Two minutes is the time dentists recommend for twice-daily teeth-brushing and almost half the duration of an EHS passing period. But for the boys bowling team, two minutes dictated more than normal tasks.

Sophomore Jackson Budwell said that the bowlers were required to wait about two minutes between shots at the Salem Regionals tournament.

“There is more time to think and therefore choke. In order to get the scores needed to advance, you would need to get a good game all around,” Budwell said. “When you would get an unlucky break… that has a strong mental impact on your confidence.”

The team ended its season on Saturday, winning tenth place out of 12 teams competing. Edwardsville was 52 pins short of the ninth-place winner, Trenton Wesclin High School. Junior Michael Jenkins, Edwardsville’s top bowler, posted a 170.83 average over the six-game tournament, but the Tigers needed a 178 average to advance to the Jan. 19 Alton Sectional meet.

The team’s youth made competition difficult, junior Eian Sims said.

“We had to rebuild…We had four bowlers from last year including myself but two of them didn’t even play half the year due to eligibility,” Sims said. “There are a lot of freshmen.”

Ms. Kimber Moscardelli, the team’s coach, said that her team focuses on different goals than other conferences.

“We’re working more on accomplishing fundamentals and maybe getting better at being proficient on small tasks that upperclassmen have kind of mastered at this point,” Moscardelli said. “For us, it’s about smaller steps and… building the foundation.”

And the Tigers delivered on Saturday.

“I really don’t care much about places. I just look more at… did we accomplish our goals versus what the places are,” Moscardelli said. “I think we finished on a really good note as a team.”