Bowling over the competition: Cedar Rapids bowlers aiming for a state berth

CEDAR RAPIDS - Victor Baccam's love of bowling started in seventh grade.

He started bowling because his relatives bowled, starting with Saturday morning leagues. The senior from Cedar Rapids Jefferson has been on the lanes since, progressing to become one of the J-Hawks top performers.

'If I could take a video of me back then and me now, I know a lot has changed,” Baccam said. 'My approach has changed. I used to barely hook the ball and play the second arrow (on the lane). Now, I'm hooking the ball every time and playing the fourth arrow.”

Baccam said he owes a lot of his success to Jefferson head coach Virg Cerveny. Cerveny was inducted into the Iowa Bowling Hall of Fame in 2010.

'I think he's a much better coach than others,” Baccam said. 'That's why my team's game has developed better than the others.”

Baccam's game has developed a lot since his freshman year. He finished his first season with a 174 average. This year, Baccam's 228.1 average is second in the state. He trails only Caleb Miller (228.2 average) of Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Internal competition also has helped push Baccam. Teammate Hunter Sturtz is averaging 224.5 this season.

'It puts a little more pressure on me, because I want to keep that top spot,” Baccam said.

Cerveny said they are great teammates and help fuel Jefferson's success.

'They have put in the work to get here,” Cerveny said. 'Along with their ability, they are great teammates and both are super young men. That makes it special to have them on the team.”

The J-Hawks captured the Mississippi Valley Conference title for the second consecutive year, downing previously unbeaten Linn-Mar, 3326-3104. The victory will add to the J-Hawks confidence heading into Tuesday's district tournament.

'If we bowled what we should have, I knew we could beat them,” Baccam said.

Districts (boys) and regionals (girls) are held Tuesday all over the state. Jefferson will join Kennedy, Washington and Prairie at Lancer Lanes, starting at noon. Linn-Mar is in Marshalltown and City High and Iowa City West are in Davenport. Xavier is at a 2A meet in Clinton and Marion is at Waverly-Shell Rock. West Delaware hosts at 1A meet at Lightning Lanes in Manchester.