By Steve Siniski
The trip got off to a rocky start, as the bus carrying the Nassau County contingent, including the Section VIII individual boys and girls All Star teams, fell victim to a flat tire before arrival. The delay prevented the teams from practicing prior to the event. Once East Meadow did get a chance to concentrate on its first order of business, however, it came out the gates strong. The Jets led off with their best team game of the tournament, rolling a 1,064 match, good for a second place start. ³We knew we had to [bowl] between a 1,050-1,150 each game to be in the top,² coach Wendy Logue said. ³We had a couple of 900s [series] in there that hurt us.²
After the Jets drew Elmira, the defending state champs, for the first three games of the tournament, the two teams squared off again in the afternoon session in a battle for positioning. Elmira ultimately captured fourth place in the 10-team bracket, squeaking by East Meadow with a mere 30-pin cushion.
Justin Juarez led the way for East Meadow in terms of pinfall, but it was Louis Franzese who posted the team¹s top individual game. He topped out at 250 and in a testament to the talent on hand, didn¹t even register among the top three individual scores at the tournament. A bowler from Suffolk hit perfection with a 300 in one of his games, while another bowler in the tournament registered a 297 on the scorecard.
³It was definitely a great experience to get their feet wet and see what the state tournament is all about,² Logue said. ³It was definitely a team effort and they all want to get back there.²
Aside from bowling in front of an even bigger house than Garden City Bowl has to offer at the Nassau County Championships, East Meadow also dealt with a different set of lane conditions than normal. The 72-lane alley featured a wood surface, not the usual synthetic surface the team had previously bowled on. ³It was actually slower and they had to throw harder,² Logue said of the adjustments the team had to make in order to compensate for its hooks and rotations on the lanes.
The Lady Jets Alyssa Kennedy qualified for the Section VIII girls All-Star team based on her 168.5 average at the Nassau County Championships last month, while Clarke¹s Conor Killard (208 average at the County¹s) earned a spot on the boys Section VIII team. The girls finished second in their 10-team bracket, while the boys earned a third-place finish with a total pinfall of 6,431.
