The last game Jill Kurbyun bowled at the IHSA girls state tournament Saturday was her worst of the weekend.
But the last ball the Hoffman Estates senior rolled might have been the best of her career.
Kurbyun’s strike on the final ball of the final frame allowed Hoffman Estates to overtake Minooka for second place at Cherry Bowl Lanes in Rockford.
The Hawks finished with a total pinfall of 11,268, just four pins ahead of Minooka.
“I’m still shaking,” a jubilant Kurbyun said after the tournament ended. “That’s probably the best 146 game I’ve thrown in my life.”
Machesney Park Harlem dominated the team standings, winning its fourth title in six years with a total of 11,789.
Winnebago’s Ellen Morrison overtook Harlem’s Adrien Hall to win the individual title with a 12-game pinfall of 2,506.
Minooka had a 216-pin lead over Hoffman Estates for second place entering the final three games.
But thanks to games of 248 by junior Candice Whitecotton and 244 by freshman Natalie Cortese, the Hawks opened the afternoon session with a 1,075 game and pulled within five pins of Minooka.
Hoffman Estates still trailed by nine pins entering the 10th frame of the final game. Hawks sophomore Amanda Bein struck out to help set up Kurbyun’s heroics.
Kurbyun left the 7 pin on her first ball but picked up the spare. Needing only seven pins to secure the second-place trophy, Kurbyun, the Hawks’ anchor bowler since her freshman year, got all 10.
“They deserve every part of this,” Hoffman Estates coach Dan Pfligler said. “We knew the last game was going to be a fight, and they fought all the way to the last ball.”
Lincoln-Way Central junior Jamie Kontos also made a strong charge. In 35th place after Friday, Kontos bowled a personal-best 690 series to vault to sixth, then crept up to third, just five pins ahead of DeKalb’s Sarah Floyel.
