Teddy Woodworth, Chris Rothke lead Massapequa to Division I crown
Chris Rothke of Massapequa gets ready to roll during the Nassau County Division I boys bowling championship at AMF Garden City Lanes on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020. Credit: James Escher
The night before Saturday’s Nassau county bowling championship the Massapequa team got together to discuss strategy.
“We said that if we could put together a 960 average for the day we would put ourselves in a position to win,” Massapequa coach Jesse Myers said. “We figured out we were 960 in the morning and we needed one more big game to get us over the top. We put up 1,000 in the fifth game and that 967 in the final game got it done.”
The Chiefs finished the day with 5,804 pins over six games - a 967 average - to capture the Division I championship at Garden City lanes. Farmingdale was second with 5,728 and Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK was third with 5,679.
Going into the final game there were five teams within 100-pins of the lead.
“Usually there’s about three teams in the hunt but this was close all day long,” Meyers said. “Thankfully we had the lead so we knew we could just keep looking ahead and focusing on themselves and not let the nerves get to them they would finish the job.”
Massapequa was led by Teddy Woodworth, who had a 1,251 series with a high game of 243 in the third. Chris Rothke had a 1,221 series with a 225 in game four.
“We just tried to stay consistent and we knew if we didn’t drop we’d be good,” Woodworth said.”Throughout the day we held up and then getting 1,000 in that fifth game really put us over the top.”
The Seaford boys entered the day looking to stay on top and had to do so early without one of their best bowlers.
When the Vikings took the lanes at 9 a.m., senior Andrew Leahy said he was just beginning a civil service test to become a corrections officer.
“When I got the letter earlier this week and found out the test was today I was devastated,” Leahy said. “But I was lucky enough to get out in time and be able to get here for the second half and do my thing.”
Leahy made up for the lost time, bowling a 646 in three games, including a 232 in his second game.
The Vikings finished with 5,517 pins to capture the Division II title. Clarke was second with 5,129 and Locust Valley was third with 4,615.
"When I was in eighth grade there were four or five kids who started this team in my grade,” junior Joey Gallagher, who had an 1,142 series, said. “It was a long term thing because most of us were younger but now we’re getting to the end of it and we’re really coming together.
Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.
