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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Rochester’s Enrique Navarro signs with Indiana Tech to continue his academic and bowling careers. Sitting, from left – Hector Navarro, Enrique’s father; Enrique; Mindy Navarro, Enrique’s mother. Standing – Indiana Tech bowling coach Tyler DeJonge.
Rochester’s Enrique Navarro has signed to continue his academic and bowling careers at Indiana Tech.
Navarro was the 2023 individual state champion, and he has bowled two career 300 games.
“They have a great bowling program, and along with that, they have a great computer science program, and that just fit what I’m looking for in a school very well,” Navarro said.
He said he participated in a team practice at Indiana Tech, and he said he knew after visiting Indiana Tech’s campus in Fort Wayne that he knew he wanted to go there. He said Indiana Tech has a no-cut policy for its bowling team – “if you’re on the team, you’re on the team,” Navarro said – but he added that he will have to earn his way onto the varsity team.
They only take 15 or 16 on the varsity.
“They can only take so many people on their varsity,” Navarro said. “It’s going to be competitive. He just told us that there are 22 committed there this year, just freshmen. So there’s going to be a lot of people to compete against, but it’ll be fun.”
Computer science interests him as his father Hector works at RTC.
Navarro has three older sisters – Sierra, Rosalie and Ashleigh – all of whom also bowled competitively.
“My entire family did bowl when we grew up, but we played lots of sports,” Navarro said. “We did baseball. A lot of us did basketball. When we were all really young, we played soccer. But bowling was just the one that stuck around the longest, I guess. So that’s just where I ended up today.”
Navarro said he does not know the exact number of bowling balls he owns, but he said it’s “more than 12.” He said he does not use them all in one match or tournament, but over the course of several tournaments, he could use them all.
He is constantly assessing oil patterns on lanes and determining which balls will work on which lanes.
“It just depends on what’s happening on the lanes and what the shot is looking like,” Navarro said. “There’s a lot of different factors. Even the temperature of the bowling alley could affect how it rolls. You just have to take that all in and say, ‘OK, this is the ball that’s going to give me the best shot of scoring high.”
One of his 300 games came at Zebra practice. The other came in a sanctioned high school match at Quick’s Lanes in Plymouth.
“The one at practice just kind of happened,” Navarro said. “But the one at the match, after six in a row, you’re like, ‘Oh, shoot, I might actually do it this time.’ I ended up finishing it out, and I could feel the pressure a little bit. … On that last shot, it was really quiet. Normally, it would be loud during the match because everyone’s bowling. I got up on the last shot, and everybody stopped and was watching me, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’”
