Perfection in bowling is rarely attained, even by the best. Any 300 game is special, and attempts that fall just short of that standard can involve as much pressure as a close match.
To get close to that perfection three straight times is even rarer, but it was a zone that East Syracuse Minoa boys bowler Ryan MacCombie visited last Monday at Falcon Lanes in the Spartans’ 3-0 victory over Auburn.
In his first game, MacCombie had a 278 game. Then he threw 11 consecutive strikes and only missed perfection on his last shot in the second game on the way to a 298.
Somehow, MacCombie finished off this masterpiece with another 278 game, giving him a total of 854, that not only set a school record, but unofficially may have broken Section III and state records, too . Only a couple of shots out of the pocket separated MacCombie from the ultimate 900 score.
In this same match, the ESM girls lost, 3-0, to Auburn, despite a 596 series from Haley Youker. Rachel Deyett added a 477 series, but the Maroons had a 674 series and 254 game from Kaylee Hodson as Amber Pidlypchak (598 series, 235 high game) and Lily Snyder (561 series, 247 high game) also bowled well.
Two days later, back at Bowl-Mor Lanes, ESM swept Cortland, and now it was Youker’s turn to dazzle during the girls Spartans’ 3-0 shutout of the Purple Tigers.
Perhaps inspired by what MacCombie did, Youker was close to perfect in a 279 game that was part of a season-best 764 series as Amelia Carhart contributed a 515 set.
The irony was that, back home, MacCombie was far more normal while rolling a 645 series and 240 high game. Still, ESM swept this match, too, 3-0 over Cortland as Brett Smith had a 585 series (214 high game) and Sean Timmons contributed a 575 series.
Meanwhile, Fayetteville-Manlius earned a big sweep last Thursday afternoon when it defeated Baldwinsville in a pair of 3-0 decisions at Green Lakes.
John Buonfiglio paced the boys Hornets with a three-game total of 672. Isaac Blanford’s 231 game led to a 617 set as Jackson Arment got a 585 series (212 high game) and Kevin Winschel earned a 496 series. Jarod Napiorkowski’s aggregate of 561 was the Bees’ best.
In the simultaneous girls match, F-M’s Lydia Chase had her best showing of the season, a 590 series that included a 212 high game. Julianna Buonfiglio contributed a 528 series (180 high game) as Rachel Hance had a 467 series.
F-M started its week by hosting Central Square at Green Lakes and swept those matches by 3-0 margins, too.
Adam Koss had a 598 series and 214 high game for the boys Hornets. Winschel had a 562 series (201 high game), with Buonfiglio getting a three-game total of 549. Blanford’s 213 led to a 533 set as Justin Brooks got a 525 series and 199 high game.
The girls match had F-M’s Shelby Minor step up with a 524 series that included a high game of 208. Julianna Buonfiglio’s 201 game led to a 469 set as Hance had a 460 series and 168 high game. Victoria Ackley gave Central Square a 509 series.
Then F-M had to face Cicero-North Syracuse a day later at Strike-N-Spare Lanes. The boys Hornets lost, 3-0, though Winschel improved to a 618 series (228 high game) and Blanford’s 225 game led to a 573 set. Buonfiglio had a 548 series and Adam Koss a 529 series.
But C-NS had plenty of high scores, from J.J. O’Connell putting together a 702 series to a 692 series from Tim Cloonan as Zach Emm (673 series) and Nick Bough (654 series) closely followed.
Bishop Grimes lost, 6-0, to Solvay at Strike-N-Spare last Tuesday, even though Joe Knapp had a 586 series and 215 high game and Matt Rogers (465 series) and Jeff Dargiewicz (455 series) helped out. Four Bearcat players shot 420 or better.
Christian Brothers Academy met up with Altmar-Parish-Williamstown and won both sides of that match. In the boys Brothers’ 7-0 win, Vincent Carno rolled a 609 series with a high game of 225.
Also, the CBA girls got a7-0 shutout, with Julieta Pompo picking up a 376 series , ahead of the 335 series from Claire Jeschke and the 324 series from Anna Ziemba.
