No doubt, it helped Cicero-North Syracuse bowlers Joe Bodnar and Beth Piston that the Section III championships took place Saturday at Strike-N-Spare Lanes, the Northstars’ home facility.
And the pair took full advantage, winning both of the individual titles as C-NS’s boys team also made a bold run for the team championship, only to fall just short against Oswego.
Piston started with a pedestrian 184 game, but took off in the second game with 231. Then, in the third game, Piston was nearly perfect, shooting a 279 as she finished with a 694 series, well ahead of Frankfort-Schuyler’s Micaela Doursam, who was second with a 602 set amid tough lane conditions.
Over in the boys tournament, Bodnar began with a 225 and was 43 pins behind Baldwinsville’s Ryan Zbikowski. But Bodnar nearly caught up with a 274 in the second game, and with a final game of 234, he ended up with a 733 set, nine pins ahead of Zbikowski.
Behind Bodnar, C-NS’s Jayson Atkins had a 249 high game and 651 series, putting himself in 15th place, while Erik Liepke was 27th with a 606 series, one pin better than teammate Jake Patterson. Jordyn Naylor had a 494 series, taking 22nd place in the girls event.
The team competition saw C-NS take the lead with a total pinfall of 3,199 in the three-game morning session, just ahead of Oswego, with 3,162.
However, the Buccaneers would rally in the afternoon “Baker” format (each individual getting two frames per game) and take the sectional title with 6,163 leaving the Northstars in second place with 5,980.
