Islip's Joe Kornahrens is Newsday's Athlete of the Week
Islip's Joe Kornahrens Credit: Alan J Schaefer
When Joe Kornahrens joined the Islip boys bowling team as an eighth-grader in 2014, he was enamored as he watched the upperclassmen put up 300 games in practice numerous times.
Kornahrens and four other eighth-grade bowlers, Robbie Grasso, Ray Boyce, Matt Steves and James Rindos, who are now all seniors for Islip, thought it would be a fun idea at the time to have a friendly competition to see who could throw one first.
“We just did it for bragging rights,” Kornahrens said. “As we got older, we could tell we were getting closer and closer to doing it. We messed with each other when we were bowling in practice, because we didn’t want the other person to get it.”
When it came to a match, however, there was no messing around.
Kornahrens had a perfect game entering the 10th frame on Jan. 15 against Copiague at East Islip Lanes. With his fellow seniors alongside cheering him on, he threw his final ball down the lane and knocked down all 10 pins to complete his first-ever 300 game. The feat earned him Newsday Athlete of the Week honors.
He finished with a three-game series of 773, the fifth-highest in Suffolk this season, and became the first member of the senior class to complete the milestone.
“Everyone was rooting for me, even schools who were bowling on the other lanes,” Kornahrens said. “I didn’t like my last throw at all. I held my breath and somehow it found the pocket.”
Islip's Joe Kornahrens. He is a bowler and is this week's Newsday Athlete of the Week. Credit: Alan J Schaefer
“He’s been on the brink for a while now,” said Islip head coach Jason Orlick, who was Kornahrens’ second-grade physical education teacher at Commack Road Elementary School. “He’s gotten the front nine and the front 10, and this time, he finally finished it off.”
Kornahrens has continued to improve his scores each year. He averaged 191.75 as a sophomore, 192.03 as a junior and now 211.55 as a senior.
“You want to see growth each year not only by scoring but how you score,” Orlick said. “He has grown significantly and has been the most consistent bowler on the team for the past five years.”
In addition to being a five-year member of the bowling team, Kornahrens was a starting two-way lineman for the varsity football team the last two years and will be participating in his second year of varsity tennis in the spring.
“I take it season by season,” Kornahrens said. “Once one season ends, I get right into the next one. There’s not much time off, but I don’t see it as a burden. Sometimes it’s hard, but I just stick with it and it always seems to work out.
