MATTYDALE – No small-school bowler could match what Solvay’s Jordan Zimmerman accomplished during Sunday’s Section III team tournament at Strike-N-Spare Lanes.
Competing at his home venue, Zimmerman dazzled in all four games and helped the Bearcats to a sixth-place finish in Division II and fourth in Class C/D behind eventual small-school champion Beaver River, Adirondack and Weedsport.
Zimmerman opened with a 255 game and did even better in the second, rolling a 267. Though cooling off a bit in the third and fourth games, Zimmerman still got plenty of strikes and marks while shooting 215 and 204.
With a total pinfall of 941, Zimmerman led all Division II bowlers, just ahead of Weedsport’s Ethan Reitema, who put up a 932 series and closed with his own 267, and was third overall behind the 957 series of New Hartford’s J.P. Lazzaro and 944 series of Utica Proctor’s Ian Witonsky.
Solvay was third in Division II after the opening game of 977 and shot 969 in the second, though games of 896 and 814 cost the Bearcats a chance to make the four-team “Baker” format semifinals which would determine two berths in March’s state tournament, also to take place at Strike-N-Spare.
Jake Bigelow gave Solvay games of 211 and 201 as part of a four-game total of 756. Tripp Sauer managed a top game of 193 in his 686 series as Marquez McNeil opened with his own 211 in a 646 series and Al Alnuami had a 627 total.
Six days earlier, West Genesee got to witness a bit of history during its match against Cicero-North Syracuse as the Northstars’ Garrett Arnold shot his second 300 game of the season after never reaching that mark prior to this winter.
Arnold’s effort was part of C-NS defeating the Wildcats 7-0, but the match also had WG’s Lorelai Leskoske shoot a 256 after an opening 227 in a 643 series.
Alex Bigelow opened with 225 adding 180 and 186 for a 591 series, while Domanick Joslyn had, by far, his best game of the season with a third-game 254.
Solvay lost both sides of its match last Tuesday against Christian Brothers Academy, the boys picking up some points in a 5-2 defeat to the Brothers. Zimmerman shot a 205 opening game in his 534 series. Marquez McNeil added a 208 game in his 507 set. CBA’s Tom Dearnaley led all individuals with a three-game total of 551.
What the girls Bearcats witnessed in a 7-0 defeat to CBA was the Brothers’ Eliana Occhino dazzling with a 795 series from games of 278, 267 and 249. Zaileese Tarbell led Solvay with a 382 series.