After bowling 11 consecutive strikes, senior Kai Nitzschke took two big breaths before his last bowl in hopes of bowling a perfect game during the IHSA State Final Tournament on Jan. 26.
“I was pretty nervous because [I was] in state and [getting 300 pins] would be kind of crazy, but I’ve also been in a lot of high pressure situations so I tried to stay calm,” Nitzschke said.
Nitzschke scored 299, and junior Nick Sachs scored 279 in the same game.
“I threw a good shot, but I got nine [pins],” said Nitzschke. “My teammates were still supportive, and Nick also had a great game, so we were all happy because that [game] put us in second.”
The team placed third overall in state, and junior Josh Sachs, Nick Sachs and Nitzschke individually placed second, sixth and eighth, respectively.
“Having the shot to be the best team in the state, even though we didn’t quite get it done at the end, it means a lot to us because this is by far the best team the program’s had,” Nitzschke said.
The team established itself early on in the season after winning the Lake Park Invite on Nov. 11 for the first time in school history, Nitzschke said.
The team finished first in both the regular season and the conference tournament, which has never been done before in the same season in the history of the program.
Along with Nitzschke, Josh Sachs has been another key contributor to the team, head coach Todd Rubin said.
Josh Sachs placed first at the sectional tournament and broke the school record for an individual three-game series with a total pin count of 843 in a match against Deerfield on Dec. 7. This was the third highest score ever recorded for a three-game series in IHSA history.
“[Nitzschke and Josh Sachs] both [had] really high moments this year, and even when one of them [was] being very successful, the other one might [have just been] a couple pins behind them,” said Rubin. “And then we [had] a couple of other guys who are not that far behind them.”
The team faced Vernon Hills in the last game of the conference tournament after going 1-1 against them in the regular season.
“It was pretty close,” said senior Evan D’Souza. “So we basically had to beat them outright [to win the tournament], and we did.”
According to Rubin, the team has found so much success this season because all of the bowlers have the potential to do very well.
The lower end of the team is still strong, so the floor is high, Rubin said.
The team (15-2, 11-1 Central Suburban League South Division) placed first at regionals and qualified for state after placing third at sectionals. The team then went on to place third at state.
“Knowing that all my teammates and [I] were all part of [this team], I think at the end, we can look back at that and remember for a long time,” Nitzschke said.