‘Almost perfect’ season ends in heartbreak for Decorah boys’ bowling team

A historic ride ended in heartbreaking fashion this week for the Decorah boys’ bowling team.

For the first time in school history, the Vikings qualified for the state tournament as a team.

That’s not all.

Decorah finished the regular season unbeaten, champions of the Northeast Iowa Conference.

“I would quantify this season as almost perfect,” Decorah Coach Keith Bruening said. “The boys won everything until the last game.”

Decorah entered bracketed play of the state tournament at Cadillac XBC in Waterloo on Feb. 21 as the No. 5 seed. It started strong, knocking off fourth-seeded Le Mars, 3-1.

“We were all happy with the fifth seed,” Decorah senior Will Marx said. “We’re a really competitive program, I think it gave us a bit more confidence saying we want to upset these teams.”

Next up for the Vikings was top-seeded North Scott.

“Right off the bat, we started with a couple strikes,” Marx said. “North Scott split the first couple frames. We kind of built off our energy after that.”

Decorah bounced the Lancers, 3-1.

“I thought we had them (North Scott),” Decorah senior Grady Brauer said. “We really bowled to our abilities in the first and second rounds.”

In the championship round, the Vikings drew a lower-seeded opponent — No. 6 Fort Dodge.

Decorah, again, began strong, taking the first two games.

“I, along with the rest of my team, thought after the first two (wins) we had it in the bag,” Brauer said. “We kind of overlooked those next three. Personally, I thought there was no way they’re going to win three in a row.”

Fort Dodge rallied to win set three, 179-170.

The Dodgers then evened the score, narrowly taking the fourth set, 212-210.

“I think Fort Dodge threw seven (strikes) in a row in one game,” Bruening said. “That’s just the way it goes. That’s sports.”

“I kind of took the fall for that one,” Marx said. “I was bowling the fifth and 10th frame. I went up there, felt like I hit a good shot, and then got what you call a ‘double wood’ on the right side (the 3 and 9 pins). I knew if I picked that up we win. And I got nervous there and I hit the first pin and left the back pin still standing.

“That was pretty devastating. But we had a couple more games after that and we just kind of lost some of our positive energy.”

Marx finished second on the team to Brauer, averaging 199 pins per game, good for fourth in the Northeast Iowa Conference.

Ultimately, the Dodgers outlasted the Vikings and took game five, 188-130, and with it the 2A state championship.

“I just feel sorry for the kids,” Bruening said. “To get that close … I think everyone was kind of pooped out by the last game. We bowled 28 baker games. That’s a long day for a high school kid to bowl. We gave all our energy in the fourth game. We just ran out of energy.

“I can’t say enough about Fort Dodge. Their people are just first class.”

“We set all sorts of records this year,” Brauer said. “We really made our mark. It was cool to be a part of that.”

Brauer also qualified for the state tournament as an individual and placed third. Junior Cade Averoff also was an individual qualifier but did not place.

The Decorah girls’ team, too, made school history by qualifying for state for the first time. They were defeated in the first round of bracket play by top-seeded Keokuk and finished eighth.

Three Vikings qualified as individuals in Waterloo. Senior Rebecca Bruening placed eighth. Seniors Hannah Schnitzler and Lily Iverson did not place.

“Once you get there, it’s not so hard anymore,” Keith Bruening said. “I think we’ll be back. We’re planning to go back next year, girls and boys. We’ve got the personnel to do that.

“This is all history making stuff for Decorah.”