Freeport boys, girls bowling teams constantly working toward bigger goals

By: Antonio Rossetti
Monday, January 13, 2025 | 12:15 PM

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The Freeport bowlers walk into Wildlife Lanes with confidence that they will better their craft and prepare for the big-time moments.

Every pin is crucial, with games coming down to the wire. Bowlers are surrounded by teammates, coaches and family members with the game on the line. The pressure is on.

“You have all these kids that are screaming as a team, and then you have moments where you attack frames and have so much pressure on you where you know your total pin count really determines the entire tournament,” junior Hannah Windows said. “It’s crazy, the stress that we can be put under sometimes, but just being able to still function as a team is just amazing.”

The girls team won their first four matches, and the boys won three of their first four.

The girls are spearheaded by Windows and fellow junior Kylie McConahy. Windows is averaging 210.5, and McConahy is averaging 206.92.

“They’re both good kids, and they’re good students also,” coach Shawn Cummings said. “They’re both very good leaders for the other girls. … You lose a couple girls, and it’s very hard to replace, but both of them, both of those two, have stepped up last year and into this year. They’re both doing very well.”

Cummings took over the head coaching reins this season after seven seasons as an assistant.

His daughter, Julia Cummings, won the WPIBL girls singles title in 2023. His son, senior Colin Cummings, is leading the boys with a 225 average. Cummings has rolled three 300 games outside of high school competition and has a 299 this high school season.

“I’m pretty proud of both teams,” Colin Cummings said. “I’m very proud, especially with the girls, having lost a couple girls from last year, still doing pretty well in the section this year.”

One of the bowlers who graduated was team leader Mackensie Livingston. The year before, Julia Cummings graduated. Despite this, the girls are pushing forward, knocking down a section-leading 9,191 pins, which is fourth for any team in WPIBL.

“It was tough, but we have a lot of girls that came in, a lot of new girls that are showing a lot of promise,” Windows said. “Myself and the returning bowlers, we’re proving a lot. Our averages are up there, so we’re competing pretty well even though we lost a few good people.”

As of now, Freeport has three girls who would qualify for singles championships: Windows, McConahy and Morgan Montgomery with a 139.17 average.

“Our girls, we have a very good girls group this year.” Cummings said. “They’re great. They’re all good students. It’s been a great start. It’s only four weeks in, but they’re doing very well.”

Marlee Shimpeno and Tiaca Sub round out the girls starters. Shimpeno and Sub average around 120 each.

As for the boys, the Yellowjackets are second in the section. Colin Cummings captains the boys.

“It’s been pretty good so far as him leading the team,” coach Cummings said. “He’s done a pretty good job so far. We’re already through four weeks so he’s doing pretty well.

Cummings leads the section with 2,700 total pins.

“He works his butt off,” Windows said. “He deserves all of the accolades he gets. He’s a wonderful bowler. He practices almost every day out of every week. We’re always bowling together, always practicing, going to different tournaments every week, and it’s a lot, but it really pays off for the both of us.”

She added that she enjoys leading and helping the team with him.

Nirvan Harrell is averaging 187.5, and Christian Como is averaging 186.33 for the boys. Nick Mainhart and John Fischer round out the starters. Seth Nicholls started against Armstrong in their last matchup.

“It’s pretty fun now just to have Christian Como and seeing him grow as a bowler, too,” Cummings said. “Nirvan and all of them, it’s pretty fun to watch them grow and bowl.”

Added Windows: “They have such a nice dynamic. They always pull each other up. They’re always smiling. It’s amazing to see everybody getting along so well.”

Coach Cummings said the team’s work ethic stands out the most.

“We got a lot of kids that work very hard, and that’s something that I like to see in their extra time,” Cummings said. “On other days when we’re not practicing — because we only practice only two hours a week — a lot of these kids put four or five days in at the bowling center. Seeing the kids working hard and progressing and getting better, that’s the best thing about it.”

Windows added that despite busy schedules, the team always finds the time to improve their craft.

“It takes a lot of willpower to do that much, especially, when you get into junior and senior years, it can get really tough,” she said. “We have students that are high honor roll. We have people that are in like, musicals and choir and band and all these other sports, and we all find a way to manage it. We’re all putting in so much effort, and I’m very, very proud of everybody on the team for doing that.”

Windows is seeing that improvement paying off as the girls are first in the section. Windows and McConahy are in the top five of WPIBL bowlers. Cummings is third among WPIBL boys bowlers.

“Bowling is a lot more rigorous than people think sometimes,” Windows said. “It takes a lot of skill, a lot of mental aspects too. You have to be so focused, and you have to learn how to adapt to different patterns. I’m just immensely proud of them. We’ve had a lot of improvement. It’s a tough sport sometimes, and we’re holding our own.”

The Yellowjackets are only getting better. Coach Cummings loves this part of coaching.

“We’ve had many kids over the years that don’t really know a whole lot about bowling, and by the time they finish as a senior, they have progressed so much,” Cummings said. “That’s the part that I like about it the most, just seeing them happy and getting better.”

Windows is grateful for coach Cummings.

“He’s brilliant, but I definitely can’t go without mentioning that he’s so helpful and he’s so well-versed,” Windows said. “He knows each and every player so well. … He knows exactly what to tell us all the time. He’s very uplifting. I really owe everything to him. He’s helped me so much. Not even me, just the entire team. We have a lot of hard working, very coachable girls, but his coaching just makes everything so much better.”

Colin Cummings is ready for the rest of the season and is excited for the future with bowling. He and Windows want to qualify for championships. Both want the team to have a great time as a team the rest of the way.

“Bowling has been what I do for 10 years,” Cummings said. “I’ve been doing pretty much just bowling for the last 10 years, and it means a lot and I’m excited for college bowling, too. But I’m pretty excited for what’s after the regular season, high school, states, and regionals.”

Tags: Freeport