Gage Szymanowicz had the highest series and Jordan Dewitt had the highest single game as the Newburgh Goldbacks finished second at the Section 9 Division I boys’ bowling championships on Thursday at Spins Bowl in Poughkeepsie.

Both will represent the Goldbacks as part of the state composite team on March 9 at Strike ‘N Spare Lanes in Syracuse. Katie Bell will represent the girls on the composite team.

“It was disappointing to say the least,” Szymanowicz said. “I think we’ve had trouble at the four and five spot all year, and I think that’s what it ended up coming down to at the end of the day.”

Gage was the Goldbacks’ steadiest bowler of the day, finishing with two high games of 236. He finished all six games over 200, the only bowler to do so.

“It makes me feel like I left a message going into states,” Szymanowicz said.

Dewitt finished with 1,247 series and made a bid for a perfect game in the sixth. He rolled strikes in the first seven frames, but he knew something was wrong in the eighth.

“It’s been a consistent throw, and once that eighth frame came up, I just felt it go flat on my hand,” Dewitt said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a strike.”

He finished with a 257.

Szymanowicz and Dewitt were the top two for Newburgh, and Andre Alexander just missed the state composite team, finishing with a 1,121 series. He rolled a high game of 201. Stephen Barnes had a 239 high game and a 1,095 series, while Carter Babbage rounded out Newburgh’s five with a 228 high game and a 1,070 series.

Bell was named to the girls’ composite team based on her high average during the regular season.

She led the Goldbacks to a third-place finish when she rolled a pair of 171 high games to finish the day and score a high six-game series of 920.
“It feels nice,” Bell said. “It’s going to be different because last year I knew almost every girl I was on the composite team with and this year, I don’t know any of them, so I’m going to have to make friends with all of them.”

Janelle Terry rolled a 161 high game and six-game 832 series. Tatum Connolly had a 190 high game to start the day and finished with an 829 series. Gianna Alisandrella rolled a 129 high game and finished with a 636 series.

The Goldbacks finished with a total pin count of 3,865. Kingston won the event with a six-game total of 4,970, and Saugerties was second with 4,872.

Bell will join a composite team made up of four Saugerties bowlers – Keiran Hinchey, Harper Ferraro, Gabby Papa and Carmella DeWitt – and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Jasmin Sanchez.
She went to states last year with teammate Gianna Alisandrella and three Marlboro bowlers. Bell was hoping Connolly would make the state cut. She came in with an opportunity, but with the Saugerties Sawyers moving up to Division I and finishing second to Kingston, they took three slots.

The girls’ composite teams will bowl at 2 p.m. on March 9 at Strike ‘N Spare Lanes in Syracuse. The boys’ team will bowl at 8 a.m.

“I’ll just have to meet the girls,” Bell said. “I hope they’re nice. I’ve had a couple of conversations with them, but nothing crazy.”