The lane pattern was quite tough. But once the Lincoln Pius X boys bowling team made some adjustments, the Thunderbolts rose to the challenge.
Boosted by three top-10 finishers and a quick adjustment, Pius X won the A-3 district title Monday at Sun Valley Lanes. The Thunderbolts knocked down 3,087 pins over five games, 50 more than runner-up Seward.
Pius X coach Larry Punteney said the pattern was maybe the toughest his team had seen this season.
"It took us a bit to figure out where to plant a lane," he said. "We had kids throwing six different balls, had different parts of the lane ... Finally found a good place to play and I think it helped us late."
It was the first district title for Pius X bowling and it came with a completely new team. Last year's squad was made of all seniors.
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Adrian Mendez, who placed seventh Monday, Cooper Nichols (eighth) and Kyle Dodd (ninth) are helping lead the way this season.
"These are kids who played all JV last year," Punteney said. "Even though they're experienced, they're not experienced at this level, and so I think playing different patterns and seeing this level of competition, it has kind of taken a while to adjust.
"It's a really, really good group of kids. These are kids that have been in the program for four years."
The six district champions automatically qualify for the state tournament, which is next week at Sun Valley Lanes.
Fremont won the girls team title with a 2,901. Pius X (2,645) was second and Millard West (2,604) was third.
Fremont sophomore Karina Capron bowled a three-game total 510 to win the girls team title.
"I was struggling all day today, but I kept my head in it and got through the day," said Capron, who said she was trying to find a line that was consistent. "I just took a deep breath and then I asked my coaches what the best thing would for me right now. I just worked through it."
Pius X's Cecilia Jaros was second in the girls individual standings.
Seward senior Dane Conner repeated as the boys district champion after rolling a 631.
"The lanes were kind of tough today, a lot harder than last year," said Conner, who made a ball switch after the first game (197) and followed with 207 and 227. "I've do a lot of tournaments outside of high school, so I've gotten really comfortable."
Conner is looking to best his third-place finish at last year's state tournament.
"I'm trying to get at least a championship this year," Conner said.
BOYS TEAM SCORES: Lincoln Pius X 3,087, Seward 3,037, Millard West 3,015, Waverly 2,944, Fremont 2,836, Gretna 2,402.
BOYS STATE QUALIFIERS: Conner, Seward, 631; Riessen, Fremont, 601; Thraen, Waverly, 547; Waller, Waverly, 513; Lehman, Millard West, 497; Smith, Millard West, 490; Mendez, Pius X, 486; Nichols, Pius X, 480.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Fremont 2,901, Lincoln Pius X 2,645, Millard West 2,604, Gretna 2,501, Millard South 2,500, Waverly 2,470.
GIRLS STATE QUALIFIERS: Capron, Fremont, 510; Jaros, Pius X, 492, McKenzie, Fremont, 484; Montoya, Fremont, 454; Hutchinson, Millard South, 444; Naumann, Millard West, 444; Riha, Gretna, 435; Bates, Fremont, 425.