Bremen Bowler Rolls Into Second in State
By Ron Haramia
Pilot Sports
BREMEN � The start of Cari Deacon�s Spring Break was a little out of the ordinary. Instead of heading off to a place with a warm climate, the Bremen High School sophomore set off to Indianapolis last Saturday and stayed indoors.
�It was great. I am happy,� she said.
The reason for Deacon�s happiness was her second place finish in the individual portion of the 2003 High School Bowling State Finals held at Woodland Bowl.
�It was nerve wracking,� she admitted. �I was really nervous.�
That is not surprising, with a large crowd on hand and only eight lanes being used.
But her participation was.
Playing as one of the top four in the state was not something she nor her coaches envisioned when the club sport began its season back in December.
�No, I wouldn�t have guessed that (she would be in the state finals),� said Bremen girls coach Chris Schutz. �And she didn�t either. But she had a good attitude and improved as the season went along.�
With a 162 average, Deacon was not even the top scorer on her team. That honor went to Lacey Elston, who �averaged a pin or two higher� according to Schutz.
�Cari struggled early in the year, but she kept getting better,� said her mom, Kay.
Craig Cassel, who is the boys coach and accompanied Cari to the semistate and state tournaments, concurred.
�She really stuck with it. She just kept on practicing. She was pretty nervous (at the final), but after the first game she decided not to think about it.�
The state competition was set up as a round-robin with each of the four finalists playing the other three. If you won the head-to-head match, you were awarded 30 bonus points. After the round-robin was complete, the two players with the most points would face each other in a one-game playoff for the state title.
Maybe it was nerves, maybe the oily lane conditions, maybe the competition, maybe all of the above, but Deacon�s first game was her lowest, as Huntington North�s Lindsey Bruemleve won 203-136.
Bruemleve is the best bowler on the best team. Huntington North has won the state championship three years in a row.
The second match Deacon rebounded and beat Center Grove�s Danielle Didion 165-147 and received 30 bonus points. The third match she rolled a 235 to beat Taryn Fields of Castle High School, who shot a 157.
With the victory and the 30 bonus points, Deacon outscored Fields by 32 to reach the finals, where she would get a rematch with Bruemleve.
Though Deacon shot above her average (172), Bruemleve continued her strong play and took first place with a 195. Bruemleve averaged 204 on the day. For her four game series, Deacon averaged 177.
�It was pretty close for a while,� Deacon said of the final match. �She marked and pulled away during my open frames.�
The loss ended a great run for Deacon. After the competition, she had a new problem now - instead of trying to find a place to tan over the break, she had to find a place to keep her new trophies.
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