Prep bowling notes: Jefferson boys, Prairie girls excelling in the MVC

CEDAR RAPIDS — No amount of oil can knock the Cedar Rapids Jefferson J-Hawks off their game this season.

In a meet against Waterloo East in December, the dressing on the lanes at Cadillac Lanes was heavier than anticipated. As a result, the scores slipped down by 1,000 total pins from normal averages. Despite the tough lane conditions, the J-Hawks hung on to win 2,058-1,934.

'It happens,' said Cedar Rapids Jefferson head coach Virg Cerveny. 'They just made a mistake with the lane dressing.

'We learned something from that, though. That amount of grease just amplifies your mistakes. Which helped us find some issues and it's what we are working on now.'

Jefferson remains atop the Mississippi Valley Conference this season with a 6-0 record. It has maintained a spotless record despite losing senior Tyler Fowler for the season with a shoulder injury.

'Other people have been able to step up and fill that void,' Cerveny said. 'And that has helped a lot.'

In their six wins, four different bowlers have posted the top series. Only Hunter Sturtz has multiple high-series games for the J-Hawks.

'If only we could have a game where all of them are high scores,' Cerveny said. 'Hopefully, we'll save that one for regionals.'

Of its five remaining meets, Jefferson will square off with the three teams chasing it in the standings. Jefferson will face second-place Cedar Falls (5-1) on Jan. 29th.

'It's going to take some fine tuning to get down to regionals and state,' said assistant coach Mat Fowler. 'Getting these minor tweaks down so they can recreate them during every game will really help.'

On the girls' side, Cedar Rapids Prairie continues to break records on its way to the postseason. Prairie set a school record for total team pinfall with a score of 3,037 against Xavier on Jan. 4. The girls also set a team record with a baker round of 1,068 that day,

'Our goal is always to get to state and win state,' said Prairie senior Rylee Blood. 'Breaking these records helps us believe we can actually get there.'

Prairie holds the top spot in the MVC with a 6-0 record. The Hawks have the highest match score average in the state (2,864.5), the second best individual game average (189.5) and the top baker score average (193.9).

In fact, Prairie holds a 13.5 pin average in the baker round over second-place Johnston (180.4).

'I feel like I have two varsity teams,' said Prairie head coach Don Wilfong. 'It's a good problem to have, except when I have to try to find lane time for all of them.'

The toughest test for the Prairie Hawks will come in the second half. Prairie will face undefeated Waterloo West (6-0) and Waterloo East (6-0).

'It can be very nerve-wracking,' said Prairie junior Kaitlyn Early. 'You never know what is going to happen, so we just go into it thinking we are going to win.'

IN THE LANE

● Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior James Jambois continues his breakout season for the Cougars. Jambois holds the sixth best average in the state at 221.8 and is one of just 15 bowlers in the state to break a 500 series with a 502 on Jan. 8.

The Cougars' George Goodwin and Dakota Dippel posted matching high games, both rolling a 279 on Dec. 17 against Iowa City High. Goodwin had a state-best series with a 537, and Dippel posted a 503 against the Little Hawks.

● West Delaware's Hope Mozingo is second in the state with a game-average of 217.9 and second in series average at 435.8. Mozingo's high-series of 535 continues to be the best in the state this season.