Join the LaBargo Family in an annual tradition honoring a Staten Island Legendary Bowler, Dom LaBargo.
Help us give back to the sport he loved!
All proceeds will be donated to the Rab’s Country Lanes Youth Scholarship Program to be awarded to Staten Island Youth Bowlers.
Price: $25.00
Includes: 2 hours of bowling, shoe rental, pizza and soda
Check-in at 1:00pm
50/50 and Raffles will be available as well.
Pre-Registration Preferred. Jeanie Callan: jcall581@aol.com
Brianna Mester and Brandon Handog advanced the furthest among the 15 Island competitors in the Junior Gold Championships. (Photos courtesy of the Mester and Handog families)
By Staten Island Advance Sports Desk
silive.com | Click here for the full story
INDIANAPOLIS — Youth bowling’s version of the Little League World Series was contested last week when the USBC Junior Gold Championships were rolled in Indiana.
Staten Island was well represented as 15 Islanders, most hailing from Rab’s Country Lanes, were among the more than 2,900 youth bowlers who competed for titles, spots on the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Junior Team USA 2022 and the largest scholarship prize fund in the event’s history ($502,100).
The 23rd installment of the USBC Junior Gold Championships took place across six bowling centers in the Indianapolis area. The event features top USBC Youth bowlers ages 7 to 18 from around the United States as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S. military zones. Each participant qualified to enter by advancing through local USBC Junior Gold qualifying leagues and tournaments.
Competition officially started Monday July 12, with bowlers rolling a total of 16 games in the qualifying rounds before advancing to the Advancer Rounds and Finals which were live-streamed on BowlTV.
While competition came to an end after the Qualifying Round for most, Islanders Brianna Mester and Brandon Handog continued on to the Advancers Round in their respective divisions.
Mester, competing in the U15 Girls division, finished 34th in a field size of 298 girls with a 21-game, 3,743 pinfall, averaging 178.24 for the week. Mester fell shy 57 pins from the Final Advancers Round earning a $250 scholarship prize for her finish.
Handog finished the week in 90th place amongst a field of 868 in the U18 Boys division. He finished with a 4,146, 21-game series, averaging 197.43 for the competition. Handog finished 47 pins shy of the top 64 cutline. Brandon received a $300 scholarship for his performance.
The 2022 event should be stronger and will take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Some Staten Island youth bowlers have already started qualifying for the event.
Complete Results below:
Qualifying Round:
U12 Division – Field Size: 93 Girls
GIRLS – 14 Advance to Final Advancers Round (cut: 2451)
74 – Kiara Lombardi 1948
U15 Division – Field Size: 631 Boys / 298 Girls
BOYS – 90 Advance to Advancers Round (cut: 2937)
478 – Joseph Guarnieri 2492
583 – Jeremy Vasquenz 2243
589 – Paul Cherry 2219
GIRLS – 43 Advance to the Final Advancers Round (cut: 2831)
13 – Brianna Mester 2987
U18 Division – Field Size: 868 Boys / 560 Girls
BOYS – 167 Advance to the Advancers Round (cut: 3097)
101 – Brandon Handog 3170 | 198.13 average
784 – Frank Koppie 2686
887 – Steven Souffrin 2632
1009 – Luciano Spagnuolo 2531
1083 – Victor Guastella 2450
1087 – Zachary Lababneh 2441
1124 – Patrick Taverner 2337
1131 – Enrique Rodriguez 2308
GIRLS – 80 Advance to the Advancers Round (cut: 2909)
298 – Maya Avilez 2634
530 – Su Denizer 2212
Advancers Round
U15 Division – Field Size: 298 Girls
28 Advance to the Final Advancers Round (cut: 3800)
34 – Brianna Mester 3743
U18 Division – Field Size: 868 Boys
BOYS – 64 Advance to the Final Advancers Round (cut: 4193)
90 – Brandon Handog 4146
New Dorp senior Maya Avilez is flanked by PBA Hall of Famer and former Staten Island resident Johnny Peraglia and New Jersey State Bowling Hall of Famer Leslie Bohn after signing a National Letter of Intent to attend North Carolina A&T. (Courtesy of New Dorp HS)
By Charlie De Biase Jr. | debiase@siadvance.com
Staten Island Advance | Click here for the full story
It’s July, which means the 2020-21 school year is finally in the rearview mirror.
