The top two girls on Linn-Mar’s top-flight bowling team are an odd couple, indeed.

Senior leader Stacey Schwarzenstein is big and broad. She charges the line, and when she lets loose it’s like a cannonball exploding down the lane. Pins blast in all directions.

Petite junior teammate McKenzie Routhe, on the other hand, tiptoes to her mark like a ballerina. Her ball floats along and the pins fall over as if touched by a feather.

Together, however, the unlikely pair came through when it counted Saturday afternoon at Lancer Lanes to propel the top-seeded Lions to an exciting victory over Xavier to claim the team  championship the third annual Prairie Invitational Baker Tournament.

To claim the title, though, the Linn-Mar girls had to overcome a flurry of strikes by the Saints' Tara Trcka, the defending state champion in Class 1A who currently leads all girls in Iowa with an astounding 234 per game average.

But the double-elimination Baker tournament format puts the focus on team competition, not individual scoring.

Each of the five bowlers on the teams bowl two frames, and it takes two winning frames to take the match.

In Saturday’s 12-team tourney (featuring all seven Metro schools), Linn-Mar defeated fifth-seeded Xavier the first time around and stayed spotless up to the championship round.

Moving up through the consolation bracket, the Saints turned the tables on the Lions when they faced off for the second time.

Then, in the rubber match for all the marbles, Linn-Mar took the first set 168-145 and Xavier rebounded to tie 172-134.

The Lion girls cranked it up in the final set, however, throwing down a combined 200-score to just 143 for the Saints.

“I told the girls that being seeded No. 1, we had to show that we deserved to be there,” said Linn-Mar Coach Jeremy Moser.  “They stepped it up all day and held it together at the end.”

Bowling in the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation, Routhe and Schwarzenstein delivered in the clutch. In their last two frames, both closed with spares and strikes to seal the title.

“Stacey’s my anchor,” said Moser. “I know I can depend on her under pressure. When we need a mark, she’ll get it. She’s very cool and confident.”

As somewhat of a surprise qualifier in last year’s Class 2A state tournament, Schwarzenstein finished eighth. After three meets, she’s behind only Trcka among Metro bowlers with a 187 average.

Routhe, who set the Linn-Mar school record last with a 287 game, is not far behind at 183.

Both girls come from bowling families.  Stacey’s mom Hilary and dad Wes are veteran league bowlers, as are McKenzie’s parents Deb and Roman.  And both are of Philippine descent, Stacey on her mom’s side and McKenzie on her dad’s.

Each has bowled since they were little and competing in leagues with bumper pads in the gutter.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t seem to be less alike.

Routhe is tiny, weighing less than 100 pounds on her under 5-foot frame. Schwarzenstein is almost a foot taller.  Stacey is a self-professed tomboy, growing up playing football and wrestling with neighborhood boys.

McKenzie has taken dance lessons since third grade and is now one of the elite members of the Dancer’s Edge troupe in Hiawatha.  She’s bubbly, while Stacey is stoic.  And stubborn according to her father Wes.

“When she was little, Stacey wouldn’t let me teach her anything about bowling. She didn’t like to listen," he said. "But one time when she was about 12, she finally asked me for some advice. I told her to move over a few steps. She rolled about four strikes in a row and figured I knew something after all.”

PRAIRIE INVITATIONAL BAKER TOURNAMENT

1st Place : Linn-Mar, Coach Jeremy Moser, Abby Stenerson, Brooke McMorran, Paige Miller, Mckenzie Ruth, Stacey Schwarzenstein, Nicole McMahon

2nd Place: Xavier, Coach Russ Camacho & Mike Guge, Abbey Konzen, Erica Fry, Lisa Olberding, Tyler Weger, Tara Trcka, Haley Jensen.

3rd Place:  Prairie, Coach Don Willfong, Hailey Tollefson, Rebecca Kacena, Lindsey Schrader, Samantha Keiper, Niona Bruce, Jami Kadolph.

4th Place: Jefferson, Coach Virgil Cerveny, Laura Hemphill, Jessie Alff, Mariah Achey, Rylea Bennett, Nichole Petersen, Lindsey James

5th Place: Cedar Falls and Kennedy

7th Place: Iowa City High and Louisa-Muscatine

9th Place: CR Washington, Central-DeWitt, Marion and Iowa City West


High games for the day:

CR Kennedy - 235
CR Jefferson - 210
Linn-Mar – 204
Xavier - 201
Prairie - 192
Louisa-Muscatine - 175
IC City High - 171
Cedar Falls -168
Central-DeWitt - 164
Marion - 154
Washington – 144
IC West - 127