Without a doubt, each and every athlete in the FM School District can say that COVID-19 has caused extreme changes in the way sports seasons are run. Whether that be fewer players on the team, a shorter season, or modified versions of competitions, each team has certainly felt these effects.

For the FM Boys’ Varsity Bowling team in particular, this meant no travelling, live streaming their events, and often not knowing the results until days after they bowled. However, the pandemic did not stop them from prevailing. In fact, the ten boys on the team worked together to earn the title of division champions for their season.

This year, the team welcomed three new players, Ben Braun, George LaCombe, and Gabo Williams, who each showed tremendous improvement in a very short amount of time said their coach, Mr. Carlos Mendez. As for returning players, Jack Jeffery, Mike Nanno, and Adam Koss ended the season with high game scores of 279, 268, and 289, respectively. Adam Koss ended his season with a 209.55 average, the fourth highest average of the league, and Mike Nanno ended his season with a 207.51 average, the fifth highest average of the league. In addition, both boys were named to the All-League 1st Team, along with the first ever All-CNY Boys Bowling Team for syracuse.com.  Coach Mendez was also recognized as the All-CNY large school Coach of the Year.

With the team’s 9 wins and 1 loss record in the Metro Division, the boys left their coach in awe. This year’s squad had some of the highest team game and team series scores Mr. Mendez says he has ever seen in his time as the varsity bowling coach. This year, their high team game (five bowlers) was an astounding 1127, compared to their score of 1039 the year before, and their high team series (three games total) was 3158. “The team has not bowled a series above 3000 since I’ve been coaching,” Mendez stated. “This is my third year coaching the boys team, and each year we’ve seen awesome growth.”

Mendez also found pride in the consistent progression in team averages over the last 3 seasons he has coached the boys.  During his first year of coaching them, the team had an average of 875 per game, which increased to 900 the following year, and then 921 per game this year.

“The FM Boys Varsity Bowling is a young team with a lot of talent and is sure to be one of the top teams in the SCAC next season,” said Mr. Mendez confidently. It will be very exciting to see what the boys accomplish in upcoming seasons, as they are presented with more and more opportunities to set records, improve even more, and carry their well-deserved title of division champs.