The Amsterdam High School varsity bowling team’s regular season ended with a loss to Johnstown on Wednesday at Perry Lanes Bowling Center in Johnstown, but the team ended up with the third-best record in the league behind Johnstown, and league leader South Glens Falls, according to Amsterdam Coach Mike Miseno.
“It’s a moral victory,” Coach Miseno said following the match. “We lost that last game by only seven pins after dropping the first game by almost 180. We showed some character hanging in there and came back.”
The Rams were led by senior Jake Preville’s 718 series with a high game of 279. Junior Jon Schultz bowled a 685 series and took a perfect game into the final frame of game three before settling for a 275 best game. Preville’s 279 was the high game of the match helping Amsterdam recover from a poor first game start where they fell by 173 pins, yet rallied in the later two games falling shy by only seven pins in game three.
Johnstown won by scores of 1308 pins to 1135 in game one, 1390 to 1303 in game two, and 1224 to 1217 in game three, for an overall 3922 to 3655 advantage in total pins. Garret Way rolled a 721 series with a high game of 248, and Ethan Hadcock bowled a 709, with a high mark of 255 to lead the Johnstown Sir Bills varsity bowling team to a three game and overall pins victory over the Amsterdam Rams. The win secured Johnstown as second place in the Foothills Council.
Preville led the way for Amsterdam with game scores of 258, 279, and 181. Schultz improved with every game starting with a187, and following it with 223 in the second game and finally the 275 that caught the crowd’s attention as he tried to complete a perfect score. Mike Hughes was the only Ram to roll better than 200 in all three games, starting with a 202, and continuing with 215 and 210 scores. Senior Fred Pinto put together a 206, 217, and 193 for a total of 616 pins. Senior Nate Grant completed a 508 series with scores of 160, 198, and 150. Senior Michaela Kelly improved with each game and recovered from a 122 first game with a 171 in the second, and a 208 third. Kelly drew applause from the crowd when she picked up a spare in the fifth frame of the third game on a difficult “one-seven split.” Kelly totaled 501 pins for the Rams.
Way totaled game scores of 246, 245, and 230 for the Sir Bills. Hadcock scored a 225, 255, and 229 for his 709 series. Hunter Meher contributed to the Johnstown cause with a 207, a team best 266 in the second game, and 210 in the third game for a total of 683 pins. Nick Winton rolled a 259, 206, 196, for 661 pins, Andy Sitterly rolled a 182, 203, 202, for a 587 series, and Sam Miller tossed in a 189, 214, 157, for a 560 total helping Johnstown lock up second place in the Foothills Council.
Amsterdam now prepares for the 2018 Foothills Council Championships on Wednesday, February 7 in Fort Edward. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Section 2 Bowling Championships are being held on Monday, February 12. Amsterdam will be participating in the Class A event at Boulevard Bowl on Erie Boulevard in Schenectady. The championships begin at 9am, and are an all day event.
“We’re wiping the slate clean,” Coach Miseno said. “Tournaments are a clean slate. We will practice next week and get back at it.”
Miseno pointed out that the Amsterdam squad tied the league-leading South Glens Falls Bulldogs two games apiece last week.
The Section 2 Championships will likely mark the final match for seniors Michaela Kelly, Fred Pinto, Mike Hughes, Nate Grant, and Jake Preville. But, waiting to take their turn at the varsity level are a talented group of underclassmen that are improving with every step. Among them are freshman John Wolf Jr., and eighth graders Kai Brennan and Mekhi Curry.
“Our junior varsity has shown a lot of improvement,” Coach Miseno said. “Mehki Curry, John Wolf, and Kai Brennan have improved a ton all year.”
