Adel-DeSoto-Minburn junior Cole Darling was able to win the first individual bowling championship in the school’s history, and takes time to reminisce on his accomplishments.

ADM just finished its first season with bowling being apart of the program, as they partnered with the Waukee School District for the past number of years. Darling was named the Class 2A Champion, after getting wins over Keokuk’s Pray Lawson, LeMars’ Taylor Lindner and Oskaloosa’s Trey VanWyk. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that he’s grateful to Waukee for allowing him to participate in bowling, but is happy to see success with his own school.

“Yeah, it just felt really good to win, and especially win with the Adel team, instead of the Waukee team. It was good to just do it with Adel, and get the recognition from Adel, and help the team out.”

Darling explains that his method was just to win each match regardless of the amount of pins, and says that he got out to a good start by hitting his lines and getting early strikes. Darling credits Head Coach Jason Kilker for helping him improve on fundamentals during the season and notes that it was a huge reason why he was able to win it all.

ADM completed their inaugural season with a record of 7-4 overall (4-1; 3rd inside the Two River Bowling Conference). Darling will attempt to defend his title in the 2025-26 season for his senior year.