow a routine. However, one of the biggest differences between bowling and these other sports is that there is no section for students to attend. Although this is unusual, not all of the athletes view this as a disadvantage.

“I think [matches are] better without a student section,” Striegel said. “It’s less distracting. We already get distracted by each other, so it would be even harder with a student section.”

The bowling team aims to improve their game for a better season than before. So far, they have been working hard to make this goal a reality.

On October 25, the girls had their first match against Perry Meridian High School. Senior Gracie Tharp had the highest score to help push the Royals to victory. Although they lost their match against Whiteland on November 1st, they made a comeback and defeated Greenwood Christian Academy on November 8th. During the team’s position round on November 15th, they got second place to Whiteland.

The boys also won their first match of the season against Franklin Community, and sophomore Riley Lepper had the highest score. On November 1st, they went on to win against Shelbyville High School and defeated Greenwood on November 8th as well.