Pins stacked up, he takes his aim. With a steady movement of the hand, he releases the ball. The ball travels in a perfect line down the alley and all 10 pins go tumbling over. Strike.

This past weekend, junior Quin Brungardt and sophomore Nathan Rohr each took third place in his division at a bowling tournament in Derby, Kans.

“There were 41 people in my division,” Brungardt said. “There were 149 people all together and it lasted two days.”

Brungardt started bowling when he was four years old.

“My grandma put me in a league,” Brungardt said. “I loved it and just kept going from there.”

The sport has many different ways for practice.

“You can just shoot at spares only or throw different lines and marks,” Brungardt said. “They are basically spots on the lane that you throw your ball at. Or you just go for repetition and focus on getting a good score.

“I don’t go as often as I should. With music and everything it is hard to manage bowling during certain times of the year. When I am out of school I will go three or four times a week. In school I am lucky to get to the lanes once a week.”

Unlike many sports, bowling has no season and is a year-round sport.

“There is always a league or tournament going on at some point, somewhere,” Brungardt said.

When it comes to technique, there are many.

“It just is what works best for you,” Brungardt said. “For me, the hardest part is it is a lot of focus. I struggle on focusing in when I need to the most.”

Rohr said he enjoys bowling with his friends as well as bowling games over 200.

“Bowling is difficult when I am not striking as much as I normally do,” Rohr said. “It is also difficult when I bowl a game under 150.”

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