Central Islip's Leighanna Tolan captures Suffolk Division A girls bowling title
Leighanna Tolan of Central Islip wins the Suffolk Class A girls singles bowling tournament in East Islip on Wednesday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Leighanna Tolan continues to stake her claim as the top bowler on Long Island.
Tolan rolled a 483 over two games to take home the 'A' singles title at the Suffolk singles/doubles girls bowling tournament at East Islip Lanes on Wednesday. The Central Islip junior rolled a 238 and closed the day out with a 245, including six straight strikes to begin the second game.
“I’m pretty confident in the way I bowl,” Tolan said. “There was a bunch of amazing bowlers here and the scores put up were pretty high. Somehow, I came out on top.”
Tolan whose 233.4 average ranks first amongst boys and girls, needed every pin as Sachem’s Cira Arcangel finished with a 482. Arcangel was anchored by a 279 in the first game and rolled a 203 in the second.
“Being around other strong bowlers makes you want to do better,” Tolan said. “It gives you more motivation.”
Trishna Desai of Smithtown (472), Kailyn Bloch of East Islip (450) and Bryelle Reid of Bellport (435) rounded out the top five of the 'A' division. Sachem’s Isabella Quaranta (466) was first in the 'B' division, Floyd’s Jannelle Ramoska (385) earned first in the 'C' division and Brentwood’s Naomi Rhoden (349) finished in first in the 'D' division.
East Islip duo wins
Bloch and Dakota Collins combined for a 910 over two games to win the 'A' doubles title. The East Islip duo took home the crown for a second consecutive year after winning last season with a 955.
“We always feed off each other. We knew we didn’t have a good first game, so we had to lock in and come up with a big second game,” Bloch said. “We’re comfortable with each other and knew we were capable of it.”
Kailyn Bloch (left) and Dakota Collins of East Islip win the Suffolk Class A girls doubles bowling tournament in East Islip on Wednesday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Bloch rolled a 215 in game 1 and a 269 in game 2, while Collins rolled a 215 in game 1 and a 212 in game 2.
Longwood’s Jolie Penney and Ava Mazella weren’t far behind, finishing in second with a 901. West Babylon's Kyra Walter and Alyssa Mattel (882) were third, Central Islip’s Tolan and Ani Dilan (852) were fourth, and Bellport’s Reid and Morgan Thompson (833) were fifth.
Eastport-South Manor’s Sarah Benson and Pasha Wray (731) came in first in the 'B' division and Azlynn Long and Maddie Mulderig of Patchogue-Medford (566) were first in the 'C' division.
“It was very exciting to help her [Bloch] get the win, especially in her senior year,” Collins said. “She really pushed herself. I did my best to give her even more of a push and we just have a tremendous amount of confidence in ourselves."
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.