ALTON - The Marquette Catholic boys bowling team made history this season after forming in the 2017-2018 school year. The Explorers won their first Riverbend Conference Boys Bowling Championship this past season, finishing with a 7-1 record in league play.
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The Riverbend Conference consists of Marquette, Roxana, Southwestern, Metro East Lutheran and East Alton-Wood River and was formed in the 2017-18 school year. Roxana, which had won the league title in each of the last two years, handed the Explorers their only loss in conference play.
Marquette Catholic, a fourth-year program, saw its season end on Jan. 25 with a 16th-place finish at the Collinsville Sectional. The Explorers boys bowling team competed in sectionals for the first time in program history.
Marquette had a strong lineup that included seniors Nick Hamm, Jake Gatermann and Patrick Wiemers and juniors Joey Gatermann and William Roderfield. Wiemers and Jake Gatermann were the Explorers' top bowlers with a 185 average. Mark Jones has been the team's head coach since its inception in 2016.
With the boys bowling team winning the Riverbend Conference championship, Marquette Catholic now has a total of six conference titles in the 2019-2020 school year. Last fall, the Explorers captured Prairie State Conference titles in football, girls volleyball, boys soccer, boys golf, and boys cross country.
