CENTRAL NEW YORK – Everyone at Green Lakes Lanes halted their activity, hoping to witness perfection.
West Genesee bowler Lorelai Leskoske was in her third game of last Monday’s match against Fayetteville-Manlius, having already rolled games of 203 and 182 before a third game that was proving special.
Eleven consecutive shots found the pocket and turned into strikes. Now, with one more strike, Leskoske could complete the first 300 game of her career and the first for the Wildcats bowling program.
Both teams cheered her on as, again, Leskoske’s shot was on a good trajectory, crashed into the pins – but the seven-pin was left standing.
Still, it was a 299 game, part of a 684 set that, along with Alex Bigelow’s 615 series and Jason Clifton’s 592, overcame strong F-M performances.
Bigelow shot 229 and Clifton 221 in the same third game as Leskoske’s 299 as Jack Einlich had a third-game 187, his best of the day. F-M’s Gabriel Williams had three 200-plus games in his 631 set and Sean Bird opened with a 234 in his 604 set.
Solvay saw its girls team, off to a 3-0 start, keep it up by shutting out Chittenango 7-0 last Wednesday afternoon. Nydia Rentas led the Bearcats with a 443 series, with Gabriella LaFlair adding a three-game total of 415.
But the win streak ended Thursday with a 7-0 defeat to unbeaten Christian Brothers Academy, who was again led by 2023 individual state champion Eliana Occhino and her 716 series with games of 222, 258 and 236. Rentas, with a 414 set, led the Bearcats, one pin ahead of the 413 series from LaFlair.
Meanwhile, in boys bowling, Solvay’s Justin Zimmerman shot games of 235 and 234 in his 651 series, by far the best of any individual, yet the Bearcats lost to Chittenango 5-2.
No other Solvay bowler had better than a 400 series, though Kyle Hap got close with his 395 set. Five Chittenango bowlers had series of 398 or better, led by Lucas Troast’s 213 game and Matt Lycett’s 473 series.
By that same 5-2 margin, CBA topped Solvay, too, though Zimmerman remained consistent, his 238, 206 and 217 producing a 661 series as Joe Meloling added a 470 set. Tom Dearnaley led the Brothers, shooting a three-game total of 618.
