Kellenberg's Memphis Ling captures CHSAA individual bowling title

A bad game doesn’t mean a thing when your name is Memphis Ling.

After throwing a 279 in Game 1 on Thursday at the CHSAA boys bowling individual championship, Ling struggled in Game 2 and rolled a 137. The Kellenberg junior went from having a 31-pin advantage to trailing the leader by 28 pins.

"I evaluated what I did wrong in the second game and tried to learn from my mistakes," Ling said, as he prepared for Game 3. "In the final game I was able to utilize the right ball, make some adjustments on the lane and get the results that I was looking for."

Ling tossed seven strikes in a 246 Game 3 to finish with a 662 series and captured the CHSAA title at Bowlero Melville.

"I’m glad that I have good people by my side to help me in this journey," Ling said. "I’m proud of myself and know that my family is proud of me. I’d like to thank them, my coaches and my teammates for always being supportive."

Ling began Game 1 with five consecutive strikes, before knocking down nine pins on his first throw in the sixth frame. He picked up a spare in the sixth and finished with six straight strikes to close out his 279.

"I liked what I was able to do in that first game, and it was imperative for me to stay focused and not get too high or too low," said Ling, who averaged 204 during the regular season.

St. Anthony’s Dominick Rossi placed second with a 647 series and Ling’s teammate Richard Deem finished third with a 644. Rossi had a high game of 232 in Game 2 and Deem rolled a 245 in the second game. Rossi’s teammate Dominic Forte rolled the second-highest game with a 248 in Game 1.

St. Dominic senior Carmine Caruso, who finished fourth with a 627, was presented with the league MVP plaque for finishing the regular season with the top average (207).

"Without my parents, coaches at St. Dominic and my private bowling coach, none of this would have been possible," Caruso said. "Obviously, I wanted to go out with either high game or high series, but hats off to Memphis. It was an amazing job by him."

Flores and Romani shine for St. Dominic

Corina Flores started out strong and never looked back.

The St. Dominic senior rolled a 179 in Game 1 of a 467 series to capture the CHSAA individual girls title. Her teammate LuciAnn Romani bowled the second-highest game with a 173 in Game 3.

"Bowling well in the first game gave me a lot more confidence moving forward. I tend to get a little nervous, but that helped me relax a bit," Flores said. "Being a senior, I knew this was going to be the last time I was going to do this, so I told myself to have fun and enjoy the moment."

"I know that my grandmother is looking down on me in heaven right now and is proud of me. This is an emotional moment and means a lot," Romani said.