The Byrnes Family: Remarkable Regionals

As I always must have all information available, I looked up all the schools participating in Regionals to see how we stacked up. The girls had 4 teams in front of them, the boys 5 teams in front of them. Shelby had the 10th best average of all the girls so I thought if she bowled her best, she might have a shot to go to State as an individual. I knew Katie would go and perhaps one of the boys. So much for information. Today at Mission Bowl in Olathe, the boys started out the day at 9:00 am. Our top 3 bowlers were not bowling their best, but our bottom 3 were bowling better than expected. Henry and Zach managed to turn their games up a notch, but NOTHING could top our No. 6 bowler, Brock Likens, who finished the day with a 300 (yes, I can now say I've witnessed a 300 game - the team has dubbed him "Mr. 300"). Oh yes, it was Brock's 18th birthday (bet he doesn't forget this one). We figured his 731 would guarantee him a trip to State, but had to wait out the result. Yes, Brock was the No.1 bowler and then they started announcing the teams from 10th place. When they got to the 4th place team (and it wasn't South) we knew the boys were going to State. 2nd Place with only Olathe North ahead of them. Of course we all went nuts screaming and cheering! Then it was the girl's turn. They were so keyed up about the boys that I thought either they would be too excited or majorly motivated. The warmup was a little rough as Shelby hadn't found her strike ball, but when the meet started, she marched up to the line and threw a strike. She actually fouled (hadn't done that all year), but never gave up. Her first game was a respectable 175. She then got into the zone and threw a 244 (fouled in that game too), and ended with a 169. Her friend, Kalie, who had be struggling at meets ended with a 523, and Katie was back in top form with a 670. I knew we had been in 2nd place after the first game and third place after the second game, but the big guns weren't on the board so we had to wait. They started with individuals and our beloved Shelby got 7th place. Katie got 1st place. Then the countdown from 10th place. Again, team after team was called and we were all shocked when our girls took 2nd place too (they were 5 pins out of first place). Both teams were heading to Wichita! I think Coach T was in shock (as were most of us). Shelby's coach, Aaron, made it in time to hear the results and give her some pointers about the lanes in Wichita. The boys bowl on Thursday and the girls bowl on Friday (Shelby is pretty excited about missing some school). Way to go, Raiders! We expect great things at State!