A year later, Derby and Section VI were in the mix for another state title at Strike N Spare in suburban Syracuse on Saturday. However, this year Derby and her teammates opted for a bigger win as they edged Section XI by 23 pins with a score of 6,378 to 6,355, claiming the state championship.

Section VI’s larger margin of victory was led by the Jamestown senior as she earned a second place medal for the second highest series after rolling a scoreline of 234-224-266-724 in the first session and 208-232-223-653 in the second session for a total of 1,386.

“Abbie gave an absolutely wonderful performance,” JHS bowling coach Peggy Harris said. “She was very consistent throughout all six games. She really kept her head in the game. She stayed very, very focused. The girls all worked together as a team, encouraging each other and supporting each other. It was really an awesome experience, it really was.”

Derby was also selected for the Section VI Sportsmanship Award.

The Section VI bowling team is pictured with their coaches after winning the NYSPHSAA girls bowling championship at Strike N Spare in Mattydale. Submitted photo

Winning the state championship with Derby are Hinsdale’s Madison Rondeau, Frontier’s Madison Ciminelli and Jessica Holtz, Amherst’s Wynter Winkfield, Niagara Falls’ Allie Ventry and Clarence’s Madison Blaszak.

While the Section XI girls came up short, the boys took first place ahead of Section V by 47 pins at 6,801 and Section VI earned third at 6,565.

Dunkirk’s Robert Kozlowski helped the Section VI effort rolling 202-197-212-611 in the first session and then 212-230-247-689 for a total of 1,300.

Falconer senior Nicolas Houston finished his high school career tossing 193-233-204-630 in the first session and then 241-173-216-630 for a total of 1,260.

The rest of the Section VI composite boys team are Grand Island’s John Coram and Nick Galligan, Clarence’s Braiden Roba, North Tonawanda’s Charles Cain and Niagara Falls’ Bryce Rodgers.