Teams thinking young this season

Boys bowling in Lake County sports a youthful appearance this season.

All three teams -- Lake Zurich, Stevenson and Vernon Hills -- were hit with graduation losses and will need to rely on younger bowlers this campaign.

Lake Zurich, winner of the Northern Illinois Boys Bowling Conference the last two years, will have a tough time trying for a three-peat.

But the Bears have a shot in the five-team conference that also includes New Trier and Deerfield.

"It should be a competitive year," said Bears coach Peter Kupfer. "I expect it to be competitive."

The Bears have some experience back in seniors Josh Zange (210 average) and Ian Lincoln (205), and they have younger bowlers in the 180-200 range ready to roll.

"It depends on the young kids," Kupfer said. "It comes down on who will substitute at what times."

Vernon Hills has enjoyed the success of qualifying for the state meet the last few seasons -- including a third-place finish two years ago.

The Cougars return four-year starter Jason Major and his 215 average.

Their other bowlers have limited varsity experience, including juniors Brandon Knopoff and Aaron Rose, and sophomores Erik Hencier and Sean Hogan.

"We've got a lot of potential," said Vernon Hills coach Ron Long. "We'll need to fill in spots going into the season."

The Cougars saw 10 freshmen come out this year, which could bode well for the future of the program.

Stevenson has a couple of returning bowlers in senior Jacob Wulbert (206) and sophomore Daniel Dubin (185).

"We return with a young group," said Stevenson coach Barry Lappingd. "We've got an encouraging group of seven freshmen."

One thing Stevenson would like to accomplish is qualifying as a team to the state meet, something the Patriots have nearly done the last couple of years.

Libertyville has a team participating in the NIBBC, this season but the Wildvats will not be bowling in the IHSA postseason tournament.

Top returning bowlers: Daniel Dubin (Stev) soph.; Ian Lincoln (LZ) sr.; Jason Major (VH) sr.; Jacob Wulbert (Stev) sr.; Josh Zange (LZ) sr.