Albany Bowls Their Way to Victory

by Courtney Carr

The highest scorer for Albany, Jahlil Young, bowls Monday./ Courtney Carr

While not necessarily viewed as a spectator sport. a substantial crowd gathered Monday afternoon at the Playdium Bowling Alley to watch Albany High School take on Troy High in a varsity bowling match. This game was the last in the regular season for the Albany Falcons who walked away victorious, 5-2, in the three game match.

Albany took the first game with a score of 1,141 over Troy’s  1,059, earning themselves two points in the match. Troy rebounded in the second game with a score of 1,107 over Albany’s 1,069 this time giving Troy two points. In the final match Albany secured its victory with a score of 1,175 over Troy’s 1,126. This final game gave Albany two more points plus the one point awarded to the team for the highest total score.

The 20-year coach of the Albany team, Nancy Madsen, thought her team bowled well in all three games. Although they “struggled at times in the second match,” Madsen was pleased. “They came back strong and were able to bare down and get the win.”

Second top scorer, John Henry Phillips, practices his skills. / Courtney Carr

This win was in part due to Jahlil Young who bowled the highest score for his team in the first game with a score of 244. Young’s impressive scores carried through all three games giving him the highest cumulative score of 684. Young is the youngest on the team- he made varsity as an eighth grader. He is proud of the skills he has acquired during his eight year career and when asked how he performed Monday he simply smiled and said “I did great today.” Also contributing to the team’s win was junior John Henry Phillips who supported the team with a score of 627.

The Falcons may have just completed their last regular season game but have two tournaments in Schenectady at the end of the week. In regards to the tournaments Madsen feels the Falcons have what it takes if they can adapt to the different environment that tournaments present. -30-