MONROE — The Cheesemakers will make their seventh-straight trip to the Wisconsin high school varsity state bowling tournament this weekend. As Bob Dylan exclaims in “The Man in Me” — “But, oh, what a wonderful feeling.”

The Monroe squad, coached by Brittany Svendsen, has found a lot of success in just eight seasons.

“We’re proud of (the program). They are excited to go to high school state. It’s always a weekend to get pumped up,” said Svendsen, who bowled in high school and in college at UW-Whitewater. “Last year we took fifth at state, so they’ve seen quite a lot of success these last couple of years.”

Two seasons ago, the Cheesemakers were the state champions. Keon Butler was just a sophomore that season, and this year he is Monroe’s ace and qualified for state as an individual.

“I’m really proud of myself. I came a long way this year,” said Butler, now a senior. “There were a few rough patches, but I came out and did really well. Being second in our district is a real accomplishment. I hope I can keep up with it at state.”

Svendsen said that Butler has done a fine job representing the team, and his fill percentage of 84.69 is very high. Fill percentage is the amount of spares or strikes he averages per game.

“It is a very good accomplishment — 84 percent is actually very high. The other boy, Cody (Rhyner) from Janesville Parker, his fill percentage is 88. But they both bowled really well,” Svendsen said. “Keon had only 11 or 13 opens during the season, which means he threw the ball very well. It’s a very good attribute for his senior year.”

Butler said he has been proving himself every year in the program. 

“My freshman year I was probably averaging about 170 (game average), sophomore year 190, 200 my junior year and 210 to 215 this year,” Butler said. “One 300. It was during practice, but I’m really proud of it.”

As the sport of bowling grows in the high school ranks, more and more students are joining. Monroe’s co-ed team allows for seventh- and eighth-graders to participate at the junior varsity level. The Cheesemakers have three seniors this year — Butler, Kaleb Legler and Barrett Briggs — but no juniors.

“I think the word is getting out about the bowling program and getting more popular amongst their peers,” Svendsen said. “The first couple years we were not in the school — it was just a club sport — but now we are into the school as far as we can go. It’s not WIAA yet — the sport has not gone that way so far ... they can letter. They are in the yearbook. They are doing very well.”

The Cheesemakers finished second in their district this season, going 5-5 during the regular season that spans from November through February. Edgerton won the District 3B, Division 2 regular season title with an 8-2 record. Other teams in the district include Evansville, Beloit Turner, Clinton and Big Foot.

“I’m really proud of where we came from. We have a lot of new bowlers this year and they came a long way,” Butler said.

The state meet takes place March 1-3 at the Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley. The top five individual boys and girls will advance to the Sunday, March 3 championship, while the top three teams move on to the Sunday round as well. Butler was scheduled to roll at 4:30 p.m. March 1, with the team holding their first competition at 9:30 a.m. March 2.

Svendsen and the Cheesemakers spent their practices preceding state by working on situations and consistency.

“We have a structure of what we’ll do — a lot of spare shooting and single-pin work so we can maximize our score in every game,” Butler said. “I’ve went to state the past three years now, and I’ve learned a lot. I can take everything I’ve learned — the environment and cheering and people and the crowds — and do my best this year.”

Butler and the Cheesemakers are hoping that their past experiences at state have helped prepare them for the high-pressured conditions in front of the large crowds. They are hoping to be rolling plenty of strikes, unlike Kenny Rogers, who famously blared he was “Eight miles outta Memphis and I got no spare.”

After all, Rogers just dropped in to see what condition his condition was in.