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Lemont High School senior Claire Young has made her second consecutive appearance at the IHSA Girls’ Bowling State Finals, which took place at The Cherry Bowl in Rockford on February 21-22. Young secured a spot among the top competitors by advancing to the second day of the tournament.
Young finished 49th overall with a total pinfall of 2,225 across 12 games, averaging 185.4 per game. Her performance included a standout series of 590 on the first day and a high game score of 244 during her afternoon series of 561. After finishing the first day in 42nd place, she was one of only 30 bowlers from non-advancing teams to qualify for the second day's competition. On that final day, she bowled series scores of 575 and 499.
Throughout her participation in the state finals, Young managed to score over 190 in half of her games and surpassed the 200-mark four times.
In comparison to last year’s state finals where she tied for 67th with a pinfall of 2,181 (181.8 average), this year's results show improvement.
Young's journey to the state finals began with her performance at the IHSA Plainfield North Sectional held at Echo Lanes in Morris on February 15. There, she achieved a six-game total pinfall of 1,203 (200.5 average), placing sixth individually and fourth among bowlers whose teams did not advance.
Prior to sectionals, Young competed at the IHSA Andrew Regional at Palos Lanes in Palos Hills on February 7, finishing eighth individually with a six-game pinfall of 1,176 (196.0 average).
At this year's South Suburban Conference-Blue Division meet, Young earned all-conference honors by securing third place individually and contributing to head coach Mark Hollatz’s team achieving third place overall.
Kyra Udziela remains Lemont's most successful bowler in state finals history as she won individual champion honors in the IHSA Girls’ Bowling State Finals in 2015 with an impressive total pinfall of 2,748 (229.0 average). Tammy Jordan is noted for making four appearances from1991-94 and earning two medals during that time.
Lemont High School has participated as a team in thirteen IHSA State Finals events and placed within the top ten teams five times; their best finish was third place in both team standings and sectional competitions over various years.
