Fairport, Newark repeat as Section V girls bowling champions

NORTH GATES — The amount of medals, trophies, patches and plaques Fairport's Anna Lago and Canandaigua's Sadie Erb carried through the lanes was almost too much to bear.

Lago and Erb earned all the hardware for their outstanding performances when the Section V Girls Bowling Championships concluded Wednesday in front of hundreds at ABC Gates Bowl. Lago struck gold with three-time champion Fairport in Class A, and Erb's Canandaigua team was runner-up to Greece Arcadia in Class B. Both girls rolled the high-series of their respective classes, recognized with the tallest trophies of the tournament.

Other team champs included Greece Arcadia, Bloomfield and Newark, which won its seventh straight section title and will seek a third New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championship when they travel to states with Fairport in March. Erb clinched a trip by qualifying for the Section V composite team.

Bowling: Section V results for the 2023-24 season

"It's really exciting," Erb said. "It's even more loud than it was today. A lot of cheering, lots of people. It's really fun."

What it means

Section V awards team team championships in four classifications, but only two programs can advance to the NYSPHSAA tournament. The Class A and B teams competed in Division I while Class C and D programs participated in Division II.

Fairport coaches Jamie Masclee and Rob Wrights' Red Raiders will return to states — where they placed fifth in 2023 — as the Division I champ after winning Class A again. Lago, Rainah Roos and Alivia Kappen helped Fairport total 5,481 pins, holding off runner-up Spencerport by 22 pins. Fairport finished the season 14-2 overall and Monroe County Division I champs.

Greece Arcadia won the Class B crown by 348 pins. Coach F. Sandy Swingle's Titans, who last won a title in 2022, totaled 5,266 pins behind top-14 performances from Jessica McDonald, Gianna Shaw, Kaitlyn Johnson, Sarah Mitchell and Rebekah Mitchell.

Two-time state champion Newark is the Division II champ again after winning Class C for a seventh straight section title. Coach Mark Rowe's team was led by Sienna Hasseler, Sierra George and Emma Thayer's top-six series finishes. Newark's 5,107 pins were 124 more than runner-up Penn Yan. Bloomfield won the Class D title with 4,159 pins — 146 ahead of runner-up Red Creek. Lydia Tutty Mary Briggs, Kati Casciani and Abby Holb all performed well for coach James Hessenius' Bombers.

Most Outstanding Bowlers

With hopes of influencing the NYSPHSAA to award individual state champions, Section V instituted an individual championship given to the bowler with the high-series from each classification.

A crop of underclassmen won the inaugural Section V individual championships.

Class A: Anna Lago

Fairport sophomore Anna Lago won the Section V Class A individual bowling title with a tournament-best 1,264 series. Lago rolled the event's high-game with a 279 in Game 1 and shot a 633 series through the morning's first three games. She averaged 174.22 in the regular season and 210.66 during Wednesday's six-game tourney.

"I was just staying out of my head, sticking to where I knew I needed to stand to throw my ball, and just listen to my teammates too, and all of their support," Lago said.

Class B: Sadie Erb

Canandaigua freshman Sadie Erb's 1,187 series won her the Class B crown. Erb bowled well in the morning with a 549 series, but she exploded with a 638 series in the afternoon, finishing the tourney 221-213-204. Erb's 204.73 average was the section's second-best score, automatically qualifying for the composite team.

"I've been trying really hard to work on my mental game, and try to just focus on winning for my team and not focusing so much on myself. I think that worked a lot recently. And it helped me stay out of my own head," Erb said.

Class C: Sienna Hasseler

Newark freshman Sienna Hasseler won the Class C individual title with a riveting finish. Hasseler's 1,192 pins were only three ahead of runner-up Anella Tillman of Penn Yan. Hasseler's 244 in Game 4 helped her comeback. The 194.87 Hasseler averaged this winter was the eighth-best score in the section. Although just a freshman, Hasseler is already a veteran as part of Newark's 2022 and 2023 state title teams.

Class D: Lydia Tutty

Bloomfield freshman Lydia Tutty won the individual Class D championship with a 1,101 series. Tutty's 141-141-244 gave her the morning lead and she continued to shoot well in the afternoon. Tutty led the Bombers with a 172 average during the season.

All-tournament teams

Class A: Anna Lago (Fairport), Tiffany McCarthy (Penfield), Aurora Yantz (Rush-Henrietta), Rainah Roos (Fairport) and Isabella Ferraro (Hilton).

Class B: Sadie Erb (Canandaigua), Miley Bohrer (Mercy White), Kaylee Stephens (Brockport), Shannon McGrath (Eastridge), Jessica McDonald (Greece Arcadia).

Class C: Sienna Hasseler (Newark), Anella Tillman (Penn Yan), Leah Burke (Wayne), Sierra George (Newark), Emma Monagle (Midlakes).

Class D: Lydia Tutty (Bloomfield), Asher Merz (Marcus Whitman), Alyson Rushlo (Red Creek), McKenna Miller (Dundee-Bradford), Hailee Garcia (Bishop Kearney).

What's next

Fairport, Newark, and members of the Section V composite team will participate in the NYSPHSAA Championships March 8-10 at AMF Strike N' Spare Lanes in Syracuse.

Section V's top 20 bowling averages

The top six averages across Section V automatically qualify for the composite team, which will compete in a state tournament against opposing sections' best bowlers. Since Fairport qualified in Division I, their bowlers was replaced by the next best average.

1. Samantha Czerw (Spencerport) 205.07.

2. Sadie Erb (Canandaigua) 204.73.

3. Isabella Ferraro (Hilton) 203.36.

4. Aurora Yantz (Rush-Henrietta) 201.17.

5. Rainah Roos (Fairport) 199.11.

6. Leah Burke (Wayne) 195.67.

7. Anella Tillman (Penn Yan) 195.16.

8. Sienna Hasseler (Newark) 194.87.

9. Miley Bohrer (Mercy White) 192.35.

10. Mackenzie Smolnik (Fairport) 192.25.

11. Kaylee Stephens (Brockport) 191.51.

12. Tiffany McCarthy (Penfield) 190.00.

13. Julia Maldonado (Penn Yan) 189.56.

14. Hailey Barber (Rush-Henrietta) 185.76.

15. Rachel Lureman (Rush-Henrietta) 182.19.

16. Sierra George (Newark) 180.07.

17. Cassandra Westphal (Spencerport) 179.51.

18. JoAnn Catalano (Sodus/Williamson) 178.58.

19. Brianna Bouwens (Sodus/Williamson) 177.67.

20. Alivia Kappen (Fairport) 175.54.

— Marquel Slaughter is a journalist for the Democrat and Chronicle, specializing in high school sports. He has been reporter for 14 years. Follow him @MarquelSports on X or on Instagram. You can contact him at mslaughter1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Fairport, Newark repeat as Section V girls bowling champions