The Orchard Park boys bowling team earned a second place finish in Class A and placed second overall at the Section VI championships held at Thruway Lanes, Feb. 15. It was the highest finish in the team’s history.

The Quakers finished with 5,888 points (196 average); just 43 behind first place Frontier.

From left: Colin Herr (10), Brandon Williams (10), Hayden Brock (10), Erich Nahrebeski (11), Sam Rizzo (9), Doug Gawel (12), and Coach Joe Biondo. Photo submitted.

Erich Nahrebeski was named to the All-Tournament team at the Roy Sommer Invitational.

The Orchard Park boys bowling team earned a third place finish at the 35th Annual Roy Sommer High School Invitational Tournament held at AMF Thruway Lanes, February 2.

Among the 35 competing teams, Orchard Park’s A team comprised of Hayden Brock, Sam Rizzo, Brandon Williams, Erich Nahrebeski, Doug Gawel and Colin Herr finished in third place with a three–game series set of 2,956 pins (197 avg.).

After adding both Baker sets for a total of 4,542 points, the Quakers finished just 8 points behind second-place Grand Island. St. Joe’s earned the first place finish.

Nahrebeski rolled a three-game set of 687 (255-215-217) to earn a spot on the five-player All-Tournament team.

Danielle Milo rolled a team-high set of 567 Thursday versus Lancaster.

The Orchard Park girls bowling team captured the ECIC I South Division championship with a win over Lancaster Thursday.

The Lady Quakers finished the regular season with a record of 9 wins and just one loss.

“(I’m) very excited about taking the division title, especially with such a young team,” OP coach Kim Kaul said of her team that features just one senior. The remainder of the 11-player squad features one junior, three sophomores, one freshman, four eighth-graders, and one seventh-grader.

Eighth grader Nicole Rzepka rolled a career-high 213 in OP’s win over Lancaster while Danielle Milo, a seventh grader, rolled a team-high set of 567.

Alexa Casacci rolled a team-high 597 series in a win over Frontier Tuesday.

The Orchard Park bowling teams split their meetings with Frontier Tuesday. The girls team improved to a 8-1 record while the boys team (7-2) lost for just the second time this season with a 4 to 3 loss to the Falcons.

Alexa Casacci rolled a team-high 597 series with a high-game of 214. Danielle Milo bowled a 215 with a 547 series. Brianne Meyer rolled a high-game of 205 with a 547 series.

The boys team played without its lone senior and captain Doug Gawel (ill), but stood up well against a tough Frontier squad whose A team rolled better than a combined 900 in all three games.

“Without Doug Gawel, the A team still bowled very well except for one game. We lost 4-3 as the score indicates,” said OP coach Joe Biondo. “The Frontier A team bowled very well. When you bowl against a team that put up 900′s in three games that’s tough to win. On top of that they had two guys almost shoot 800. Not much you can do.”

Brad Jensen rolled a 618 series while Matt Ostrander rolled a 617.

The Quakers clinched second place in ECIC I South Division.

“The young bowlers grew up today in a big way without their leader,” Biondo added. “They never wavered, never missed a beat and attacked the lanes like champions. If this is a sign of things to come next year, well let’s just say its a good thing.”

Orchard Park faces Lancaster Thursday. The Lady Quakers will need to defeat the Redskins for sole possession of first place. An OP loss and the two teams split the title.

Senior Doug Gawel

Doug Gawel’s season-high 709 series (204-240-265) led the Orchard Park boys bowling team to a 7-0 shutout win over Hamburg on senior night, January 24.

The victory improved the Quakers to a 7-1 record in the ECIC I South Division.

Junior Matt Klajbor rolled a 608 series (188-224-196) while sophomore Brad Jensen rolled a 594 series (228-179-187).

Orchard Park is scheduled to take on first-place Frontier, Tuesday, Jan. 29.

Brandon Williams rolled a 620 set to lead OP to a shutout victory over West Seneca West.

The Orchard Park boys bowling team moved to a 6-1 record with a 7-0 shutout over West Seneca West, Tues., Jan. 15.

“Spare conversion was excellent,” said OP coach Joe Biondo. The team paid close attention to detail and picked up spares.”

Sophomore Brandon Williams led the Quakers with a 620 set (227-189-204).

Biondo praised the play of Williams and sophomore Brad Jensen.

“I was very proud of everyone,” Biondo added. “Brandon Williams and Bradley Jensen had coming out parties of sorts.  Jensen came in at the start of game 2 and bowled 25 pins above his current average.  No doubt working on his technique in practice has paid off.  Williams converted 17 of 18 spares on the night.”

Orchard Park will next bowl versus Hamburg on Senior Night, Thursday, Jan. 24, and finish the season with road matches at Frontier and Lancaster.

Erich Nahrebeski led Orchard Park bowlers with a 688 series Thursday. Photo / James Goller

The Orchard Park boys bowling team (3-1) suffered just its first loss of the season with 6-1 defeat to rival Frontier (4-0) at OP  Lanes Thursday.

