The Austin High School bowling team finished its regular season on Saturday with somewhat mixed results. Competition took place at Byron Lanes, in Byron.

The varsity team split its matches, defeating Hayfield, then losing to a much-improved Stewartville team. The junior varsity was victorious in both of its matches against Rochester Mayo and Byron/Kasson-Mantorville. Both Austin teams finish the regular season with a claim to second place in their respective conference standings.

The Packer varsity team started the day tied for second place in the conference standings with Hayfield, which the Packers met in the first match. Bowling consistent games, Austin won the first three games, and the match. Using a number of substitutes in the last two games, Austin won the fourth game, while losing the fifth game.

The Packers were led by Gage Morgan, shooting eight-for-eight on fill opportunities. Following close behind was Matt Breitbarth, with a seven-for-eight performance. No Austin Bowler missed more than two fill opportunities in the five-game match.

Second match

Austin struggled greatly in the second match of the day, against a much-improved Stewartville team. A number of missed fill opportunities in all games cost the Packers the match. Stewartville won games one, two and four to claim the match, with Austin winning games three and five.

The Packers were led by Kody Phillips, shooting 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) in the match. Cole Kroneman was close behind with a 6-for-8 (75 percent) performance. Also making the most of fill opportunities were Lauren Schabert, shooting three-for-three (100 percent) and Jacob Conner, going two-for-two (100 percent).

JV action

The first junior varsity match of the day found Austin defeating Rochester Mayo four games to one. The Packers were very consistent throughout the match, with no Austin player shooting less than 70 percent on fill opportunities.

Austin was led by Cole Kroneman, going 13-for-14 (92.9 percent) in fill opportunities. He was followed closely by Jacob Conner, shooting 9-for-10 (90 percent).

The Austin junior varsity continued its dominant play in the second match, defeating Byron/Kasson-Mantorville in all five games. Consistent bowling by the Packers, again, determined the outcome quickly.

Collin Bailey led the way for the Packers, completing eight of ten fill opportunities. Three other Austin bowlers contributed seven-for-10 performances in a very consistent team effort.

Both Austin teams will next compete in the Southeast Minnesota Conference Tournament. This tournament will determine who moves on to the Minnesota State High School Bowling Tournament in December. The Conference Tournament will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7, at Echo Lanes, in Austin.