It's Tournament Time in Lincoln!

It looks like we're going to get a beautiful weather weekend for the State High School Bowling Championship Tournament. That is such great news!
The opening ball will get rolled over at Sun Valley in a few minutes, at 7:30am.

I'll be at Sun Valley all weekend, reporting on the results as I get them from each Class of competition. I'll also post a quick recap of tomorrow's finals as each of them wraps up.

There are some pretty interesting story lines as we head into the first day of the tournament.

In Class D, the Alma Girls return to compete for their third consecutive championship. They wrestled the crown from five-time champs, McCool Junction, two years ago, and they haven't looked back. McCool Junction will be part of the Class D field this weekend, so will they get to reclaim their crown?
For the Class D Boys, Leigh are defending champions. The pressure is on for them to repeat.

In Class C, the Burwell Girls are coming back to compete for their fourth consecutive title. This is a lively group, and I believe they have a new coach at the helm. It will be fun to watch the girls go for number four.
Wayne is the Boys two-time champion in Class C. They will be looking for the three-peat at this year's tournament.
There will be a newcomer to the Class C Girls field this year. Doniphan-Trumbull makes their first State Championship appearance.

In Class B, we'll get a new Girls champion this year. Scottsbluff/Gering moved up to Class A this season.
For the Boys, Lincoln Pius X will be rolling for a third consecutive championship. If they make the finals, the golden voice of John Losito will join Steve Sempeck in the booth for the Class B broadcast, so play-by-play announcer Larry Punteney can join his charges for their finals match.
Some new faces appear in the Class B mix for this year's event. Waverly's Boys and Girls are making their first trip down the road to State Championship-ville.
Returning to Lincoln after being absent for a year are the Aurora Boys and the Boys and Girls teams from Lexington. The Minutemaids have two State titles to their credit, so this is their chance to reclaim some past glory for their school. The Minutemen have one title under their belt, so they are also looking to get back into the winner's circle.

And then there's Class A. The Boys defending champions, Elkhorn, are not part of the field this year, so a new champ will be crowned. Scottsbluff/Gering joins the Class A field for the first time, and they have an impressive resume. Undefeated during the past two regular seasons, two-time District champs, and yet the boys haven't been able to get to the winner's circle. Will this be the year?
For the Girls, Grand Island returns to defend their crown. The Scottsbluff/Gering Girls will be a formidable opponent, should they meet in the finals. Like the boys, the Lady CatDogs have been undefeated in regular season matches over the past two years. And, they were Class B champs last year. Their resume is pretty solid too.
Elkhorn's Boys made the adjustment to Class A pretty well last year, so the CatDog teams have that going for them too.

So, the table is set. Now, it's down to what happens on the lanes today. Who will make the Arena-style finals tomorrow?

Stay tuned.