Kennedy surprises itself with girls’ state bowling title

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“Spare shooting” was a point of emphasis down the stretch for the Cedar Rapids Kennedy girls’ bowling team.

The heightened diligence paid dividends.

Kennedy won its first state championship in program history earlier this week, capturing the Class 3A team title in Waterloo.

“I’ve dreamt of this my entire career,” Kennedy Coach Scott Bader said. “It took about 30 minutes after we got done to truly hit, but it definitely felt good.”

The Cougars started hot and never looked back.

Kennedy rolled a 2,923 in the 15 pre-bracket Baker games, securing the No. 1 seed for bracket play.

“They bowled their sets with the fewest opens (frames) probably all year long,” Bader said. “We worked on spare shooting a lot toward the end of the year and that’s what got them to where they ended up.”

Waukee made the Cougars fight tooth and claw in the semifinals.

After trailing two sets to one, Kennedy rallied to tie it and edged the Warriors in a heart-pounding final set, 192-190, to win the series 3-2.

“We were almost eliminated, but they battled back and pulled it out,” Bader said. “A couple of shots were definitely nail-biters, but the team as a whole came through at the end to seal the deal.”

Kennedy’s path to a championship didn’t get any easier as the Cougars squared off against perennial powerhouse Des Moines Lincoln in the finals.

“Having to bowl them was nerve-wracking in itself,” Bader said. “But to go and actually win it in four games against a team like that … it makes me feel really proud of our program and what we’ve accomplished.”

After taking the first set and dropping the second, Kennedy eked out a 175-174 win in the third.

“We struggled early in the year with getting a good first ball and then just flat missing a pin,” Bader said. “What really stuck with me all day was that we were picking up our spares.”

The Cougars clinched the title in the fourth set, winning 180-166.

“It was the best we bowled all year, as far as Bakers go,” Bader said. “Even in the finals we were keeping the opens, the missed frames, to a minimum. So, it was definitely a little bit of a shock to me — I can’t say that it wasn’t. But I knew these girls had it in them.”

Key contributors for the championship Cougars were Daisy Slater (jr.), Kiera Foye (so.), Emma Deeds (fr.), Elaina Chesmore (jr.), Ricki Davis (sr.), Kaiya Gralund (jr.) and Lily Bader (jr.).

“This group of seven girls, they all had their jobs,” Bader said. “And down to the wire, the girls pulled it together and worked as a team.”

Bader has been Kennedy’s bowling coach since the sport was sanctioned by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union in 2006.

“I’m ecstatic, not only for myself, because I’ve been doing this since it started … but for the girls,” Bader said. “For this group to do what they did, I’m so proud of them.”