Vernon Hills narrowly takes invite

Morgan Park's boys bowling team was looking for a chance to test itself again some top-notch competition as it hosted the Morgan Park Invitational on Thursday.

The hosts put together a good showing, taking fifth place in the strong 24-team field at Castaways Bowl in Calumet City.

"The whole idea of this event is to get better," Morgan Park coach Norman Whitenhill said. "We had former state champions here and second-place finishers and this gets us ready for sectionals and hopefully state. I'm happy with fifth place against this competition."

Vernon Hills captured the team title by one pin, topping Lake Park 305-304 in the championship match.

The unique three-phase format was a grueling test for all involved as the teams bowled for nearly nine hours.

Morgan Park sat in fifth place after the morning session, which featured three standard scratch games, totaling 3,055 pins.

In the afternoon, the format switched to Baker games, where players alternate, bowling one frame at a time to compile a single team score.

The Mustangs moved up to fourth after the second phase of seven Baker games and earned a bye into the quarterfinals of the knockout phase.

Only one advancing spot was available for the six teams in the quarterfinals, however, and Oregon claimed that, posting a two-game Baker series total of 426 to move into the semifinals and eventually finish third.

Morgan Park was eliminated with a total of 355.

"We got beat by some great competition and it will make us better," Morgan Park's Jaccari Brown said. "The more times you lose, it makes you stronger. The team had a great tournament."

Other Southland squads to finish in the top 15 were Brother Rice (6th), Mount Carmel (8th), Marist (10th) and Lemont (12th).

In the individual standings, where only the three-game morning session was counted, Ag Science's DeJuan Garnett was the top local finisher, taking fifth with a 701 series.

Brown was sixth with a 687.

"I just made sure I stayed focused," Brown said. "I loved this format. I could bowl for a few more hours if I had to."

Brother Rice's Chris Roti took 12th with a 660. The individual champion was Aaron Adams, of Lake Park, with a 790.

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