NEW YORK STATE BOYS BOWLING: WAVERLY ROLLS TO A RUNNER-UP SHOWING AT DIVISION 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS (2024-03-08)

By TIM TAYLOR
Valley Sports Report
SYRACUSE — Waverly posted a program-best second-place finish at the 2024 NYSPHSAA Boys Bowling Championships held at AMF Strike N Spare Lanes here Friday.

Competing in Division 2, the Wolverines posted a six-game total of 6,030 to climb above last year’s fourth-place finish and a third-place finish back in 2011.

Waverly turned back challenges from Section 2’s Lansingburgh out of the Albany area and Peru of Section VII from the northeast area of the state. Those teams scored 5,978 and 5,971, respectively.

The Wolverines trailed only defending champion West Seneca East from the Buffalo region in Section VI. The Warhawks, who will be moving up to Division 1 next season, registered a score of 6,482.

Coach Derek Bowman, who has taken the boys team to the state championship tournament twice in his three-year reign, believes last year’s tournament experience was a plus this year.

“I think how we handled it as a complete team was key ... last year, we kind of made it almost like a vacation, a little trip,” he said. “We came out, went to the mall, did some recreational things. This year we said, 'all right, let's drive up, let's drive back that day. Let's make it a business trip,' and that's what we tried to do.”

With the exception of Dominick Wood, who had moved out of the district during the 2022-23 school year, the Wolverine bowlers who competed this year brought state tourney experience from last year.

“All those guys had some sort of experience here last year,” Bowman said. “Maybe the number of games changed last year because we lost two big seniors with Ashton Pritchard and Zach Vanderpool. They had a majority of it, but all of those guys but Dom were here.”

Waverly recorded its highest game of the tournament right out of the gate, scoring a 1.050 behind a 225 from Tristan Campbell, a 221 from Carter Hayes, Derek Johnson’s 205 and Trenton Sindoni’s 201. Dominick Wood was just two pins shy of a 200.

Sindoni shot a 231 in game two to lead the team to a 1,006. Johnson came in at 205 and Wood had a 200. Campbell added a 191 and Hayes tacked on a 179.

Game three saw Sindoni set the pace again as he chalked up a 224. Wood added a 214, followed by Campbell with a 196, Hayes at 194 and Johnson with a 162.

The team scored a 990 to compile a 3,046 total for the first session, putting them in third. WSE sat comfortably at the top with a 3,365, Seaford out of Section VIII on Long Island was in second at 3083, Lansingburgh was fourth at 3031 and Peru was fifth with 2918.

Sindoni led the way with a 656 series while Campbell and Wood matched scores at 612. Hayes posted a 594 and Johnson added a 572.

WSE continued to dominate in the second session, scoring 3,117, while Peru shot 3,053 and local contender Camden had a 3,038. The Wolverines scored 2.984 while bowling side-by-side with Lansingburgh, which had a 2,947. Seaford faded out of medal contention with a 2,758.

Sindoni continued to enjoy a strong day on the lanes with a 248 while his teammates all flirted with 200s. Campbell shot 195, Johnson had a 194, Wood added a 192 and Hayes had a 191 to give the team a 1,020 score.

Game five offered Sindoni another 200-plus as he shot a 226. Johnson rolled a 205, Wood recorded a 192, Campbell added a 187 and Hayes tacked on a 184 for a 994 team score.

Johnson and Campbell came on strong in the final game, shooting 242 and 235, respectively. Wood had a 185, Sindoni a 182 and Hayes a 127 as Waverly ended the tournament with a 970 game.

Sindoni rolled a 655, giving him five 200-plus games and a six-game total of 1,311.

“I think Trenton Sindoni, as a senior, couldn't be happier for him to go out that way,” Bowman said. “I'm not sure exactly the place he took yet, but he threw above his average and that's what I asked.

“I asked the guys to be you all season and when you can get a little more than what you're capable of doing on a regular basis it's always a good thing.”

Campbell posted a 617 for a 1,229 total. Johnson’s 641 helped him post a 1,213 total, Wood scored a 569 to total out at 1,181, and Hayes finished with a 502 series and 1,096 total.

Bowman spotted areas where the Wolverines could have done a little better, but also realized the challenges his team faced.

“The single pins killed us,” he said. "We missed 11 in the first three games and I haven't seen the stat sheet, but I think it was close to, again, double digits, in the second three games. Those are potential for 11 pins each spare miss, so it's frustrating, but they grind it and we knew it was going to be a challenge.

“Being able to go through that and the transition from games 1, 2, 3, and then in between, the oil sitting for an hour on the lane, I'm happy and proud of the guys.”

Hayes was selected Waverly’s recipient of the Sportsmanship award.

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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.