LANSING, Ill. (December 6, 2023) – TF South boys bowling coach Eric Valiska is used to the question by now.
“Every team we bowl, they comment, ‘Who brought the football team?'”
It’s a fair question, because three of the Red Wolves’ seven varsity bowlers are also football linemen for South: senior Karter Thomas and juniors Christian and Tristan Headen.
The Headens are identical twins and Valiska said when they joined the program as freshmen, he couldn’t tell them apart.
That has changed, and it’s easier to know who’s who. Tristan is a right-hander who uses a two-handed grip.
“My parents got me started,” he said. “I started bowling like a regular person but I taught myself how to hook. (And) I have an instructor who’s helping me bowl better.”
“At first I would do it like him with two hands,” said Christian, who is a lefty. “I just changed it up to my own (one-handed) style and it’s working better for me.”
Apart from the Headens and Thomas, there’s not a lot of crossover between football players and bowlers. That’s one of the selling points for the Headen brothers.
“I get to meet new people doing this and see how they bowl to see if it can help me improve,” Christian said.
“Like Christian said, I get to be with people I already played a different sport with, like Karter,” Tristan said. “And then I get to meet new people and see how they bowl and take advice from them, or they can get advice from me.”
Just making the varsity team at TF South is an achievement. The number of bowlers trying out every year far exceeds the number of roster spots available.
“It was a little challenging since there were people who were bowling a little better than me,” Christian said of tryouts. “So I had to step up my game to make sure I could make it on the varsity level.”
Both brothers have been contributors for the Red Wolves, who are consistently one of the stronger programs in the south suburbs. Tristan had a 290 game in a November 16 dual win over Shepard, while Christian’s high game is a 256.
The brothers have been bowling since they were 6-year-olds and they could still do it on their own outside of the high-school program. But being with the Red Wolves broadens their horizons.
“I’m just trying to go against new people instead of competing against him,” Christian said, gesturing to his brother.
The feeling is mutual.
“Like he said, me and him don’t want to just go against each other,” Tristan said. “We can go against newer people.”
TF South won a rivalry match against TF North on November 30, 1,789-1,473. Tristan Headen’s high game of 205 paced the Red Wolves.
Fernando Rios led the Meteors with a 168 game and 331 series, followed by Caden McLucas (150-299).
Boys basketball
The Red Wolves rolled past Shepard 63-27 Friday in their home opener.
Freshman forward Amari Dukes paced South (2-3, 1-0 South Suburban Blue) with 17 points and eight rebounds. Also scoring in double figures were Rashad Peeples with 12 points and Jaylen Taylor with 10.
Girls basketball
TF South fell to 3-4 with a 39-36 loss to Bloom on Saturday at the Crete-Monee Invitational despite a double-double from Gigi Dillon (17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals). Cherish Boothe added 10 points, four rebounds, and four steals for the Red Wolves, while Brie Hawthorne contributed five points, three rebounds, and three steals.
The Red Wolves dropped their conference opener on November 30, falling 57-46 to Shepard. Jaiden Thompson paced South with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Rayvan Rush also reached double figures with 13 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Dillon finished with seven points and five rebounds.
South lost 53-44 to Crete-Monee on November 27. Thompson (16 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block) and Dillon (13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block) were the leading scorers. Hawthorne chipped in with five points, two assists, and five steals.
Girls bowling
The Red Wolves won Saturday’s eight-team Rich Township Invitational with a six-game pinfall of 4,337, 121 better than the second-place Thornridge co-op.
The Red Wolves had two top-10 finishers in individual runner-up Trinity Kimmons, who had a 975 (162.5 average), and Khia Wilson, who was 10th at 876 (146 average). Teniola Odutusin was 11th at 865.
TF South beat District 215 rival TF North 1,459-1,021 on November 30. Olivia Gifford had the high game (207) and series (332) for the Red Wolves. Next was Dazani Holmes (171-299), followed by Kimmons (165-288). Aliyah Malveaux led North with a 124 game and 235 series.
The Red Wolves opened their season with a 1,500-1,354 win against Lemont on November 28. Glory Ike had South’s high game with a 179 and Holmes posted the high series at 325. Ike finished with a 324 series and Odutusin contributed a 296 series.
Boys wrestling
The Red Wolves dropped a double dual on Nov. 30, losing 57-12 to Oak Forest and 54-18 to Hillcrest.
TF North
Boys basketball
The Meteors won their conference opener on Friday, beating Argo 54-43. Jamari Littleton led North (1-1, 1-0 South Suburban Blue) with 13 points, one more than Nasir English and Jaylen Blakes.
Boys bowling
The Meteors lost 1,918-1,620 to Oak Lawn on Monday. Fernando Rios led the Meteors with a 201-212—413 series.
North fell 1,632-1,573 to Eisenhower on November 28. Caden McLucas led the Meteors with a 204 game and 394 series, followed by Aiden Jordan (162-323).
Marian Catholic
Boys basketball
James Bullock had a game-high 24 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks to lead the Spartans past Carmel 69-59 on Friday night.
Zack Sharkey added 16 points and four steals for for Marian (4-1, 1-0 East Suburban Catholic), while Jonah Weathers contributed 15 points and six rebounds. Delan Davis chipped in with six points, six rebounds, and 11 assists.
Girls basketball
Madison Davis had 18 points and Taylor Bolton hit five 3-pointers en route to scoring 17 as the Spartans beat Joliet Catholic 53-45 on Monday. Gracie Jensen added five rebounds and four steals for Marian (5-2, 1-0 East Suburban Catholic), while Alainna Poisson contributed three assists and four steals.
The Spartans lost 67-40 to host Fremd on Saturday at the Chicagoland Invitational Showcase. LaParis Poe scored eight for Marian.
The Spartans finished second in the IC Catholic Tournament on November 25 as DePaul Prep rallied from a 43-35 deficit after three quarters to win 56-49.
Davis’ game-high 31 points led the Spartans (4-1). Poisson added nine points.
Illiana Christian
Boys wrestling
The Vikings finished fifth at the North Newton Invitational on November 25 as Gage Bambic and Noah Yannuzzi each went undefeated.
South Suburban College
Men’s basketball
The NJCAA Division II top-ranked Bulldogs rallied from a four-point halftime deficit to stay unbeaten with a 96-87 win at Morton on Saturday.
Jemel Jones led SSC (7-0) with 30 points, six steals, and four rebounds. Reggie Abram added a career-high 18 points — including five 3-pointers — off the bench and Quentin Heady had 17 points — all after halftime — with five rebounds. LeQuan Washington (10 points) gave South Suburban four players in double figures.
The Bulldogs extended their home winning streak to 49 games with a 78-45 victory over Marian-Ancilla on November 28.
Jones paced SSC with 27 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and seven steals. Brandon Adorno added 13 points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Heady scored 11.
Related
- Red Wolves boys basketball hopes to rebound after challenging first week – other local scores (November 25, 2023)
- Athlete spotlights of the week: TF South’s Alex Lesure and Gigi Dillon (December 3, 2023)
