The Minooka girls bowling team took first out of 22 teams at the Wildcat Invite hosted by Plainfield Central on Nov. 27 at Plainfield Lanes.

It was a close match with the Indians only winning by 170 pins. Minooka had a total of 5560 pins with Joliet west right behind them 5490 pins.

Junior Natalie Schildhouse was the top bowler for Minooka with a score of 1220 and took 4th in her first ever high school bowling match. She had to find a strategy to make her come out on top.

“My game plan was to stay confident in my spare targets and find a comfortable spot to play and move off of,” Schildhouse said.

Senior Brianna Gilson was another top athlete for Minooka in the wildcat invite placing 8th out of 120 bowlers. Gilson had a 1165 performance to help Minooka win the match.

“I just expected to bowl and try my best to place well,” Gilson said, “My game plan was to stay calm and focus on each shot.”

Head coach Frank Yudzentis had to prepare these girls for a tough fight out for some of the girls it was their first match as a high school bowler.

“These girls performed phenomenally for most of them, it was their first match in high school but they all did an amazing job out there,” Yudzentis said.

Schildhouse made sure that she bowled well, especially in her 10th frames in each game.

“I don’t think I had any frames that stood out, but I’m pretty sure I made all my 10th frames count,” Schildhouse said.

After placing 4th out of 120 bowlers Schildhosue was excited and joyful after her first high school bowling match. Gilson was also pleased after placing 8th in this match.

“I was ecstatic about getting 4th out of that many bowlers,” Schildhouse said.

“My thoughts were that it was good, I didn’t do the best that I could’ve done, and I was focused more on my team instead of individually,” Gilson said.

This team has a chance to be a top team in the state this year if they all perform to there best of their abilities in the postseason

“I think this team could be one of the best in the state this year,” Yudzentis said. “We just need to pull it all together and bowl well when it matters. If we do all that I believe we can make it far and place high in the state match this year.”