He’s a Peach: Des Plaines man rolls to finals
||| BEAT THE CHAMPIONS— SECTION 1 SECTIONAL
Jim Peach of Des Plaines took the inside track to a scratch 741.
Peach topped the men’s side of the Section 1 sectional of the 57th Beat the Champions on Sunday at Sunset Bowl in Waukegan.
BTC rookie Caitlin Kelly of Wheeling was the best on the women’s side, rolling a 668 with 226 pins of handicap.
‘‘ I just found my line through practice,’’ Peach said. ‘‘ The way the lanes broke down worked for me. [ The other bowlers] were all throwing polished equipment, and I just played inside of them.’’
He finished with the high game of 267 but was kicking himself for not doing even better. He opened with seven strikes in a row before leaving an 8- pin.
‘‘ I bowled here when I was a kid,’’ said Peach, 46, who works as a senior service technician dealing with bar codes.
For Kelly, a patient- experience coordinator for CVS Health, success came on the mental side.
‘‘ Drinking a BlueMoon and trying to relax, be in themoment and enjoy the experience,’’ she said. ‘‘ I didn’t come here to win, just to enjoy the experience.’’
She did that. She started slowly but finished with games of 101, 159 and 182 to go with 226 pins of handicap. In BTC, handicap is 90 percent of the difference between a bowler’s average and 210.
‘‘ The first game, I was bad at hitting my line,’’ she said. ‘‘ The second two games, I was making my mark.’’
The top four men and the top three women advanced to the finals in March. The top prize for both genders is $ 7,500.
Janet Cook of Skokie, a sales rep for Republic Tobacco, credited her husband, Kerry, for being a good- luck charm. She finished second with a 649.
Catherine Zaworski, a graphic designer from Palatine, grabbed the final women’s spot with a 632.
On the men’s side, David Kadish of Mundelein used home- center advantage to finish second with a 731, including 35 pins of handicap. It was his second time making sectionals but his first time advancing to the finals.
‘‘ I kind of know where to start here and made adjustments the second and third games,’’ said Kadish, the director of accounting for Grand Appliance.
Keith Woods of Mundelein, the bar manager at Lakeside Recreation Center, advanced with a 730 that featured a 265 in the final game.
Cody Uidl, an in- home consultant ( moving) from Des Plaines, was the final qualifier. He said the key was picking the right ball.
In its first 56 years, BTC — for which the Sun- Times is the media sponsor — has raised $ 2,856,618.43 for charity.