GREAT FALLS — Bowling is not a sport in which you can compete through high school in Montana, but that did not stop Great Falls CMR senior Quinton Cayko from pursuing what he called a dream of his.
To perfect his craft and compete, he has been involved the state's Big Sky tour.
"We have one tournament a month, just somewhere in Montana for youth bowlers to get scholarship money, but also just go bowl tournaments," Cayko said Tuesday at Little's Lanes in Great Falls. "That's from about September to March, so I've done that over the last three or four years."
Cayko said he averaged a score of about 230 this last season during the tour — a jump from around 210 and 170 the last two years, respectively — and because of his impressive performances he will be continuing to bowl in college at Lawrence Tech (Mich.) in the NAIA next year.
He called it an honor to be able to bowl at that level.
"I always dreamed of it since I was younger that I would be able to do this someday," Cayko said. "And I never knew quite if it'd be possible."
While he said he's never had a sanctioned perfect game of 300 while in competition, he's hit scores such as 299 and 298 before.
"I've done it in practice several times, although those don't fully count," Cayko said.
Cayko knew that bowling might be for him as a freshman when he said he won his first tournament.
"That was my first year of bowling it," Cayko said. "I didn't think I was going (to win it), and I just had one really good day. And from that point, I mean it just felt great."
There's lots of technique involved with rolling strikes, and Cayko said his footwork is a big thing that allows him to throw a good deal.
"If my footwork isn't stable everything can go wrong," Cayko said. "I mean up to even falling. So footwork is the biggest key for me."
Lawrence Tech made it to the NAIA men's national bowling tournament this season, and Cayko will look to bring more success to that program in 2026.
