MILL CREEK — The Jackson girls bowling team is starting to make a name for itself.
“On any given day, we have the best team out there,” Jackson girls bowling coach Brian Whetzel said.
The Timberwolves are one of the top teams in the Western Conference South Division. In its last two games, the Wolfpack has shown consistent improvement.
“Our first game we just got the jitters and the second one was good,” said senior co-captain Jennifer Whetzel, Brian’s sister. “Our third game we came out and did our best yet.”
Senior Rachel Koenig-Eng agrees that this team is very talented this year.
“We have a lot of girls that have improved this year and everyone is really consistent with their shots,” Koenig-Eng said.
Last season the team upset Cascade at districts but then ended season shortly after that. This year, the girls are expecting to go all the way to the state championships.
“We want to at least repeat what happened last year,” Brian Whetzel said. “We are very confident that we are going to state this year.”
The victory at districts resulted in Cascade losing their seed to state. As a result of that and other victories, Jackson is now targeted by other teams.
“We are the team to beat this year,” Brian Whetzel said. “We have the bullseye on our back this year.”
Right now, there is no pressure on the Wolfpack because every team in the league goes to districts and that is where the matches count.
“We don’t have to worry about anything until districts,” Brian Whetzel said.
Although the regular season record doesn’t affect Jackson’s playoff prospects, the Timberwolves are still working hard.
“We are playing really hard to prepare for districts,” Jennifer Whetzel said.
The mood of the players at the practices are different from last season.
“We don’t just come to talk,” Brian Whetzel said. “Everyone at practice takes it a lot more serious.”
Another reason for Jackson’s success so far has been the players’ ability to help each other out as a team.
“You can always rely on one another to pick the other one up when they are down,” Brian Whetzel said.
Even though the players are focused on being very competitive, they still have fun and help each other out.
“Everybody stays up all of the time,” Koenig-Eng said. “We always cheer for each other too.”
Due to their spirit, talent, and camaraderie, the team is ready to win more games and move on to state.
“We are doing awesome this year and I think we are going to do way better than last year,” Jennifer Whetzel said.
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