Mason Boys Bowling strikes a win against The Princeton Vikings

Divyana Bose | Sports Writer

Sophomore Caden Graham prepares to bowl against Princeton on Friday, January 22

The Mason Boys Bowling team continues to roll on. 

Friday, January 22, the Mason Comets Boys Bowling team took on the Princeton Vikings at Mason Bowl. The Comets won with a combined score of 2,693 pins, over the Vikings who finished over 600 behind with 2,003 pins. Mason improved to 5-1 in Greater Miami Conference (GMC) play and further solidified their spot as second in the GMC.

This season the Comets have been led by sophomores Ogden Nijikowski and Kyle Brackenridge who are both near the top bowlers in the GMC. Yet, it was sophomore Caden Graham who led the team with a round of 234 pins down and helped bring the Comets victory over the Vikings.

As the Comets took a win against the Vikings, Brakenridge looks to what needs to be improved upon first before celebrating. He said that the team needs to grow from their mistakes that were made, even in a win. 

“We had a great game and the team effort was solid,” Brakenridge said. “There was room for improvements such as taking better shots or decisions, but it was still a win.”

Graham has not been a key point for the Comets so far in the year, but Head Coach Joe Riestenberg said he stepped up his game versus the Vikings.

“Graham has been struggling in past games this season, but he ended up stepping it up and moved really well,” Riestenberg said. “He had two games that were each over 201 points, which was one of the greatest moments of today.”

In bowling, consistently getting strikes is the best path to victory. Riestenberg said he pushes the idea of consistency to his bowlers.

“The best thing for the boys is that we are shooting for consistency,” Riestenberg said. “Bowlers always struggle with this concept because you can easily bowl 20 or 30 points over your average.”

The Comets still have a couple weeks of regular season left and have work to do to capture their third straight GMC title. But, Riestenberg said that they are already looking ahead to the future. 

“We’re always focused on the end game,” Riestenberg said. “Everything is practice until we get to sectionals and districts. We’ve had some phenomenal teams in the past that haven’t been able to make it to state. This team has that ability but they have to be consistent enough to do that.”