On Friday, March 8th, the Camden Boys’ Varsity Bowling team will compete in the 2024 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Boys’ Bowling Championship in Syracuse. The championship will be held at Strike N’ Spare Lanes in Syracuse. The opening three game session will be held at noon, and the closing three game session will begin at 4 p.m.
It’s the culmination of what has been a banner campaign for the Blue Devils. To make it here, Camden recently secured the Section III Division II championship for a second consecutive year. The Blue Devils secured the title and punched their ticket to states on the back of a total pinfall of 5,698.
The Blue Devils were led in Sectional Play by Daniel Janes, who averaged a 203 game over six outings for the day. His six-game series score of 1,218 was seventeenth among all bowlers at the championship. Ayden Gerow and Gabe Lallier notched six-game scores of 1,167 and 1,166, respectively.
With a trip to states in tow, the Blue Devils have met the expectations of tradition while also exceeding the expectations for a new year, and a new team.
At the outset of the campaign, there was cautious optimism in the Camden camp. Six bowlers returned from the 2023 Section III Championship team. But, there was also the element of the unknown and the excitement that lies in potential. For starters, state-runner up Koen Turner graduated in Spring 2023. Then, there was the team’s incoming youth movement.
By Head Coach Al Rose’s estimation, this is the youngest team he has coached at Camden in his fourteen year career. He had seven middle school students make the team, with many of them bowling competitively for the first time.
There was also the element of some new schedule challenges to endure. While Camden is fortunate to enjoy a dedicated home base at the Lucky Shots Bowling Center, many of the team’s TVL peers were not as fortunate this offseason. Utica’s Pin-O-Rama Lanes, which is a massive facility, closed and left many area teams scrambling for practice and match time amidst jam-packed schedules. The ripple effects were felt across the region.
“Scheduling practices and matches for all the teams was a challenge,” Rose said. “All we could do was take it one day at a time and see how the season would play out.”
The Blue Devils took it all in stride to deliver another season for the ages. The veteran bowlers developed their arsenal on the lanes, and the newcomers caught hold of the basics. The regular season resulted in an 11-3 TVL record and a 12-3 overall record, and the Blue Devils were third in the league standings behind Division I powers New Hartford and RFA. They also captured the Camden Invitational Title and placed second at the TVL Championship tournament.
The team was led by sophomore Ayden Gerow who held a 201 average in the league. His talents project extremely well for his remaining two years of high school. Also contributing to the team success was senior Daniel Janes with a 187 average, senior Gabe Lallier with a 179 average, freshman Garrett Grinnell with a 176 average, freshman Alex Lallier with a 172 average, sophomore Braylon Lyke with a 170 average, junior Christian Grant with a 137 average and Conner Bruggeman with a 130 average.
Rounding out this years team were 8th grader Ethan Puleo(120 avg), senior Ryan Holland(116 avg), 8th grader Dalton Metott (106 avg), 8th grader Cole Musch(111 avg), 8th grader Adam Orsino(82 avg), 8th grader Justin Melnick(68 avg), 7th grader Zach Rodgers(85 avg) and freshman Paul Downing(75 avg).
For states, Camden will bring Gerow, Gabe and Alex Lallier, Janes, Grinnell, Lyke, Bruggeman, and Puleo.
Per NYSPHSAA Policy, tickets for this championship event must be purchased in a digital format through the GoFan platform. Visit
https://nysphsaa.org/sports/2022/12/12/BowlingTickets.aspx to learn more.