By Randy Whalen
Garrett Johnson broke through. Now the the Joliet Central junior continues to reach new heights.
Johnson vaulted to the top of the standings last week as he captured the individual title at the Southwest Prairie Conference Tournament.
He is the first Joliet Central boys bowler to ever win a conference championship.
"It feels great," Johnson said. "My goal was to place as high as I could in as many tournaments as I could."
The SPC Tournament was hosted by Romeoville and held on Saturday, January at Echo Lanes in Morris. There, Johnson finished with a pinfall of 1430. That was 101 ahead of the second-place finisher, freshman Grant Seppelfrick from Oswego East.
The SPC standings are a combo of the regular season and the one-day tournament. Johnson was 8.5 points out of first coming in. He more than made up for that with his outstanding performance.
"He was so solid in that he was in the pocket all day long," Joliet Central coach Justin McNally said. "He had a couple of gut checks, but you're going to have those in a tournament. He's had times in the past he would have crumbled under the pressure. But now he's overcome adversity and he's there.
"He had ball change recognition and he got the job done. He knows the game, he knows his equipment. He makes me look smart. He was great all year and he deserves it."
Johnson's huge boost came at the Junior Gold Sport Pattern Tournament, which was hosted by Hononegah High School on Saturday, December 28, at Don Carter Lanes in Rockford. There, he finished first with a total of 1148, including a high of 222 in the fifth game, to win by 10 pins over sophomore Braedyn Sisson from Rockford East. That was his first tournament victory.
"Yes, I came in very relaxed and not too stressed," Johnson said of how he felt coming into the SPC tourney with a win under his belt. "I was confident about it. I came in 17th as a freshman and 13th as a sophomore so I wanted to do it."
At the conference tournament, Johnson started with a 245, followed by a 256 and 257 for a great 758 morning session. His fourth game was the only letdown, with a 172. But what a rebound in the fifth game, as Johnson had one open frame, leaving a 10-pin, but otherwise fired 11 stikes for a 267. He capped off his great day with a 233 for a 672 afternoon session and the 1430 total.
"After lunch, I had to figure it out," Johnson said. "But Echo Lanes has a ton of carry. I wasn't thinking about the lead, I just bowled."
Seniors Ethen Vanness (1157), Santiago Martinez (1129), David Reyes (1110), and freshman Anthony Kantor (1021) had the rest of the scores for the Steelmen at the SPC Tourney. Overall, Joliet Central finished fourth in the tournament, but fifth overall in the conference standings with 150 points. That was 37 points ahead of sixth place Oswego.
"I struggle with verbalizing how the team did at conference," McNally said. "The performance of the team makes me proud and disappointed at the same time. These guys have put in a lot of work this season. They work together to help keep everyone lined up. Share information and are a true team. At one point, we were in third place and six points out of second.
"I’m disappointed because I want them to get the recognition that they deserve. I’m afraid that people will look at the results and think that we are the same old team. Yes, we finished in fifth. But we were closer to first place (24 points) than dropping down to sixth place (37 points). Everyone knows our area and conference is tough! There is a chance that five teams in our conference could be bowling on Day 2 of the state finals."
The Steelmen hope to be one of them. So does Joliet West, which was the defending conference champion. The Tigers, who also won the SPC in 2022, placed third in the tournament and fourth overall this season.
The Tigers were led by junior Tyler Bishop, who placed third with a 1313 total. Senior Mark Brody Johnson (1237), freshman David Brunner (1216), sophomore Michael Schlottman (1204), and senior Tyler MacDonald (1134) rounded out the Joliet West lineup.
Factoring in everything, including the regular season, Bishop placed second in the conference, while MacDonald was sixth.
In the overall team standings, Minooka won its 10th conference championship in the past 13 years with 174 points. Oswego East (159), Yorkville (157), Joliet West (155), and Joliet Central (150) rounded out the Top 5 teams.
Joliet West, which has qualified for state the past six completed tournaments, placed third in 2019 and 2022, and was fifth in the state last season, plans to be back there in a couple of weeks.
"We've had Michael Schlottman step up as a sophomore," Joliet West coach Reggie Lee said. "I love the competition and bowling against good teams."
MacDonald was third in the state as an individual in the past two seasons, both times with a 2659 score, He believes a recent dual meet, on Monday, January 6 at Lockport at Strike N Spare ll will help the Tigers prepare for another run to state.
At the dual meet, MacDonald led Joliet West with a 695 (208, 259, 228) series. Johnson 664 (190, 254, 220) also did well for the Tigers against the Porters.
"Lockport is a tough team and pushed us," MacDonald said of the 3343-3123 loss. "We know we can beat them. We just have to prepare for the postseason."
Joliet Central will host an Illinois High School Association Boys Bowling Regional on Saturday, January 18 at Strike N Spare II in Lockport. The Top 4 teams advance to the Naperville Central Sectional, which will be held on Saturday, January 25 at Lisle Lanes.
The State Finals are on Friday and Saturday, January 31 and February 1 at St. Clair Bowl in O'Fallon.
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