When it came time for the East Syracuse Minoa girls bowling team to earn a Section III championship Sunday at Strike-N-Spare Lanes, it sure helped to have Haley Youker in the anchor position.
Youker posted the best individual series of the sectional tournament, male or female, and with her, the Spartans pulled away for the Division I (large school) championship and earned a trip to the OnCenter for the March 9-10 state championships.
In all, 10 schools competed in the large-school division, with ESM starting out in third place after the opening game as it only shot 773 on lanes that featured the “Tower of Pisa” oil pattern, which proved challenging for the entire field.
But ESM improved to a 847 in the second game and then, with a 904 in the third game, seized the lead at 2,524, leading Liverpool by 50 pins at the end of the morning session.
In the first game of the afternoon session, the Spartans, with an 827, extended its lead, only to give some of it back with a 796 in the fourth game as Liverpool got 862 to move within range.
However, in the final game, the Warriors faded to fourth place as Rome Free Academy (4.868) and Auburn (4,867) passed them, but their comeback proved too late.
ESM watched as Youker closed her sixth and final game with seven strikes on her last eight shots. That produced a 247 game, the best by any girls bowler all day.
Youker’s six-game aggregate of 1,318 also featured games of 235, 237 and 221, plus a 195 and 183. It beat, by more than 100 pins, the top boys individual effort of 1,209 done by Fulton’s Bradley Martin.
The Spartans, with a total pinfall of 4,988, finished 120 pins clear of Auburn. America Carhart finished ninth among individuals with a six-game total of 1,044 (high game of 219) asKathleen Bayly had a 904 series and Lizzy D’Agostino a 903 series.
Fayetteville-Manlius finished sixth among Class A sides with a pinfall of 3,819 as Shelby Miner finished 36th among individuals with a six-game total of 865. Christian Brothers Academy had Anna Ziemba post an 869 series as Bishop Grimes was led by Katie Knittel, who had a 654 series.
In the boys sectional Division I tournament, ESM contended most of the way, but settled for third place in Division I with 5,237, behind Fulton, who won with 5,503 as Baldwinsville was second (5,295) and F-M was sixth with 5,120.
For the Spartans, Sean Timmons had the third-best individual game of 246, and his 1,181 aggregate was fourth among individuals, just 28 pins behind Martin.
F-Ms’ John Buonfiglio was seventh among individuals with a 1,127 series (high game 237), just ahead of ESM’s Ryan MacCombie in eighth place (1,127 series).
The Hornets’ Adam Koss was 11th (1,085 series) and Isaac Blanford was 15th (1,078 series), with ESM’s Hunter Borkowski as he got a 1,078 set. CBA was ninth in the Class C/D standings as Garrett Bowman had a 953 series and Bishop Grimes’ Jordan Newman contributed a 917 series.
Tournament week began with F-M boys rising to the top spot in last Tuesday’s inaugural Salt City Athletic Conference tournament.
With a total pinfall of 2,080, the Hornets held off runner-up Fulton (2,062) by 18 pins. Liverpool was third with 2,004 as ESM fell back to sixth place with 1,914.
However, ESM, led by Youker, nearly won the girls SCAC championship. The Spartans’ pinfall of 1,864 was beaten only by Liverpool’s winning effort of 1,880. F-M was ninth with a team score of 1,455.
