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Tony Lundy headed into his sixth game at the Oak Lawn bowling regional well within striking distance of the top spot.
The Br. Rice sophomore was just 41 pins behind Richards sophomore Blake Attig, but Lundy wasn’t exactly bowling well at that moment.
After rolling a series-low 193 in the fifth game, Lundy regrouped with a 254 in the sixth to clinch the comeback for top individual honors on Jan. 12 at Palos Lanes.
Br. Rice (6,322) finished second to Richards (6,661) in the team standings and advanced to the Andrew sectional.
“Going into the last game, I knew what I had to do,” Lundy said. “I was a little frustrated with how my last few games had turned out. I knew going into the sixth that I needed to put up a big number.”
The top four teams and the top 10 individuals from non-qualifying teams advanced to the Andrew sectional meet on Jan. 19 at Orland Bowl.
With a 239 average and a 257 high game in the regional, Lundy (Mt. Greenwood) finished with a 1,434 series.
However, Lundy was more focused on his team’s success and getting the Crusaders to the sectional for a second straight year.
“My goal was top three. I didn’t want to think too high,” Lundy said. “The team was the biggest thing. I wanted the team to win more than me personally. Seeing the team do as well as we did, I’m really proud.”
Not far behind Lundy in the standings was teammate Eric Martinkus (1,363 series, 255 high game) in fourth place.
“Today was pretty great from the start. I bowled my high series and had a 227 average,” Martinkus said. “That’s pretty perfect.”
Along with Lundy and Martinkus (Mt. Greenwood, St. Christina), senior Cade Ruggiero (1,256 series, 230 high game), sophomore Josh Bell (899 series), junior Eddie McGunn (245 high game) and senior Colin Teresi (214 high game) led the Crusaders.
Martinkus has seen last year’s success roll over into this season as a majority of the team’s lineup returned.
“We only lost one senior from last year. We went to sectionals, and we’ve got that team chemistry,” Martinkus said. “It helps our confidence even more, so, hopefully, we go into next week with a big positive attitude.”
