Kellie Sandas, Kellenberg roll past Holy Trinity in girls bowling
Kellie Sandas of Kellenberg gets congratulated by teammates after rolling a 221 in Game 1 of a Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA girls bowling match against Holy Trinity at Levittown Lanes on Thursday. Credit: James Escher
Captain Kellie Sandas.
It’s a deserving title for someone who has been such a crucial member for the Kellenberg girls bowling team throughout the past three seasons.
"She’s really grown into her own," said Kellenberg coach Allyson Frisina, who named Sandas captain prior to the start of the season. "She has taken some of the younger bowlers under her wing, shown her leadership potential and demonstrates what the Kellenberg spirit is all about."
Sandas led by example Thursday night, rolling a 221 in Game 1 and a 212 in Game 2 of a 622 series for Kellenberg in an 8-1 CHSAA win over Holy Trinity at Levittown Lanes.
"I’m really grateful to just have a season," Sandas said. "It’s an honor to be the leader of this team and I hope that these girls look up to me."
Sandas led the CHSAA with a 189 average last season, has been a member of three of the Firebirds’ four consecutive league title teams and has yet to lose a match on varsity.
"They do all the work, I just kind of tweak things here and there as their coach," Frisina said. "They are having a lot of fun and that’s what is most important, seeing their faces light up."
Kellenberg, which improved to 3-0, has not lost a regular season match since January 2017.
"It’s a really great accomplishment, not too many teams have been able to compile a streak like ours," Sandas said. "We are going to just take it one match at a time and hope we can keep it alive."
Just a few lanes over, the Kellenberg boys continued their impressive start to the season with a 9-0 win over Holy Trinity.
"The boys have really developed a great chemistry amongst one another," Kellenberg coach Brian Farrell said. "We really don’t have one bowler that is going to carry us."
The Firebirds are 5-0 and collected their third win of the week. The other two came against eight-time defending CHSAA champion Chaminade on Monday and Wednesday.
"We have really got into a rhythm," said sophomore bowler Memphis Ling. "Since the start of the season we have been very consistent with our focus and our mentality."
Ling led the way with a 204 in Game 3 of a 556 series, while senior Dylan Lopez tossed a 209 in Game 1 of a 554 series. Richard Deem bowled a match-high 213 in Game 2 for Kellenberg.
"This has been a nice kind of escape for the kids to try and take steps to some type of normalcy," said Farrell. "It’s good for them to get back into a social atmosphere, instead of just being behind a computer screen all day."
