{"id":349322,"date":"2026-09-17T15:02:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T15:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/349322\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T15:02:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T15:02:55","slug":"staten-island-dominates-nycs-high-school-bowling-scene-we-witnessed-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/349322\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island dominates NYC\u2019s high school bowling scene. We witnessed why."},"content":{"rendered":"

This column originally appeared in the Looped In NYC newsletter. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last Thursday at 3 p.m., a giddy buzz had overtaken Rab\u2019s Country Lanes, a bowling alley just south of the Verrazzano Bridge on Staten Island. But there didn\u2019t appear to be any birthday parties, family outings or buddies gathered around pitchers of beer.<\/p>\n

Instead, nearly all 48 lanes were occupied by high school bowling teams, including the defending Public School Athletic League (PSAL) citywide champions: the Tottenville High School boys team and McKee\/Staten Island Tech girls team. Tryouts for the fall season were underway.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got 20, 25 bowlers that are trying out for the team, and unfortunately can’t keep them all,\u201d said J.P. Cassese, Tottenville\u2019s head coach. \u201cThis is a varsity sport, and we\u2019re a competitive team.\u201d<\/p>\n

His final roster, he said, would be capped around 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople sometimes look down on bowling,\u201d Cassese said, \u201cbut if you come to one of the matches, the energy between the fans, the kids, the teammates, it gets crazy. \u2026 It\u2019s unparalleled if you compare it to any other sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those students gunning for a roster spot was ninth-grader Frank DiNapoli \u2014 who, based on the strike we saw him bowl, should have a decent chance.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI’ve been [bowling] since I was about 11,\u201d he said. \u201c\u200aMy dad taught me most of what I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch our video dispatch from Rab\u2019s<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although high school bowling may not be the first sport that comes to mind when you think \u201cfall,\u201d it has a storied tradition on Staten Island. Before Tottenville\u2019s back-to-back championships, the boys team at Susan Wagner High School won three consecutive titles<\/a>, beginning in 2018. And on the girls\u2019 side, McKee\/Staten Island Tech, New Dorp High School, the Michael J. Petrides School and Curtis High School have all won championships<\/a> going back to the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies that bowl typically bowl together,\u201d said Frank Wilkinson, whose family has run Rab\u2019s for 31 years. \u201cAnd families that bowl stay together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank Wilkinson, whose family has run Rab\u2019s for 31 years, competed at New Dorp alongside his brother and said the borough\u2019s passion for bowling is largely generational.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies that bowl typically bowl together,\u201d he said, \u201cand families that bowl stay together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilkinson said Staten Island\u2019s strength compared to other boroughs is also due to its access to facilities. Storied bowling alleys in other boroughs, including Maple Lanes<\/a> in Brooklyn, Whitestone Lanes<\/a> in Queens and Bowlmor Lanes<\/a> in Greenwich Village have all shuttered in recent years. The recent closure of Showplace Bowling<\/a> on Staten Island\u2019s West Shore \u2014\u00a0where Cassese said he worked as a teenager \u2014 means even Richmond County is down to one major alley.<\/p>\n

That said, the Department of Education and the PSAL still make high school bowling comparatively accessible. Matches and practice sessions themselves are funded by the city, and students without their own bowling shoes can borrow a pair from the alley, free of charge. (Sean LaRoy, a Tottenville senior, had his own black and gold shoes. He said he bought them on Amazon.)<\/p>\n

And kids who don\u2019t come from legacy bowling backgrounds can still excel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really bad at bowling when I started,\u201d said Hongzheng Wu, a senior co-captain of the McKee\/Staten Island Tech girls team. \u201c\u200aWhen I first tried out, I got around 60s. For me, it’s more about consistency and showing up to practice every day to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lauren Zerega, the head coach of the girls squad, admitted that she went into last season not expecting to reach the finals, but credited her team\u2019s persistence and dedication for their championship win over top-seeded Petrides<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI think for us, our school’s highly competitive academically, and they don’t crack under pressure then \u2014 and in sports,\u201d Zerega said.<\/p>\n

When I asked if last year\u2019s win in the finals drew more girls to tryouts this year, Zerega said she honestly didn\u2019t think many of the new girls even knew about the championship \u2014\u00a0they were there for the \u200aopportunity to be with friends and blow off steam after a tough day in class.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aWe do have really good team spirit, and we want to win,\u201d Zerega said, \u201cbut for the girls’ teams, and, maybe it’s just for this sport, there’s really no trash talking. I know in the finals, the boys were kinda going at it, but not the girls’ teams.\u201d<\/p>\n