About a month ago, Wayne High freshman Aiden Petersen was trying to decide whether to go out for basketball or bowling.
An active bowler for about four years, Petersen appeared to have made the right choice when he bowled not one, but two perfect games in one week.
His 300 bowled Saturday during the Boone Central Invitational at King’s Lanes in Norfolk was the second of the perfect games he rolled and put him in the record books as just the fourth bowler in the state’s short history of NSAA-sanctioned bowling to have achieved the feat.
“I live right down the street, so it’s something I like to do when I get bored,” the son of Kelly and Candace Petersen said Sunday afternoon at Wildcat Lanes. “I got my first 300 last Saturday, just messing around with some friends. It was really exciting to do it then.”
Not near as exciting as when the opportunity arose during singles competition at the bowling alley in Norfolk with teammates and opposing teams watching the moment unfold.
As the bright yellow “X” made its way across the scoreline on the video screens above the lanes, Petersen said he started to feel the pressure that bowlers get when they’re approaching that magic 300.
“I was really nervous and shaking a lot,” he said. “My teammates were quiet there for a while and then they were encouraging me as the game went along.”
By the time he came up for the 10th frame, Petersen said he just looked for that line he had been following throughout the game.
“I don’t really worry about what the oil pattern is or anything. I just like to find that one spot and find a certain line,” he said.
Video posted on Facebook showed the Wayne High freshman calmly throw the ball in the same spot all three times, the ball spinning from right to left and hitting the pocket just right to knock out all 10 pins. His first ball was solid as it curved into the pocket to the right of the head pin, with the second following a similar line. He gave a little side kick to the left as each ball blew up the pins.
On his final throw, there was no doubt as the pins exploded, finishing off the perfect game. He was greeted with back-slaps and high-fives from teammates before giving coach Josh Johnson a hug.
With that 300 game, Petersen joined three other high school bowlers who have thrown a perfect game, joining Nate Centineo of Bellevue West and Claire Busch of Papillion-LaVista South, both throwing theirs in the 2021-22 season; and Kellen Liewer of Columbus, who hit the mark last year. His game also betters the boys school record of 276 set by Brogan Foote and the overall record of 290 set by Jamie Janke, both of which came during the 2020-21 season.
Petersen’s perfecto highlighted a winning day for the Wayne High bowling teams, as both the boys and girls claimed first-place trophies.
“We’re bowling really good and our chemistry is really good right now,” Petersen said. “I’m one of five freshman who have been bowling for a while, and we have our returning guys who are our leaders. They know what they’re doing and we’re just trying follow their lead.”
