Camanche gets over the hump, earns third bowling championship in school history

Feb. 20—WATERLOO — After a few years of missing out on their state championship aspirations, the Camanche girls bowling team are once again champions after defeating Louisa-Muscatine in four games on Tuesday night.

"We did what we've been doing all year. We've shot 220s all year long," Camanche head coach Brad Weber said. "The girls were on fire. It was easy to watch but hard on the nerves."

Camanche started out their day with 15 baker games to decide what seed they would get. 1-4 were put in the championship bracket while the 5-8 were put in the consolation bracket. The Storm ended with the one seed after bowling a 3259 over their 15 game span.

In the first round of the state semifinals the Storm took on the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings. Both teams went back and forth with Camanche taking the first and third round games (181-159, 216-161) and Vinton-Shellsburg took the second and fourth round games (224-222, 235-228).

However, it was the Storm who had a dominant fifth match, winning 245-193 to earn a championship round birth.

In the championship the Storm started off strong, taking game one 200-173 over Louisa-Muscatine. The Falcons evened things up in round two, bowling a 241 compared to Camanche's 227.

"I was nervous as nervous can be because I put one of my seniors [Kaelan Kelly] in that hadn't bowled any of the late games on that last match. She had thrown good shadow balls so I said 'Get in there, you're a senior. Finish it for us' and she got a strike both times," Weber said.

Camanche then caught fire once again, winning the next two rounds (229-194, 235-223) to earn themselves their third state championship in school history.

"The girls team has been awesome all year. They've been the team to watch in the state in terms of average and scores," Weber said. "These girls deserved it. They've been here three years and have suffered but we finally beat this new format. It's great for the girls and great for the seniors that I've been with for all four years."

Storm boys take fourth place at IHSAA Class 1A Tournament

The Camanche Storm boys earned themselves a fourth place finish at the IHSAA Class 1A state bowling tournament.

Camanche was able to sneak into the championship bracket, scoring a 3077 for the fourth seed and a semifinal matchup with the Maquoketa Cardinals.

After dropping the first two games to Maquoketa (185-165, 234-223), the Storm were able to come back with a 224-214 win in the third game. Camanche then bowled the best score of the day with a 278, including nine strikes in a row to tie the games at two a piece.

In the fifth and final game it was the eventual back to back state champions, Maquoketa, who showed up, winning the finale 265-199.

"The boys started off against the defending champions in Maquoketa. They battled back with two big games but Maquoketa was hot and there was nothing we could do," Weber said.

Camanche then dropped the third place match, winning the first two games but losing the next three for a fourth place finish.