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Chippewa Valley senior team captain Owen DiBucci takes a moment before his roll at the Macomb County Bowling Championships on Jan. 13 at 5 Star Lanes.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Being a senior captain on a varsity squad can put pressure on a young athlete, especially when your team currently holds first in Macomb County’s toughest high school bowling league. But hitting a career milestone can certainly put some of the nerves on ice.
During a MAC Red matchup between first-place Clinton Township Chippewa Valley and Macomb Dakota on Jan. 31 at Imperial Lanes, Chippewa Valley senior Owen DiBucci did what every competitive bowler dreams of — and sometimes waits a lifetime to achieve.
Following a 222 in his first series, DiBucci, who’s been as reliable as they come for the Big Reds, rolled a 300 game in his final series, adding onto his already impressive high school resume.
“It was electric,” DiBucci said. “I took a couple lanes to walk off because I was feeling myself, and once it struck everyone went wild.”
DiBucci said he had the look he wanted in the first series, which led to his team-high 222 score early on.
Once he carried the momentum into the second series, DiBucci said he started to feel the adrenaline.
“It wasn’t really until the seventh or eighth frame where my adrenaline was kicking and I was getting nervous,” DiBucci said. “It wasn’t until then that I was realizing, ‘Hey, I may have something good going here.’”
DiBucci would handle the seventh, eighth, and ninth frame with ease, but once the tenth frame came up, all eyes were locked in on the Big Reds team captain.
“I got to say, it was really quiet in there,” DiBucci said. “You could probably hear a pin drop. I went up in the tenth frame, and I came a little high on the first shot. I knew I had to make an adjustment off that, and I did just that. The second one came in nice. I was one shot away, so I just took a deep breath, took another sip of my water, and I pulled it a little in, but the ball held, and I struck.”
Despite his masterful performance, Dakota would edge Chippewa Valley 16-14 on the night. Chippewa Valley currently holds a one game lead over Dakota and Utica Eisenhower in the MAC Red.
