By Jim Leitner

TH Sports Editor Jleitner@wcinet.com

The hottest ticket in Dubuque high school sports these days might surprise you a little bit.

It's bowling.

Yes, bowling.

Friday afternoon meets mean a packed house at Bowling & Beyond, where all three Dubuque high schools have enjoyed stellar seasons so far.

Dubuque schools are a combined 20-8 in the Mississippi Valley Conference, and Wahlert's Andy Ehrlich and Kelsey Gregory boast the league's top averages.

"I figured we'd have a pretty good year after the way we finished last year," said Ehrlich, who took sixth at state in leading the Golden Eagles to a runner-up team finish in Class 1A. "But no way did I expect to be averaging 260 right now.

"It's been a really exciting year. Hopefully, we can keep it going all the way through the state tournament."

Ehrlich's 260.1 average, bolstered by a perfect game on Dec. 11, leads Cedar Rapids Prairie's Drew Balta by nearly 20 pins. Hempstead's Jason Lanser ranks third (230.8), Wahlert's Kyle Boardman fourth (224.8) and Hempstead's Andrew LuGrain sixth (218.6).

Senior's Danny Behning, Garrett Westland and Nathan Oertel and Hempstead's Stephen Habel and Chad Meyer give Dubuque nine bowlers in the MVC's top 20.

"So much of that has to do with what goes on Saturday mornings," Senior coach Andy Hoefer said of the Dubuque Youth Bowling program. "You have certified coaches who do a great job with the kids, so they come to us with a great knowledge of the sport already.

"They've been coached the right way for years and years and years. Our job as coaches is just to make sure they're in the right mindset to compete at the high school level."

Hempstead, which finished sixth in Class 2A a year ago, is off to a 6-0 start. Cedar Rapids Jefferson is the only other unbeaten boys team.

"The biggest key is we get along so well as a team," Lanser said. "If one of us is struggling, someone else is there to pick you up and help you get things straightened out.

"Our obvious goal is to win state. But we'd also like to get a 3,500 series, which is a pretty huge number. We're definitely capable of doing that. We've struggled a little in the Baker game, but as soon as we get that figured out, we'll be pretty tough to beat."

LuGrain became the first MVC bowler to throw a 300 game when he accomplished the feat Nov. 24. Ehrlich and Balta are the only other MVC bowlers with perfect games this season.

"That was one of the proudest moments of my bowling career," LuGrain said. "I shot 204 the game before that, then I found my shot and stayed consistent."

Wahlert girls leading conference

Behind Gregory's league-best 204.4 average, Wahlert leads the Mississippi Division girls standings at 3-1.

Hempstead's Jordan Bemis (179) and Senior's Courtney McClellan (171.3) also rank among the top bowlers by average.

Senior's Courtney Chaffee and Molly O'Brien and Hempstead's Kristina Hochrein have turned performances that landed them on the top single-match performance leaderboard.

Senior finished second in the Class 2A state meet a year ago, while Wahlert took seventh in Class 1A.