Sometimes it’s just better to not be the favorite, to be able to sneak up on the field and feel like you got away with something.
Just ask the Chesterton boys and Portage girls bowling teams.
Three boys and three girls teams advanced to the regional from Saturday’s Lakeshore Sectional at Thunderbird Lanes in LaPorte, but those two teams were the ones hoisting the trophy and wearing the medals at the end.
Both were the No. 3 seed heading into the Baker (five bowlers rolling two frames each) stepladder finals — the last of three advancing spots — and both defeated Michigan City in their first match to reach the final.
And both defeated the other team’s counterparts. Chesterton boys came back to beat Portage, and the Portage girls pulled away to beat Chesterton, which finished the Lakeshore Conference regular season undefeated.
“It’s fun to be the underdog,” Chesterton’s Jimmy Hampton after the Trojans had seven consecutive strikes in a 259 Baker game to clinch the title.
“I agree totally,” Chesterton coach Larry Achten said of Hampton’s statement. “Over my years of bowling, you like to come in under the radar. Over the course of this year, the guys have learned to become a team.”
That teamwork came to fruition a month ago, when the Trojans won the Baker Tournament, and has grown from there.
The Portage boys were the top seed on the strength of an 1,198 second regular game, and had an eight-pin lead after the first game of the finals. But the Indians couldn’t match Chesterton’s strikes.
Lenny Smock, who has been Portage’s coach since before it won the state title in 2005, has a similar team-related outlook of this season.
“To have success, you have to act as a team, not individually. At the beginning of the season I had five good individual bowlers, but they’ve learned to work as a team,” Smock said. “Winning is obviously great, but advancing is the most important thing,”
The Portage girls were also the third seed and defeated top-seeded Chesterton 413-329 in final, with a 232 game to finish the deal.
The Indians had a tough start to the day with an 859 regular game, but rebounded with 1,045, which was high for the girls on the day. But she wasn’t comfortable heading into the finals.
“Going into match play, I was nervous I had been substituting and didn’t know if I was going to get the lineup right,” Gossett said. “After winning the first game (against Chesterton), I told myself, ‘I’m not subbing.'”
LaPorte and Hobart finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in both the girls and boys standings.
The Lakeshore Sectional singles event takes place on Sunday at Thunderbird, with all advancers competing in next Saturday’s Michigan City Regional at City Lanes.
Johnny Gorches is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
