Suffolk All-Star girls bowling team finishes second by 23 pins at state bowling championships
The Section XI girls All-Star team huddles during the NYSPHSAA bowling championships at AMF Strike N Spare Lanes in Syracuse, N.Y., on Saturday. Credit: /Kayla Bartkowski
SYRACUSE — For the second year in a row, the Suffolk All-Star girls bowling team came up just short of a victory at the state championships.
Suffolk led after five games but fell shy of Section VI’s 6,378 pin total in the composite division of the state tournament at AMF Strike ‘N Spare Lanes on Saturday. Suffolk finished with a six-game total of 6,355.
Suffolk led Section VI by five pins after the third game and were paired side by side for the final three games.
“You try to match what they’re doing. You want the pins to fall, but they just wouldn’t,” Longwood’s Kaylee Dwyer said. “It was nerve-wracking that they’re right next to us, but you can’t play defense in bowling. You do your best to excel and everything else you have to let happen.”
Trishna Desai rolled a 267 in Game 2, which tied for the second-highest game of the day.
“I was really hitting my mark consistently in that game,” Desai said. “The lane kind of broke on me, but I was able to push through and get a 267. The consistency is what mattered.”
Ilana Kaplan rolled a high game of 267 in Game 4 as Suffolk extended its lead to 43 pins after totaling 1,097 pins in the game. The Commack senior had the ninth-best pin total of the event with 1,258. Sachem’s Cira Arcangel also rolled her best game of the day with a 235 in Game 4.
“It was a great feeling to be part of a great group of girls up here and support each other,” Kaplan said. “Knowing you had what it takes to be an All-Star and compete here is great.”
Section VI outscored Suffolk, 2,063-2,040, over the final two games. Central Islip’s Leighanna Tolan had the fifth-best series of the competition, totaling 1,294 pins in six games. Dwyer had the seventh-best with a 1,270.
“We all had very solid contributions to the team,” Dwyer said. “I bowled a bit above my average, so I was happy with that. Overall, I’m proud of the team and proud of the effort put forward.
Nassau places seventh
Amanda Morris shared a similar sentiment about enjoying her opportunity to be a member of the Nassau All-Star team again.
“At the end of the day, you just have to have fun at states and possess a positive mindset,” Morris said. “We really came together as a team and clicked. That made the experience even more memorable."
The East Meadow junior rolled a 1,133 series, including a 208 in Game 4 as Nassau finished in seventh place with a 5,581-pin total.
Sewanhaka’s Morgan Winchell bowled a 226 in Game 5 of a 1,157 series. Massapequa’s Rachel Rothke bowled a 1,097 series and Great Neck South’s Simone Chan rolled a 1,063.
“Ultimately, our goal was just to not give up” Winchell said. “Even if someone bowled a bad game, we hyped them up and we screamed to cheer them on no matter what.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.