NYSPHSAA Bowling Championships Roll into Syracuse for 7th Time Since 2018

By: Matthew Salvi, Spring 2026 Intern

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The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is set to host the 46th Annual Girls and Boys Bowling State Championships on Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15 at AMF Lanes in Syracuse. This is the second year of a three-year bid at AMF which has hosted every year since 2019. In 2018, the event was also held in Syracuse but was held at The Oncenter when the USBC Championships were held there in collaboration with NYSPHSAA’s event.   
 
“AMF Syracuse Lanes really is one of the most suitable ‘houses’ in the entire state to be able to host our event,” said Mike O’Connell, NYSPHSAA Boys Bowling State Coordinator. “They have the number of lanes we need to run our composite and individual events efficiently in three days, plenty of parking and space for spectators. We’re excited to return there.” 
 
The 11 member sections will send over 550 boys and girls to compete in the championships in an individual and divisional section team format starting at 12:00 pm on Friday with Division 2 competing all day. On Saturday, the boys individual championship (the first time the event has gone to an individual format) will get underway at 8:00 am and the girls individual championship will play at 2:00 pm. Then on Sunday, Division 1 boys and girls will begin bowling starting at 9:00 am.  
 
In 2025, the Division 1 tournaments were won by Arlington (Section I)—their first state title—in the boys’ bracket, while North Rockland (Section I) won on the girls side—their third girls state championship since 2018. For the Division 2 tournament, Marlboro (Section IX) won the boys bracket for its first state crown, while Maine-Endwell (Section IV) won the girls championship for its first state title.  
 
In 2026, both boys’ winners from 2025 in Arlington and Marlboro will return. The girls Division 1 classification has a chance to see a repeat champion as well with North Rockland (Section I) also qualfiying for the 2026 tournament. The boys Division 1 Individual Championship is highlighted by EJ Taber of Guilderland (Section 2) with an average score of 235.  On the girls’ side Brooke Anderson of East Islip (Section XI) holds the highest average among qualifiers with 222. The boys Division 2 Individual Championship sees a leading average score of 237 by Landon Butenko of Chenango Forks (Section IV) and the girls leading average is owned by Lydia Tutty of Bloomfield (Section V) with a score of 217. 
 
AMF Syracuse Lanes was previously one of the largest bowling centers in New York State with 72 lanes until renovations in 2023 reduced it to 64 lanes due to adding more settee space, a large video game arcade area, new tile flooring, new ceilings and new lighting. The venue still efficiently allows NYSPHSAA to conduct approximately 2,100 state tournament games this weekend and allow for good spectator viewing.  
 
Tickets for the Bowling State Championships are only available online at https://gofan.co/app/school/NYSPHSAA and are $13.60 each (including fees) which covers the entire day of competition.