ROCKFORD — Growing up with a best friend and playing the same sport together is special.
Matching that best friend with a state championship is even more so.
That’s what Richards’ Ulyssa Garcia did this past weekend. The junior bowler ran away with the individual title at the IHSA State Tournament Feb. 21-22 at The Cherry Bowl.
She rolled a 12-game total of 2,738 to win by 177 pins over junior Ashlin Teves (2,561), who helped Harlem to its record eighth state title.
That came on the heels of Stagg’s Arianna Araujo capturing the individual championship last year.
“Ariana is my best friend,” Garcia said. “Our parents are friends so we grew up together and bowled together.. I’ll call her after this, that’s for sure.”
Araujo, now a freshman on the bowling team at Louisiana Tech, was certainly happy for her friend. So was Richards coach Ed Fink, who has seen Garcia move up from placing 31st as a freshman and 30th last year to the top of the leaderboard this season.
“Yeah, they grew up together,” Fink said of Araujo and Garcia. “It’s amazing and it says that they come from two good bowling families.
“Ariana had a little more success and I told Ulyssa, ‘You are two years younger than her. You have to keep working, keep pushing.'”
That’s what Garcia did as she became the first individual bowling state champion from Richards and the fourth medalist.
Last year, Garcia was 15th after the first day but fell to 30th.
“Last year was rough,” Garcia said. “I had an injury with a pulled tendon on the second day. This time was a lot more fun.”
She opened with her two top games, a 258 and a 269, to move into first and she stayed there. She had a 1,457 total after the first day.
Was Garcia’s 242.8 first-day average her best for six games?
“No,” she said. “I averaged 256 as a sophomore at the (South Suburban) Conference Tournament.”
The Bulldogs advanced to state as a team for the second straight season. They placed 14 on the first day, just missing advancing as a team by 25 pins.
On the second day, Garcia had a 1,281 total (228.2 average), which included a high of 256 in the third game. Her only sub-200 game was her last one, a 172. That didn’t matter because she led by more than 200 pins heading into the finale.
“Every single person I talk to says she’s fun to watch,” Fink said. “She has a lot of power, but also a lot of finesse. She’s like a machine out there. It’s awesome to watch and I’m lucky to have her for another year.”
There have been three repeat winners since individual champs were first recognized in 1980. Garcia will try to become the fourth in 2026.
“I felt no pressure,” she said. “I just came out prepared and did the best I could. I didn’t look at the standings on the last day. I just kept doing what I was doing and next year I hope to do it again.”