SYRACUSE – Eastern Suffolk County schools representing Section XI took care of business at the New York State Bowling Championships in Syracuse this past weekend. The lanes at Strike ‘N’ Spare were hot, and pins were coming down in strikes.
High School varsity bowling teams in Suffolk County are members of the New York State Public Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) and compete under Section XI. Boys’ varsity bowling has four leagues made up of 35 total teams. Girls’ varsity bowling has three leagues made up of 20 teams.
Let’s start with the Division I large school boys bowling championship. The Cougars of Commack brought the title home in dominant fashion, bowling a combined total of 6,503 pins to earn their first NYS title. Prior to this, they claimed the Suffolk County title in February, defeating the 2025 Suffolk County champions, East Islip, with a combined 7,050 total pins. Having won the County title meant they got to represent Suffolk at States.
For the girls, East Islip claimed the New York State title for the first time since 2014, fresh off a back-to-back-to-back Suffolk County title. The girls combined for a total of 5,637 pins to defeat their opponent. East Islip led League II with an 11-1-0 record for the 2025-26 season.
East Islip was led by a senior trio in Makayla Boyd, Brooke Anderson, and Peyton Scholl. Boyd bowled a 1,187 series, putting up three 200-plus point games in the tournament. Scholl bowled 1,016 for the series, with her best match coming in game five, bowling a 228. Andersen bowled a 1,235 for the tournament, bowling her best match in game five as she helped to erase a 100-pin deficit over her opponent.
The girls’ individual championships saw four Eastern Suffolk County bowlers place in the top six. Senior Brooke Andersen of East Islip took second, Junior Trishna Desai of Smithtown took third, Junior Kaylee Dwyer of Longwood took fourth, and Junior Meeya Leaderman of East Islip took sixth. Desai was recognized for the Sportsmanship Award at the state tournament. All four bowlers were named to Newsday’s top-20 bowlers list prior to the season.
Desai, the lone bowler for Smithtown at the State Championships, has been a strong focal point on the radar for many. In January, Desi bowled a series high 804, with all three matches coming in at 268, 279, & 257. She was averaging first in Suffolk County with a 226.6. Last season, she was part of the All-Star squad that helped win a State title representing Section XI.
Bowling is unique because it’s a mix of individual and a team-oriented sport. If one bowler isn’t doing well, it could affect the team, so relying on others to pick up the slack is sometimes needed. The Section XI bowlers representing Long Island at the NYS championships made sure nothing got in their way, learning from their mistakes, growing as the tournament progressed, and eventually coming out on top.
Congratulations to the Commack boys and the East Islip girls teams for winning their respective State championships! Congratulations are also in order to those who qualified and competed in the tournament and bowled well.
