After making City High history by qualifying for state for the first time, the girls bowling team proceeded to place sixth at the state tournament.

“It was a different feeling than any other meet we had been in,” Elyse Rios ‘22 said. “It was just a lot more intense.”

The state tournament took place on February 23rd in Des Moines. City scored a total of 2,639 points, beating Waukee and Waterloo West.

“I think we knew we had potential at the beginning of the year. We knew we had a talented group, and it was our goal all year long to at least qualify [for state]. The fact that we got six just made it even better,” Rios said. 

Top individual scorers from City High include a 22nd place finish for Britney Russell ‘22 with a score of 374, a 27th place finish for Kendra Schwarting ‘24 with a score of 362, and a 28th place finish for Rios with a score of 358.

“I think it gave us something to look forward to [throughout the season],” Rios said “When we did it, we knew that we made all of our coaches proud.”

While she is sad to see the seniors leave the team, Rios is excited about the team’s potential for next year. She is particularly happy with this year’s freshmen class.

“A good job to our two freshmen, who really stepped up for us,” Rios said. “It can be nerve-racking your first couple of meets, but they never let that get to them.”