John Henson was surprised when officials called his name as one of the top 10 at-large sectional qualifiers after the IHSA Oregon Regional at Plum Hollow Lanes on Saturday.
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DIXON — John Henson was surprised when officials called his name as one of the top 10 at-large sectional qualifiers after the IHSA Oregon Regional at Plum Hollow Lanes on Saturday.
Henson fell behind his competitors after rolling 127 in his fifth game of the regional tournament. The Rochelle junior knew he needed a big finale to keep his chances alive, and he delivered with 202 in the last game to roll a 1,097 series and claim the 10th at-large berth. Henson led the Hubs to sixth place in the tournament with 5,122 total pins.
“It was definitely a surprise to me,” Henson said. “I knew it was really close… I thought I bowled pretty well. I didn’t bowl very well coming out of the first series, and I started struggling in the fifth game, but I knew I had to fight through it.”
Henson will represent Rochelle in the IHSA Sycamore Sectional at Mardi Gras Lanes this weekend. He’s the second bowler in the last two years from RTHS to reach the sectional series after Brady Shank qualified for the sectional tournament in Rockford last season. Henson will be looking to become Rochelle’s first state qualifier since Steven Demoff advanced in 2015.
“I feel pretty comfortable going over to Mardi Gras so I don’t feel I’ll struggle too much,” Henson said. “I won’t have my team behind me so it’s going to be weird bowling by myself… The key for me will be staying with my form and not falling off on my shots.”
Senior Logan Ortega rolled a 1,064 series with a high game of 211, while sophomores Sergio Guevara and Devansh Patel each topped the 1,000-pin mark with 1,008 and 1,006, respectively. Henson shot 206 and 246 during his second and third games to open the regional tournament with a 613 series. Sophomore Dylan Milton rounded the Hubs out with 947 over six games.
