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By Angelina Rico

In his beginning stance, junior Ethan Lancaster is up for his turn on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

The girls and boys bowling teams competed in their first meets of the season at Park Lanes on Tuesday, Jan. 9. The girls took first place in their tournament consisting of five teams after earning a score of 1917. The boys competed against St. James and ended up losing 2142-1980.

Senior Emily Jackson, who finished with a total score of 387, believed the team’s success resulted from the work put in at the only practice before the meet.

“We did a lot of drills in our first practice and I think that helped us a lot,” Jackson said.

According to junior Ethan Lancaster, who earned a score of 407, the team had to adjust to the unique lane conditions.

“I think we adapted very well to the bowling conditions,” Lancaster said. “It was very oily and there was extra grease on the lanes.”

Jackson felt the team stayed positive throughout the meet and looked to make themselves better.

“I think we did good on not getting down on ourselves when we [were] doing bad and trying to improve,” Jackson said.

One thing Lancaster thought the team could improve on was the team’s versatility and adaptability based on the lanes.

“I think we can get better at having multiple shots for different lane conditions and being able to change that on the spot,” Lancaster said.

In the future, Jackson said that communication is something that the team can use to their advantage.

“I think we can improve on picking up on spares and talking to each other because some people know how to pick them up and can help you, but they don’t always say something,” Jackson said.

Jackson said that some of her goals, as well as the team’s, include going to state and enjoying the season.

“The main goal is to make it to state, but if we can’t do that, we want to keep getting better and have as much fun as possible,” Jackson said.

The first meet showed Lancaster and the team what they can improve on and where they stand compared to other teams.

“We were able to realize how good we have to perform out front,” Lancaster said. “We also figured out some things that we need to work on at practice.”

The team will compete next on Thursday, Jan. 11 at Lawrence Free State.