LIVERPOOL – A single pin kept Christian Brothers Academy girls Eliana Occhino from catching Ashley Hardy and winning an individual state championship in 2022.
Perhaps remembering that lesson, Occhino battled to the end and emerged victorious from the individual portion of last Sunday’s Section III team tournament at Flamingo Bowl in Liverpool.
Immediately, Occhino dazzled with a 268 in the opening game, even as it trailed the 279 from Baldwinsville’s Julia Speich. A 223 followed, and a 173 third game left Occhino at 667 as Speich got 742 for the morning session.
But as Speich shot 172 and 171 with a 224 in between, Occhino improved as the afternoon went along, going from 213 to 225 and then shooting 226 in the final game to get to 1,331, overtaking Speich and winning by 21 pins.
As a team, CBA threatened to win the Division II (small school) sectional tournament, too, but struggles in the afternoon session meant that, with 4,170, it settled for second place.
The Brothers led after one game with 692 and, with 2,021 in the morning session, only trailed Holland Patent’s 2,054. But West Canada Valley, shooting 2,442 in the afternoon, passed both CBA and the Golden Knights, ultimately getting 4,459 to advance to the state tournament.
Helping Occhino for CBA, Jane Walsh had an 805 series, closing with a 164, while Sofia Ciereck got a six-game total of 779.
Up in Division I, where no one got close to Baldwinsville’s winning 5,884 on the team side, Fayetteville-Manlius finished seventh with 4,164, doing its best with a 778 in the third game while taking fifth in the Class A bracket.
Samantha Estock opened with a 142, but followed with 258 and 232 for a 632 morning series. The Hornets standout cooled off in the afternoon but still, at 1,139, finished seventh overall.
Andrea Aguilar-Miranda added an 837 series and Ashlynn Yonge’s 809 edged out Lillian Squire’s 802.
As for East Syracuse Minoa, it finished 10th in Division I and seventh in Class A with 3.913, closing with a 742 final game as Alana Tubreville had a three-game total of 868 and Jewelianna Hallock a 742 set.
