When people think of winter sports for high school, bowling is often overlooked. This is what motivates Xavier junior, Cheyanne Crane to play her best. Crane is a part of the Xavier High School varsity girls’ bowling team.

“A lot of people do not think bowling is a serious sport or hard at all,” Crane said. “Every sport requires time, effort, strength, and determination, and some people do not think you need those things for bowling.”

Crane has been bowling since she was little, and joined a league in eighth grade. When she got to high school, she went out for the team because she loved the sport and wanted to continue to improve.

Crane’s hard work has been paying off, with her best score being around 250 out of 300. She was named Honorable Mention on the district team both her freshman and sophomore years.

“Cheyanne is one of the top two bowlers this year, and she brings consistency and a calmness to the team,” Head Coach Russ Camacho said. “She is one of the girls that I know I can trust and the other girls feed off of her. Even though she is quiet, she does a great job bringing the team together.”

Xavier girls’ bowling has two teams, varsity and junior varsity. The top six and most experienced bowlers play varsity, and the rest play junior varsity. During practices, the teams work in small groups or alone to improve on specific skills, depending on the focus of the day.

The team shares many goals big and small, but the main goal for the upcoming season is to keep improving and qualify for state.

“Our main goal is always the same.  We want to have everyone improve throughout the season,” Camacho said. “That way we are able to have the best team possible to give us the best chance to get to state.  Improvement and coming together as a team is critical for our success.”

The next bowling meet for the Saints is on December 2 at May City Bowl in Cedar Rapids against Cedar Falls.

Nicole Hassenstab

Beginning Journalism Student