The Sycamore girls bowling team cruised to a first-place finish for the third year in a row Thursday at the Northern Illinois Big 12 tournament in Morris, with Megan Kolberg posting a tournament-record 1,534 in the six games.
Kolberg had a career-best 290 in the fourth game and did not have an open frame all day.
“What do you say?” Sycamore coach Andy Hampton said. “Not sure Brian (Kolberg, assistant coach) had to say too much to her today. She was completely focused and had a plan and executed it all day long. She put on a clinic.”
The Spartans finished with a 7,150, well ahead of runner-up Yorkville’s 6,361. DeKalb was seventh with a 5,613 as a team, and Barbs junior Reagan Harold finished sixth with a 1,236.
Sycamore’s Maddie Lathrop rolled a 1,239 on the day to earn an all-conference spot along with Kolberg, Harold and Sycamore’s Heather Carlson.
“When we all sit down at the beginning of the season, this is the first goal we set for ourselves.” Hampton said. “Coach Kolberg tries to convey that there is a place for tournaments in November and December, but the focus, what we are building for, is this. Winning the conference and the tournament certainly makes us feel pretty good heading into this weekend’s regionals.”
The Spartans finished with 113 out of 114 points for the conference season, the only blemish a tied game against LaSalle-Peru.
Both the Spartans and Barbs will be at Mardi Gras Lanes in DeKalb on Saturday for an IHSA Regional.