Boys Bowling: Lake Zurich’s Schmitt rolls 300 game at State

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Lake Zurich's Mike Schmitt, seen here in earlier action this winter, finished third at the state meet. He also rolled a 300 game at the tourney. | Ruthie Hauge ~ Sun-Times Media.

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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:12AM

Lake Zurich junior Mike Schmitt is developing quite a reputation for posting high scores in the IHSA boys bowling tournament.

As a sophomore, he fired three series of at least 700 to finish second with a 231 average.

This time around, Schmitt was not as consistent, but he still offered up the highlight of the state tournament, held at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon on Friday and Saturday.

Schmitt fired a perfect 300 in the second-to-last game of the state tournament. He also had a 300 against Stevenson earlier in the season. The latest was his sixth competitive 300 game.

In 12 games, Schmitt averaged 225.5, good for third place (2706 pins total). Sandburg’s Joey Kopera (2733) and Herrin High School’s C.J. Kirchner (2730) placed first and second, respectively. The next closest area competitor was Vernon Hills’ Sam Fink (2636), who finished 13th.

Andrew High School (12,821) won the team title, and Vernon Hills was second (12,652). Lake Zurich (11,992) finished 10th with an average of 199.9.

In the game prior to his 300, Schmitt rolled his second lowest score of the tournament (182). During the 10th frame, he elected to try a different ball, one that he hoped would snap a little harder on the back end.

Did it ever.

“I threw my first shot, and it hit the pocket and carried,” Schmitt said. “I just wanted to make that shot again and again. To throw a 300 at State is a huge honor. It’s something I’ll remember forever.”

Schmitt’s shots in the third and fourth frames were both a touch high, but all 10 pins still fell. The rest of his shots were perfect. He said that the toughest frames for him in his previous 300 games were the seventh, eighth and ninth.

“Those are the hardest to strike, because that’s when people start to notice and the lanes start to transition,” he said. “You have to make little adjustments and get through those frames.”

After his first two strikes in the 10th frame, Schmitt said that he knew his 12th ball was true as soon as it left his hand.

“I just hoped it would carry,” he said. “I remember my teammates hugging me and giving me high-fives, and my mom came down from the stands. My dad and uncle were there (as well). It was great to share that with my family.”

It can be tough to sustain momentum after a 300 game, but Schmitt responded by closing out the tournament with a 232. In fact, it could have even been higher because he had an open frame in the 10th.

Climbing back: For Schmitt, it was a long climb back to competing for the title. He opened up Friday’s play with a strong 257, but followed that with a 161.

“I had a couple of splits and missed a couple of spares,” he said. “It was a big surprise because I was feeling pretty good. It was just a bad game; there wasn’t much I could take from it.”

Schmitt came back with a 259 in his next game, and had scores of 244, 227 and 210 in the afternoon block.

“I was most happy with the way I responded from the 161 game,” he said. “I didn’t let it affect the rest of the day.”

Top 10: Lake Zurich never put together a huge game collectively, but the Bears were consistent enough in putting up solid scores to finish in 10th place.

“We felt like we had a good enough team to win a trophy coming off our performance at sectionals,” Schmitt said. “We achieved most of our goals this season except for that one. It will make us more hungry for next year.”

Senior Quinn Nelson closed out the tournament with a 255 game, and finished in 32nd place (2501 pins).

“Quinn and I work together on the left side to find the shot,” Schmitt said. “I was really impressed with the way Quinn bowled at sectionals and State. He threw a lot of good shots.”

Senior Tony Giannecchini knocked down 2355 pins to place 63rd.

Sophomore Max Galarce (2086) was consistent throughout. Junior Brent Poynter came through with a 234 game, and freshman Ben Madura contributed a 214. Juniors Chris Orabutt and Mike Wormley also saw action.