DES MOINES — Clarke’s bowling teams capped off a successful season here Monday at the State Co-ed Bowling Tournament at Plaza Lanes.
The Indian boys finished sixth out of seven teams in the Class 1A boys competition. Sophomore LeeAnn Helgevold, an individual qualifier in the girls competition, finished 21st.
“Started off trying to get the anticipation and anxiety level down was the first thing,” Clarke head coach Dale Helgevold said. “We only have three that have been to there before. Damon (Helgevold), Skylar (Johnson) and Adam (Smith) were part of the group that qualified as freshmen. They led the other guys, getting them to where they needed to be, as far as anxiety level. It’s overwhelming for a few of them, when you see the crowd there.”
Damon Helgevold led the Indians in the first game with a score of 199. The rest of the Clarke boys picked things up in the second game.
“Damon had some splits along the way to overcome and still shot a 199 to lead the team first game,” coach Helgevold said. “Going into the second game, we had everybody kind of picked it up a little bit. The low score second game was a 147, so that really helped us a lot.”
Smith led the Indians with a 13th-place finish, bowling games of 191 and 206 for a 397 series. Johnson finished 26th with his 367 series and Helgevold was 28th with a 361 series. Senior Gordon Witt bowled a 347 series and Ethan Potter rounded out the team scoring with a score of 283.
Clarke started well in the Baker rounds with scores of 166, 207 and 175 in the first three Baker games. The Indians dropped a 127 in game four, however, before finishing out with a 181.
“We were going up against tough competition,” coach Helgevold said. “It’s the best of the best, there. Going into Baker, we had 1755, so we shot 2611 (total). If I recall, that’s probably one of our better meets we’ve had this year.”
In the girls competition, LeeAnn Helgevold had to overcome a rowdy group of fans from West Delware.
“She had to fight a lot of adversity with the crowd from West Delaware,” coach Helgevold said. “They were just obnoxious. There was some not very good sportsmanship on their part toward the end of her second game. She fough through it, did what she needed to do.”
As Helgevold approached the lane for a shot, the West Delaware crowd began making a lot of noise. Helgevold stepped off the approach and let the crowd quiet down. When she stepped back onto the approach, the crowd fired up again.
Still, after struggling through the first game of the day with a 125, Helgevold battled back and bowled a 209 second game to post a series of 334, placing 21st.
“She struggled the first game finding her shot,” coach Helgevold said. “Started the second game with four (strikes) in a row. She had a very strong game. Had only one open frame that game, and that was the ninth frame. She finished 21st, which doesn’t get her a medal, but she didn’t finish last place, either. It’s the experience of being there. She has two more years to go. She could definitely be back again.”
All in all, it was a good end to a good season, according to coach Helgevold.
“It’s been a tremendous season,” he said. “Sad to lose all the seniors we’re losing. We’ve got a lot of senior leadership. We’ve got 15 of them we’re losing. Four boys and four girls in the starting lineup. For me, it’s my first child that’s graduating high shcool, so it’s an extra little bit there.
“I’ve known these kids for years even before high school. Lori (Helgevold) and I both have a special tie to these seniors. Makes it that much harder to lose them. They’re all going on to bigger and better things. Nice to be able to end this chapter, especially for the boys, at the state tournament.”
Class 1A State Co-ed
Bowling Tournament
Plaza Lanes
Girls
Team scores — 1. Camanche 2842, 2. West Delaware 2788, 3. Creston 2547, 4. Knoxville 2409, 5. Harlan 2316, 6. Tripoli 2302, 7. Shenandoah 2141.
Individual results — 1. Andrea Salow, West Delaware, 215-226—441; 2. Maggie Weber, Columbus Catholic, 208-201—409; 3. Ashley Knipfer, Creston/O-M, 180-226—406; 4. Hope Mozingo, West Delaware, 203-200—403; 5. Shelby Carrier, Central DeWitt, 177-220—397; 6. Jordan Smith, Camanche, 169-226—395; 7. Hailey Andersen, Harlan, 204-189—393; 8. Taylor Berry, Vinton-Shellsburg, 188-200—388; 9. Shanna Kolsrud, Camanche, 208-174—382; 10. MaKenzie Ciner, Camanche, 199-181— 380; 21. LeeAnn Helgevold, Clarke, 125-209—334.
Boys
Team scores — 1. Camanche 3122, 2. Vinton-Shellsbrg 2927, 3. Charles City 2902, 4. Red Oak 2735, 5. Louisa-Muscatine 2725, 6. Clarke 2611, 7. OA-BCIG 2509.
Individual results — 1. Ethan Hull, Camanche, 278-226—504; 2. Drew Mitchell, Charles City, 222-238—460; 3. Jacob Boleyn, Columbus Catholic, 208-235—443; 4. Rayce Carter, Louisa-Muscatine, 233-197—430; 5. Nick Stein, Vinton-Shellsburg, 240-190—430; 6. John Miester, West Delaware, 191-237—428; 7. Tyler Brockney, Charles City, 203-224—427; 8. Cody Langfitt, Camanche, 193-224—417; 9. Marcus Draves, Louisa-Muscatine, 208-200—408; 10. Spencer Armstrong, North Iowa Buffalo Center, 193-212—405.
Clarke (2611) — Adam Smith 191-206—397, Skylar Johnson 181-186—367, Damon Helgevold 199-162—361, Gordon Witt 155-192—347, Ethan Potter 115-168—283, Garrett McFarland 125-147—272. Totals — 1755-856—2611. Baker Rotation — 166, 207 ,175, 127, 181 — 2611.