The smell of sweat and grease. The sound of speeding bowling balls and crashing pins. This is the North High Bowling team and this is Merle Hay Lanes.

Leading the boys, Conner Mason (Junior) and Cameron Hansen (Sophmore) take over key spots. For the girls Paige Hennick (Junior) and Haley Haskell (Junior) lead the way.

Currently North is below average. But that doesn’t faze them a bit. No one can bring these bowlers down. Even after a tough loss to Marshalltown, many bowlers full of spirit joined the almost famous North High Basketball Student Section and helped cheer on the Polar Bears to a victory over the undefeated Ankeny Centennial.

Now flashback to the 2003-2004 season. North High is led by Coach Larry Pecina, full teams and great teamwork. The boys won the Iowa State Bowling Championship while the girls finshed a solid 5-4 and finished 3rd in the Sub-State Championship.

“Hardwork and dedication proved to be the keys to the team’s success. The teams practiced once a week along with one or two days for meets against surrounding schools,” said Stephanie Johnson in the 2004 North High Yearbook.

Many things have changed since that great season.

The following two years North would not have the same success as they had during the 2004 run. However in 2006 Bowling would forever be changed.

That year Des Moines Public Schools annouced they would make bowling a sanctioned sport so it could finally be recognized as an official high school sport.

Long time coach Larry Pecina had moved on from his role as coach and the team was in need of something new.

So who do you choose to lead your bowling team. Former coaches? Up and coming coaches? Former players?

Yes and No. Amanda Dvorak and Micheal Lucht were the unlikely chosen ones.

“We were approached at the time because we were fun and and Mr. Lucht was a bowler,” Mrs. Dvorak told me.

Both were and still are math teachers at North. Lucht, also coaching soccer took over the boys while Dvorak became the first female to coach bowling in school history.

Although being sanctioned is great for the sport, it also has negative affects. All previous accomplishments no longer count in the record books. Due to this the 2004 players get no credit for their amazing feats that hasn’t been matched yet by boys or girls.

Now just because that season hasn’t been matched doesn’t mean it’s been all bad.

“One of my favorite memories was during the 07-08 season. Jody Lovan made the state tournament and actually bowled a perfect game during practice that year,” said Lucht.

That 07-08 season is on record as the best season for the boys as they managed to get 2nd in conference meets.

Dvorak has many great memories. “Meagan Sims made the state tournament, that was a big deal. We started winning some matches in the past three or four years which is always good. Also our athletes have always been a fun bunch of people to be around,” she told me.

It hasn’t been only the boys to taste success. The 11-12 season is a good example. The girls finshed 3rd in conference and 3rd at conference meets.

Two years previous the the girls had another postive season finishing 2nd at districts, losing to the eventual state champs, the Ottumwa Bulldogs.

Even with the semi-success North High Bowling has acheived it is always joined by adversity.

In 2012 AMF Bowling Lanes closed down for good. A place where North had played and practiced at for many years. This brought many stuggles to the coaches and teams.

“We couldn’t practice as often and aren’t able to use as many lanes. Our kids don’t bowl in leagues at Merle Hay but they did at AMF. it was definitely cheaper,” Lucht described to me.

Dvorak also talked about the stuggles of leaving AMF. “Merle Hay. We have a good relationship with the owner, he makes sure we get our two days. We have less lanes so that makes it more difficult. Also transportation is trouble because we have a lot of students who don’t drive so figuring out things like carpool are a stuggle.”

But that’s the way it is. Things happen for a reason. You just have to move on to new things. Moving on isn’t always easy but with help from many players with positive attitudes and outlooks on life, it can be a breeze.

Players like Meagan Sims for the girls, Jody Lovan and Robert Jaschke for the boys have paved the way for current and future bowlers.

Meagan Sims, a 4 year bowler with a 160-170 average is the only girl to reach state for North. Along with her skills on the lanes she was also a fun person to be around each week.

“He has definitely  been our most improved bowler over our years coaching,” Lucht told me about 3 year bowler, Jody Lovan. He made state but ended up not placing. Lovan, a player who dedicated himself to the game to become the best at North high

Yet to be spoken of is Robert Jaschke. Jaschke bowled about 5 days a week and had about a 200 average on the lanes.

Mr. Lucht spoke on one of his best players. “In his final season Jaschke suffered a shoulder injury that kept him qualifying for state. He would of made it otherwise.”

When it comes to 2014 the coaches are always looking on the bright side.

“The current season is going well. Everybody has improved. For the future we need more underclassmen due to our high number of upperclassmen,” Lucht told me.

“I feel like our numbers are going in the right direction. In order to be more competitive in the future, our students will need to get involved in leagues during the offseason,” Dvorak added.

10 years later and many adversities North High Bowling has struggled. But one that hasn’t changed is the fun.

Win or lose.