Walsh helps Prospect to second at Palatine

Could participating in a state tournament final in one sport lead to the same type of success in another?

Prospect junior bowler Allison Walsh thinks so.

Walsh, who made a splash at Saturday's prestigious Palatine Invitational with a third-place individual finish, was a key part of the Knights golf team this fall that took fourth in state.

Now Walsh feels that gives her Prospect teammates and her an inkling as to what it takes to get to Rockford for the state bowling tourney in February.

“I think it definitely gives us an advantage,” said Walsh, whose 1,241 total series including a 246 high game led the Knights to a runner-up finish in the 26th annual invite.

Plainfield Central took team honors at AMF Lanes in Rolling Meadows.

“It was a great experience,” said Walsh about competing at the state golf tournament in October at Hickory Point Golf Course in Forsythe. “It was unbelievable, because we (Prospect) had come so close to advancing before but always seemed to miss by a couple of strokes.”

Now Walsh wants to take that level of acheivement to the lanes.

Teammates Kelly Lawless (golf) and Mary Styzek (cross country) have also competed in state final events.

“We know what it takes to get downstate,” said Walsh. “We just have to keep going and keep improving. This second-place finish was a step in the right direction.”

Schaumburg senior Jodi Gawlik, who was the state runner-up last year at Cherry Bowl Lanes in Rockford, excelled with a 256 game en route to a 1,207 series. Gawlik captured the sixth-place individual medal, while another MSL senior, Conant's Kristin Burge, was eighth with an 1,157 series.

“This was intense competition,” said Burge, “but it was also a lot of fun. There were a lot of good teams here.”

“This was a strong field,” said host Palatine coach John Burke of the 18-squad tourney. “You can get a good read here on the strength of local teams, and it's one of the three big tournaments this fall along with next week's Plainfield North tourney (a 40-team varsity field) and the upcoming Prospect Invite (where 36 teams compete.)”

Prospect's Styzek, who also claimed a medal with a 13th-place finish, is one of a quartet of Knights seniors on the starting roster. Walsh is the only underclassman but that doesn't faze her in the least.

“They don't treat me any differently, although it's kind of cute that sometimes they call me ‘the baby,'” Walsh said.