By Jeremy Gasca ‘25
Wednesday night, the night before I left for state, I was unable to sleep. I was nervous about this weekend being the last time in my Brother Rice bowling jersey. That jersey has been through a roller coaster of emotions over the last four years, and the fact that it was eventually coming to an end made the nerves come back even stronger.
Thursday morning came, and I felt more ready than I ever had. In a valiant attempt to shake off the nerves, I thought about where the last four years had brought me—from numerous tournament wins to being a two-time individual Catholic League Champion, Catholic League Team Champion, and varsity captain of all four teams in my high school career.
The four-hour drive down to Fairview Heights, Illinois, was long and dreaded, although it was a drive I had taken on my own a couple of times before. However, none of those drives compared to this. The drive felt much longer than four hours as I looked forward to being on the biggest stage a high school athlete can hope for—the state finals.
On Thursday night, every athlete was invited to a practice day, where we could bowl in the same place we would be competing that weekend: St. Clair Bowl. The night felt great. My confidence grew, and I felt like I could actually make a run at the title. The part that helped me the most was knowing I was not there for anyone else, just myself, and that was all I needed to worry about that weekend.
Come Friday morning, all those nerves I had once shaken off came back tenfold. I had been in pressured situations before, but nothing compared to this. The way the state finals worked, if you did not place high enough on Friday, you were eliminated, which I had been told was the worst feeling you could ever experience in high school bowling. Those thoughts came, and they rattled me, if I am being honest. At 7:30 a.m., Coach Dwyer and I showed up to St. Clair, and I got myself ready for the ultimate test.
To say I was disappointed with the first day of state would be an understatement. I struggled, I fought, and I attempted to bounce back. On the bright side, it was just enough to qualify for the next round, as the top 30 individuals advanced, and I qualified at 20th in the field. Going back to the hotel, I felt great knowing that my goal of making it to Day 2 was accomplished. Now that this goal was met, there was only one thing left to do: make a run for a medal.
Day 2 was just the same as Day 1—a massive struggle. I did not do as well as I had intended, but I still finished 18th individually and 40th overall in the state. I could not have wished for a better year, considering I had made it downstate in my senior year.
This has been an amazing ending to my final dance.
