Football, soccer, basketball: these are usually the three sports synonymous with success at Xavier High School, but girls’ bowling might have to be added to this list. With a 6-4 start to the season, the team has vastly improved from last season, already surpassing their three wins. Led by seniors Cheyanne Crane, Jamison Janson, Katie Langholz, and Abby Scott, the Saints are hoping to make it to the state tournament after several consecutive losing seasons. The Saints are set to bowl against Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, and North Scott, all teams with lower averages.

“I think we have a very good chance of making it to state,” Langholz said. “Although our higher average doesn’t necessarily mean anything, we believe if we execute what we’ve worked on all season we will make it to state no doubt. We just need to focus on making each shot count, and in the words of Coach Camacho, ‘Pick up spares!’”

When many of the current seniors joined the team, they initially did so to be with their friends, branch out, and try something new. During Crane, Janson, Langholz, and Scott’s first season on the team, they finished 2-9. Last year they improved with one more win, and this season they are finally experiencing the success they might not have expected when they joined the team.

“I have had so many great memories with the team, but nothing can beat the van rides with some of my best friends,” Scott said.

The team will now look to make more memories for the rest of the season, with one of them hopefully being a state title. The Saints lost on Friday, February 2 to Linn Mar, and hope to qualify for state on February 13 at Iris Bowling Center in Mount Pleasant at 11 a.m.

Will Hanigan

Sports Writer