Michaela Palumbo, Mineola girls put Nassau bowling title in their pocket
Michaela Palumbo of Mineola walks away with a strike at the Nassau girls team bowling championships at Garden City Bowl on Saturday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
The Mineola girls bowling team has been on the cusp of winning a Nassau championship for the last two seasons. They finished tied with Bellmore-Merrick after six games in 2021 and were defeated in a one-game bowl-off. In 2020, they placed second and lost by 16 pins to Division.
The past is the past and on Saturday at AMF Garden City Lanes, it was Mineola’s time to celebrate.
Michaela Palumbo rolled a 214 in Game 2 of a 1,150 six-game series and fellow sophomore Kelsey Morrison tossed a 191 in Game 6 of a 1,024 series to propel Mineola to its first Division I county title in 21 years.
Mineola had a six-game total of 4,825, Division placed second (4,424) and East Meadow (4,423) was third.
"The previous two years were devastating because we were so close to winning a county title," Morrison said. "We kept those losses in the back of our minds and used it as motivation for this season."
Palumbo, who won the Nassau individual title last year as a freshman, was beaming with excitement following her team’s victory.
"This is one of the most special moments of my life," Palumbo said. "The last few years have been difficult, but the girls came into this season confident, remained focused and got it done."
Mineola will represent Section VIII in the Division I state championship on Sunday, March 13, at AMF Strike-N-Spare Lanes in Syracuse.
"Those two kids [Michaela and Kelsey] are unbelievable. They are only the two bowlers I had coming into the year. Everybody else graduated," Mineola coach Mark Miller said. "We had a bunch of first-year bowlers and just jelled. I couldn’t be happier for such a great group of girls."
Fourth county title in five years for Seaford girls
The Seaford girls bowling team secured its fourth Division II title in the past five seasons Saturday.
Nicole Karaman rolled a 202 in Game 5 of a 1,038 six-game series, Joanna Bello had a 956 series and Ava Caruso added a 928 series. Seaford placed first with a total of 4,673.
"If we didn’t win today, our season would have been over, and we would have had to go our separate ways until next year," Caruso said. "We still have a chance to do something special, and I’m so thankful for this opportunity."
Seaford will represent Section VIII in the Division II state championship on Friday, March 11, at AMF Strike-N-Spare Lanes in Syracuse.
"This team has such chemistry and I’m expecting big things from us," Karaman said. "I’m excited to see what the other competition across the state looks like."
