Last year, Newburgh Free Academy did not have a varsity bowling program.
Now, in their first year on the lanes, the Goldbacks are Section 9 Division I champions.

The Goldbacks, who won the boys’ Division I large school championship by outlasting the Kingston Tigers at the sectional meet on Feb. 21.

“It was a good feeling, especially since we’re a first-year program,” junior Nick Paretta said. “It was a good moment for everybody, especially people who had never won anything before.”

In what had already been a season of firsts for the Goldbacks will have one more first this weekend when the Goldbacks travel to Strike N Spare Lanes in Syracuse for the New York State Public High School Division I bowling championships.

“We’re just looking to bowl our best and see what we can do,” Paretta said.
The Goldbacks will get on a bus on Saturday for the trip to Syracuse and then they will compete on Sunday. They will bowl three games from 9 a.m. until noon. Then after an hour break for lunch, they will bowl three games from 1 - 4 p.m.

“We’re going to see some great bowling,” said Matt Iorlano, who co-coaches the team with Jim Horton. “I looked at some of the scores from throughout the state. There’s going to be some great scores put up there. If we go up there and play to our potential and do our best, we can represent.”

Iorlano got wind that the Newburgh Free Academy was considering starting a program last spring. Iorlano and Horton were appointed coaches in the fall and practice began in November.

They’ve practiced three days a week since then – when they haven’t had matches – at Pat Tarsio Lanes on South Plank Road in the town of Newburgh.

While some of his bowlers had experience and while he had bowled recreationally in the past, Iorlano had a lot to learn about coaching the sport.
“This is new to me as well,” he said. “I’ve learned quite a bit. The pros here have been fantastic helping us out. We’ve learned a lot from them throughout the entire process. There’s a lot more to the sport than you would think just coming and watching it.”

The Goldbacks fielded a young squad on both the boy’s and girls’ teams.
The boys had a roster of 11, which only included one senior. The Goldbacks are only allowed to take a team of 8 bowlers to states and all eight are expected to be back next year.

The boys’ finished fourth in Section 9 with a 9-6 record, behind Highland Kingston and Saugerties.

The girls’ team picked up one victory, finishing with a 1-14 record, spending most of the season with less than a full team. For half the season, the Goldbacks only had three girls.

“They didn’t have a chance in some of the matches,” Iorlano said.

Eventually the Goldbacks picked up a fourth and fifth bowler and picked up their only win of the season.

“They won a match and they improved immensely,” Iorlano said. “It was good to see. We’ve got them all coming back.”

With everyone coming back, the Goldbacks’ bowling program is poised for growth. So is the rest of the section as Iorlano said three more teams are expected to join Section 9 next year.

But that’s next year. The immediate future entails the Goldbacks seeing what they can accomplish this weekend at the state championships.

“I hope they learn and appreciate being there,” Iorlano said. “Section championships don’t always come along. Maybe we can win another one next year, but we may not. Take something from it that if you happen to get back, you can improve on it.”