With his performance at the Section 9 bowling championships last month, Newburgh Free Academy bowler Gage Szymanowicz believed he sent a message to the rest of the section.

On Saturday, he hopes to send a message to the rest of New York State.

Szymanowicz and teammate Jordan Dewitt will compete at the New York State bowling championships on Saturday at Strike ‘N Spare Lanes in Syracuse, as part of the Section 9 composite team.

Katie Bell will bowl as part of the Section 9 girls’ composite team for the second straight year. 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.

The boys will bowl from 8 a.m. until noon and the girls will compete from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.
“I think we’re ready,” Szymanowicz said.

“Obviously, it was close, but Jordan ended up making it, and we went, me and Kevin Novella, and it went well.”

Szymanowicz finished 31st at last year’s state tournament with a 1,206 six-game series, and Section 9 finished ninth overall. He had a 201 average over the six games and rolled a high game of 268.

Dewitt will return to the state meet after a one-year absence, when he was a sophomore. This year’s goal is to go there and bowl and do better than he did during his previous trip.

“It feels great to be back, and I just want to try to do better and try to actually do something with it, and at least get higher than I did the first time,” Dewitt said. “We want to show that our section is something to compete with.”

When she attended the state meet last year, Bell went to the state meet with her Newburgh teammate Gianna Alisandrella, several Marlboro bowlers and Highland’s Olivia Casabura. She knew the Marlboro bowlers as the two teams share Pat Tarsio Lanes in Newburgh as a home.

“It was amazing,” Bell said. “It was so cool to be up in Syracuse with all the people that I know and bowled together with for a long time. That was just a really cool experience.”
This year, she’s less familiar with her composite teammates, as her own teammate Tatum Connolly came close, but did not qualify.

Bell finished 50th at last year’s state meet with a six-game series of 972. She had a high game of 176. The Section 9 girls finished ninth last year as well.

“I’m hoping to bowl better than I did last year,” Bell said. “I’m hoping that, maybe, the team will get a place or two higher than we did last year, which will be nice.”