Four games were decided by fewer than 10 pins with the visiting Falcons winning three of those games.

Each school has two teams (A and B) comprised of four bowlers each, with each rolling three games. One point is awarded for the winner of each of the six games. Another point is awarded to the team with the highest combined score from all six games.

After dominating OP in the first game (833-708), Frontier’s A team squeaked by OP in game two (822-820) before dropping the third game to the Quakers, 768-766.

Frontier’s B team edged OP in game one, 789-780, and game three, 798-789.

The Quakers finished with a pin total of 4,646.

“I am not happy with the result, however we never gave up and never laid down,” said OP coach Joe Biondo. “It could have gone either way.  This emphasizes the importance of making spares and filling the frames with marks instead of misses.  4600+ pins is the second highest all season, so we bowled well.”

Junior Erich Nahrebeski led Orchard Park with a 688 series (225-235-228).

Thursday’s loss to Frontier came two days after the Quakers moved to a 3-0 record with a 7-0 sweep over West Seneca East. The Quakers combined for 4,939 points. Nahrebeski rolled a team-high 677 series. Sophomore Matt Ostrander rolled a 645 series (188, 233, 224). Senior Doug Gawel bowled a 621 (222, 207, 192).

Next up for the Quakers is the Festival of Lights Tournament at Thruway Lanes on Dec. 27.

Szpara

Elizabeth Szpara, a 2012 graduate of Orchard Park High School, bowled at the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana on July 14-18.

Szpara, who boasted the highest average on the Orchard Park girls bowling team this past winter with a 194 per game mark, earned a spot in the advancers round of the tournament after fifteen games.

After rolling five more games in the advancers round, Szpara finished 76th overall out of 569 bowlers with a 182.9 average.

“It was my first time there and such an amazing experience,” Szpara said of the event. “I was bowling with girls from across the whole U.S. There were girls from Hawaii and Puerto Rico. I just played my game and the shots were right.”

Szpara advanced to the Junior Golds 20-U Championships by qualifying in a local tournament at Airport Lanes in March.

“I was a little disappointed with my last five games, because I know I could have done better,” said Szpara, who is already looking forward to qualifying for next year’s tournament. “There was so much talent. It made me want to work on my game more and try to work on things for next year.”

Szpara plans to bowl at Erie Community College in the fall where she will study criminal justice.

Liz Szpara

The Orchard Park girls bowling team defeated Frontier on Thursday afternoon, 6-1.

Junior Liz Szpara rolled a 279 to earn a 690 series while senior Cassie Aszkler bowled a 223 to finish with a 581 total.

Kelsey Mitchell also topped the 200-mark with a 204. The junior finished with a 519 series.

The victory moves the girls to a record of 6 wins and two losses.

Jake Youngman

A 6-1 win over Williamsville North on Wednesday improved the Orchard Park boys bowling team to a mark of 4 wins and 3 losses.

Leading the way for the Quakers was freshman Jake Youngman who rolled a 570 set (223, 193, 154).

Four other Quakers threw sets of 547 or better including Ryan Kelly (563), Doug Gawel (563), Erich Nahrebeski (553) and John Sniegowski (547).

The win over the Spartans followed a 4-3 win over Lancaster on Jan. 13. It was the first time Orchard Park has defeated Lancaster in seven years.

Cassie Aszkler helped the Lady Quakers sweep West Seneca West on Thursday.

Senior Cassie Aszkler led the Orchard Park girls bowling team to a 7-0 victory over West Seneca West on Thursday with a team-high game (244) and series (647).

Coach Cindy Connors’ A Team comprised of Aszkler, Kaitlyn Kelly, Kelsey Mitchell and Liz Szpara, and B Team of Gwen Musty, Kaitlyn Meyer, Sara Taulbee, and Danielle Ostrander defeated the Indians by over 700 pins.

On the boys side, the Quakers dropped the Indians, 5-2.

Junior Ryan Kelly broke out with a 673 series (191, 257, 225) while sophomore Doug Gawel (165, 245, 171) rolled a 581 and eighth-grader Brandon Williams a 577 (210, 182, 185).

Sophomore Doug Gawel rolled Orchard Park's highest set in seven years with a 706 at the Festival of Lights tournament.

Last season, the Orchard Park boys bowling team earned a three-way tie for the ECIC Division I title with Lancaster and Frontier. On Tuesday afternoon at Briarwood Lanes the Quakers fell to the Falcons, 7-0, to drop their season mark to 1 win and 2 losses.

Eighth-grader Hayden Brock had Orchard Park’s highest set at 585 (196, 216, 173).

The loss to Frontier came a week after the Quakers finished 12th at the Festival of Lights tournament at Thruway Lanes. It was a much improved outing than last year when the team finished in 26th place.

Sophomore Doug Gawel had sets of 706 and 650. His 706 set is the highest individual set for Orchard Park in seven years.

Meanwhile, the girls squad finished 4th at the Festival of Lights tournament. Junior Liz Szpara had the team’s highest set (594) while senior Cassie Aszkler has the highest game (230).