A ustin Emery and Carolyn Miller sit together and, al- most in unison, they lean back in their chairs and smile. And all it took to elicit the positive energy in the room was mentioning the 2023-24 bowling season. It was a good one for the Gil- bert program. OK, that’s an un- derstatement. It was actually a legendary season, one the coaches will remember for the rest of their lives. In only the third year of the program’s existence, the boys not only made it to the state tournament, but came oh-so close to capturing the Class 1A championship. Still, a runner-up finish was nothing to sneeze at, and it gave the still infant pro- gram statewide legitimacy from schools that have played the sport a lot longer. “I’ve been in tight basketball games before as a coach, but (the state final against Ma- quoketa) was the most intense thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Emery, who is the boys head
“We improved so much last year,” Miller said. And now you know why last season means so much to the coaches. There is a but coming though ... Those teams as they looked a season ago no longer exist. When it comes to the varsity rosters, Gilbert graduated ev- erybody. Quite literally ... every- body. The six guys that competed at state — Coal Myers, Jackson Johnson, Nash Hanson, Cole Pflughaupt, Toby Ruba, and Chase Klatt — and the team’s seventh man — Ashton Dodds — all graduated. Similarly, the six girls who spent the entire 2023-24 season in the Gilbert lineup — Kilee Miller, Kiera Miller, Sarah Thatcher, Katie O’Brien, Elle O’Brien, and Ella Gebhart — all picked up their diplomas as well last spring. All seven of the boys aver- aged between a 180 and a 208 a season ago, and Kilee Miller
coach, said. “Beating (Council Bluffs) St. Albert (in the state semifinal round), that was defi- nitely our highlight because they became our rival the year before. It was an amazing at- mosphere and I was super proud of the kids.” The Gilbert girls team didn’t
make it to state during the 2023-24 season, but the Tigers certainly took a gigantic step forward in terms of competitive- ness. That was what Miller, the girls head coach, had wanted for her team prior to the start of the campaign and the group did plenty to make the coach proud.
WINTER 2024-25 | GAME ON 43
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