The Naperville Central Boys Bowling program says goodbye to eight senior bowlers after another memorable year on the lanes, presented by Edward Medical Group.
A Family On the Lanes
Coach Brian Dunn shares what this team means to him, “At the beginning of the season, my wife was in a bad car accident… one team, one family. We bowl for Dunn. And they showed me how much they care about me and my wife and my son, regardless of what we do here, we just want to show you we care.”
After Dunn fought for over ten years for this sport to come to district 203, it finally happened in October of 2017. Three years later, his team fought for him and now six of the inaugural members are putting away their bowling ball for the final time as Redhawk bowlers. Lake Ernst, Mitchell Johnson, Jake Kincaide, Joey Koscal, Matt McCormack, and Ayden Van Harlingen are all seniors who began this journey with Dunn 27 months ago and he couldn’t be more proud to have them be apart of this family.
“To know that they represent NC that way. To know that they got to this level, got to the champ in just 2 years, knowing that they just bowl 5, 6, 7 years. I couldn’t be more proud. It just blows me away,” says Dunn.
McCormack looks back on his time as a redhawk bowler and reflects on how much his attitude has changed over the years,
“We took it as a joke at first, it kind of turned it in to something special, it was just fun. You can kind of take something small like bowling and turn it in to something like family. Those are going to be brothers for life and nothing is going to change.”
After qualifying for sectionals for a second year in a row, the season came to an end sooner than they would have hoped, placing 9th as a team, missing out on qualifying for state. Now the 6 original members plus Colton Preston and Richie Holmberg leave the lanes for the underclassman… but Dunn won’t be forgetting about this group any time soon.
“I would like to say I’m speechless, but I will remember these 8 guys for the rest of my bowling career, and probably the rest of my life. They were a great group,” Dunn says with a smile on his face.
One team that became family. Even though these 8 bowlers are hanging up their jerseys, there is no doubt that Dunn will continue the legacy for the Naperville Central Bowling team for years to come.
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