120 Up, 120 Down: Perfection
Bowling a 300 is every bowler’s dream. It’s like throwing a no hitter in baseball or shooting a hole in one in golf. It could be a once in a lifetime experience. Senior Craig Wojtaszek achieved that dream last Sunday in the Hawk Invitational.
“It was just a relief. I have shot a lot of 299s before and it was just a great monkey off my back,” Wojtaszek said.
Wojtaszek, who is majoring in Liberal Arts, has been bowling since he was four years old. He not only achieved a 300, but helped propel the men’s team to a win in the Hawk Invitational for their second tournament of the year.
Another key factor in the team’s win was Michael Hartmann, Biological Sciences senior. Both Wojtaszek and Hartmann bowl together in doubles competition.
“We stay after practice when everybody leaves and try different shots and gives some ideas on what to do next time we’re on this pattern,” Wojtaszek said.
Hartmann led the way bowling a 919 in doubles and 932 in singles, which ranked him third overall on the day.
Also at this tournament, the women’s team placed third in the event, with Chelsea Smith, Construction Technology freshman, individually bowling 797 in the four games and earning third overall.
The Vikings returned home for their only home tournament of the year, where the men finished third and the women finished second.
“I think the shot was great. We were bowling together. I think we were really working as a team,” Wojtaszek said.
However, their Achilles heel was making spares.
“We missed a lot of easy spares, and that’s one thing we have to do, we have to make a lot of spares,” Wojtaszek said.
On the women’s side, Megan Rzeszuto, Criminal Justice senior, bowled a 580 triple (200-203-177) and Elizabeth Pratt, Automotive Tech freshman, bowled a 577 (155-216-206).
On the men’s side, Hartmann bowled a 725 triple (213-248-264) and Brendon O’Donnell, Manufacturing Technology senior, added a 641 triple (207-236-198).
As for what the team needs to do in its next tournament, Wojtaszek said only one thing. “We need to win,” he said.
The women went into the Columbia-Greene tournament in Hudson and beat out Mohawk Valley 2,817-2,768. With the win, the Vikings inserted themselves into a first place tie with Mohawk Valley in the conference.
The women’s team, which is comprised of first year collegiate bowlers, got a nice showing from Teagan Pollock, Individual Studies major, who bowled a 626 series with 194-182-250.
On the men’s side, Hartmann and O’Donnell got help from Michael Kincy, Individual Studies major. For the three games, he recorded 225-255-169 for a 649.
The Vikings look to build off of this early success when they travel to Ft. Edwards to face Adirondack on Wednesday and on Saturday when they go to Poughkeepsie for the Mardi-Bob Collegiate Classic.