ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — For bowlers, a 300 game means perfection.

That's 12 strikes in a row. Recently, an Elkhart Lake man a feat even more extraordinary: Rolling three perfect games in a row for a 900 series.

On Nov. 16 at Anchor Lanes, Cody Schmitt went down in the bowling history books. During league play, Schmitt rolled 36 strikes in a row to get to 900. Leaving pins up on his last ball would have been devastating.

“I don’t know," said Schmitt. "I probably would have cried."

He’s no stranger to perfection. Before the big night, Schmitt already fired off 22 perfect 300 games. Many of them occurred on lanes 11 and 12 at Anchor Lanes.

“There’s a lot of different people that have good scores on these lanes,” said Schmitt. “I don’t know what makes them so good. It might be the fact that they’re on the end or something like that. Either way, it’s just fun to bowl on them.”

Schmitt knows the lanes well. He knows just about every inch of the alley well. His parents have owned the alley for the last nine years.

“I’ve been working here for 10 years since I was 16. So I came with the place,” joked Schmitt.

Schmitt runs the Firehouse Pro Shop. That’s where he keeps the 900 ball. He came close to perfection once before with an 879 series.

“You kinda get close once and you don’t ever expect to get close again,” said Schmitt.

On the big night, with one strike to go for a perfect series, all eyes focused on Schmitt. 

“Everybody stopped bowling to watch,” said Schmitt. “I kind of blacked out on the last shot. What’s going through my head is, make sure you at least get it off your hand halfway decent. Make sure it kinda goes down the lane the right way, just give yourself a chance to strike.”

The last ball struck home and knocked down all 10 pins, just like the previous 35 rolls did. His father recorded the moment.

“I was pretty proud to see him do it,” said Dan Schmitt. “I think I was more nervous on his very first 300 that he threw when he was 15 or 16 years old but it’s pretty thrilling.”

Schmitt became the 37th person recognized by the United States Bowling Congress to achieve the feat. He’s the fourth from Wisconsin.

“It’s been a fun ride. I enjoy everything that’s been happening,' Schmitt said. "It's been a little overwhelming but it’s been a lot of fun."

He also coaches the local high school bowling team. He said the team so far has downplayed their coach’s achievement. 

“The kids and I have a unique relationship,” explained Schmitt. “They didn’t really say anything. They cracked a couple of jokes but other than that, it was just kind of business as usual.”

Schmitt said his next big goal is to help the Elkhart Lake team chase perfection of their own, in the form of a state championship.

Editor's Note: The story has been updated to say 12 strikes in a row leads to a perfect score, rather than 13, which was initially written.