Much has been written about the Columbia High School bowling team this winter, and for good reason. The Eagles posted the top two team game scores in Illinois history this season.

But among the entire CHS bowling squad and three individual bowlers each from Waterloo and Gibault to compete at Saturday’s sectional in Belleville, only Gibault senior John Harbaugh still remains in the state series.

Harbaugh rolled a six-game score of 1,350 to advance to this weekend’s IHSA state bowling tournament, to be played Friday and Saturday at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon.

“John never gave up and kept his mental focus, which produced some stellar results,” Gibault bowling coach Tom Fanara said. “I look forward to John bowling in the state finals.”

Fanara said all three sectional bowlers for Gibault had trouble early on.

“John Harbaugh, Connor Meehan and Matt Wolf all struggled a bit to find the right shot to get a consistent ball reaction with the proper entry angle into the pocket for carry in the morning games,” Fanara said. “In the afternoon, John was able to adjust to get a good lane reaction that also gave him good pin carry, allowing him to string strikes together.”

Harbaugh posted a 783 series in the three-game afternoon set, rolling a 278, 268 and 237 to creep into the running for state.

Harbaugh carried a season per game average of nearly 200 into the sectional round. Last season, Harbaugh rolled a rare 299 game, so the potential exists for a great showing at state.

With the loss of three-time state qualifier Cam Touchette for the season, Columbia managed to pull together as a team and advance to the sectional anyway. But the promising season for the Eagles came to a disappointing end on Saturday.

After the morning three-game set, Columbia was sitting in sixth place and in the thick of it. But during the afternoon block of games, the Eagles struggled and fell all the way to an 11th place finish. The top six teams advance out of the sectional.

Individually, Sean Jerome led the Eagles with a 215 average for the day. Cade Stein was close behind with a 213 average.

The Eagles posted the top team game score in Illinois high school bowling history on Nov. 12 with a total of 1,280. The team also posted the second-highest score in the state with a 1,271 showing on Dec. 1.

While none of the three Waterloo bowlers advanced past Saturday’s sectional round, head coach Matt Beck was impressed with their showing.

“The boys did well today,” Beck said after the sectional.

Zack Reichert averaged a 210 on the day with a six-game total of 1,263. Andrew Reifschneider averaged a 199 over the six games with a 1,195 total. Ryan Matzig averaged a 186 with a six-game total of 1,120.

West Park Bowl in Columbia was the site of the boys bowling regional, and will also serve as the regional location for local girls bowling teams on Saturday, Feb. 6.

The Columbia, Waterloo, Gibault and Dupo girls teams will all be competing in the Columbia Regional for a chance to advance to the sectional round.