East Islip girls bowling's Meeya Leaderman, Brooke Andresen key third straight Suffolk team title
East Islip wins the Suffolk girls bowling team championship on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in West Babylon. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
East Islip’s girls bowling dynasty just keeps rolling.
Meeya Leaderman posted a six-game series of 1,298 and Brooke Andresen shot a 1,282 to lead East Islip to its third straight Suffolk championship Saturday at AMF Babylon Lanes. East Islip led from start to finish and totaled 6,037 pins.
“I’m amazed that we were able to pull out another win,” said Andresen, a senior who has been on the team for six years. “I’m so proud of our team for coming together, staying as one and being a unit. It just means a lot that I get to go up to states one more time before going to college and spending one last time with my team.”
East Islip will compete in the Division I state championship on March 15 at Strike ‘N Spare Lanes in Syracuse.
“It’s always really exciting to go back to Syracuse,” said Leaderman, a junior. “I’m excited to be back there for a third time and hopefully, we can finally win.”
Smithtown took second with 5,747 pins and Longwood took third with 5,698.
Smithtown and Longwood were each within 100 pins of East Islip after the first three games, but by the end of Game 5, East Islip led Smithtown by 216 pins and Longwood by 242 pins. East Islip totaled at least 1,000 pins in five of its six games.
“We always feel pressure, no matter how far ahead we are on any of the other teams,” Leaderman said. “We don’t let the lead get in our way. We’re not going to be overconfident and we know we have to keep pushing.”
Dominant programs like East Islip don’t often experience a coaching change. Rob Sconone took over when legendary coach Harold C. Cooley Jr. died during the 2020-21 season. Sconone, who coached the team for the last five years, stepped away before this season due to the birth of his child. The team hasn’t skipped a beat under first-year coach Genesis Dawson.
“It’s not just about being good, it’s about working hard,” Dawson said. “These girls have built upon Harold Cooley’s legacy, which Rob Sconone continued, and I’m so honored to be able to help these young ladies continue to improve and work hard.”
“It’s definitely a little different, but she puts so much time and effort into us and she never gives up on us,” Andresen said. “I’m very grateful for that.”
Andresen and Leaderman will compete for an individual state championship on March 14 along with Smithtown’s Trishna Desai, Longwood’s Kaylee Dwyer, Islip’s Tatum Palme and Commack’s Carissa Lugares.
Desai had the day’s highest six-game total with 1,335 pins. Lugares shot a 1,289 and Dwyer had a 1,284.
But it was Andresen and Leaderman leading East Islip to another title, along with Peyton Scholl, Maureen Schweizer, Makayla Boyd and Rosalie Crowe.
Said Leaderman: “Every time we bowl together, we know what it takes and we can just repeat it over and over, like we have the past three years.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
