Fairfield’s girls bowling team concluded their season at the state qualifying meet on Monday, February 2nd, at Kingpins Bowling Center in West Burlington. While the Trojans fell short of advancing as a team, they showed significant improvement throughout the season in a competitive six-team field.
Team Qualifying Results
Louisa-Muscatine claimed the lone team qualifying spot with a dominant performance, posting a total of 2,707 pins to advance to the state tournament. West Burlington-Notre Dame finished second with 2,160, followed by Fairfield in third place with 1,916. Sigourney-Keota placed fourth with 1,872, Isaac Newton Christian Academy finished fifth with 1,763, and Central Lee rounded out the field with 1,631.
Fairfield’s 15-game series included several strong performances, led by a 163 in game 12 and matching 149s in games 5 and 15. The Trojans also posted scores of 151, 142, 139, 132, 124, 122, 120, 117, 114, 103, 100, and 91 throughout the qualifying event.
Individual Qualifying Results
In individual qualifying, the top four bowlers advanced to the state tournament. While no Fairfield bowlers qualified for state individually, several posted competitive series in the 34-bowler field.
Emma Cass led the Trojans with a ninth-place finish and a 465 series, posting games of 153, 134, and an impressive 178 in her final game. Emma Forrest finished 14th overall with a 427 series on games of 140, 162, and 125.
Autumn Rose McBride placed 18th with a 397 series, rolling games of 118, 151, and 128. Braezyn Stutzman finished 23rd with a 324 series on games of 117, 106, and 101. Brooklyn Gridley placed 28th with a 296 series, posting games of 65, 127, and 104. Savannah Garretson finished 29th with a 289 series on games of 105, 90, and 94.
Season Reflection
Despite falling short of the state tournament, Fairfield Bowling Head Coach Melinda Chatfield expressed satisfaction with her team’s progress throughout the season.
“I think the season overall went well. We had some brand new bowlers and some seasoned two- and three-year bowlers,” Chatfield said. “We always have room for improvement, and I have some ideas of things I can do to help that next year. I hope that everyone learned something and they had fun at the same time.”
Chatfield highlighted the significant growth her team demonstrated over the course of the season. “We had a lot of growth this year! Several of our bowlers’ practice averages increased by 10-plus pins throughout the season,” she noted.
Looking ahead to next season, Chatfield expressed optimism about building the program. “Ideally, I would love to see six to eight more girls join our team next year,” she said.
The Trojans will look to build on this season’s foundation and return stronger next year with an expanded roster and continued development of their returning bowlers.
Photography courtesy of Jeff Courtright.