And some local student-athletes are not only planning to play on the collegiate level beginning in the fall, but will be leaving for their new homes pretty soon.
In the meantime, the Advance/SILive.com will once again share the good news with our readers.
And to boot, College Signings 19 includes various sports. In fact, we’ve got four different sports in this edition, including one on the Division 1 level.
We also have a number of past commitments in recent months at the bottom, including the previous 18 College Signings.
Give another look at them as well, if you wish.
Maya Avilez signed a National Letter of Intent to attend North Carolina A&T on a full women’s bowling scholarship.
The 17-year-old Avilez picked up the game after hitting Rab’s Country Lanes with her grandfather (Dr. Robert Taglianetti, DDS) as a youngster and she’s compiled a pretty impressive resume that led to earning the scholarship to the Division 1 school from Greensboro, N.C.
In fact, she competed on New Dorp’s team for two seasons before missing her senior campaign because of the pandemic. However, she currently competes in two different leagues, including the Parker Bohn III/Johnny Petraglia Scholarship League on Friday nights at Howell (N.J.) Lanes and Rab’s Junior Classic on Saturday mornings. She owns averages of 208 and 214.13, respectively, in the leagues.
Avilez is also the owner of four career 300 games.
Her connection to N.C. A&T came through Leslie Bohn, her personal coach and the wife of Parker Bohn. Leslie Bohn is best friends with the Aggies’ bowling coach and USBC Hall of Famer Kim Terrell-Kearney and that relationship helped get the ball rolling for Avilez.
“(Terrell-Kearney and I) initially exchanged emails and did a Zoom chat and last February, I visited the school,’’ said Avilez. “It took me a few months to make a decision, but ultimately I loved the school when I made the visit and decided it was the best place for me.’’
The right-handed Avilez said Terrell-Kearney was impressed with her power game.
“She definitely likes the way I throw it hard,’’ said the Concord resident. “I have more revs than most girls and it gives me more versatility than other styles of bowling.
“I also think (Terrell-Kearney and her husband, Eric), who is an assistant coach, are the nicest people. I believe they can build my game and support me to become the best bowler I can be.’’
Avilez, who plans to study Secondary Education History, also received interest from Louisiana Tech.
By Joe D’Amodio | damodio@siadvance.com
Staten Island Advance | Click here for the full story on silive.com
Rab’s Country Lanes’ proprietor Frank Wilkinson says it’s business as usual — for now — even with the threat of new pandemic restrictions being talked about by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“We’re getting a lot of inquiries about the status of our opening,” said Wilkinson. “It’s amazing, many consumers have assumed we, along with restaurants, are already closed and there is no indoor dining due to the zone change, which as we know has not happened yet.”
That, of course, may change over the coming days or weeks. Most of Staten Island is currently classified as a yellow zone, although some South Shore communities were elevated to orange by the state earlier today. If the Island’s pandemic infection rate worsens, other Island communities could be elevated to orange status and then red.
“IF, we are to move into the Orange Zone, and IF all the requirements remain, bowling centers remain open without indoor dining (just as we started the season.),” explained Wilkinson. “When we got the go to open back in August, bowling centers were moved to the low-risk business category. However, anything can change when the governor makes an announcement, which seems to be anticipated after the holiday. In the meantime, we are now closing at 10 p.m., which has altered our schedules in many ways.”
Victor Guastella, 17, rolled his first perfect game last month at Rab’s Country Lanes.
Seventeen-year-old Victor Guastella rolled a perfect game in the Country Pro Shop Juniors on Friday, Oct. 23. The perfecto came in the final game of a three-game set. He finished with a 678 series. His first two games were 197 and 181, propelling.
Youth bowlers took to the lanes on Sunday, Nov. 22 to compete for titles in the Rab’s Gold Shootout and their shot at advancing to the 2021 Junior Gold Championships to be held in Indianapolis, next summer.
When all was said and done, Maya Avilez and Gavin Brod were the big winners and punched their tickets to Indy.
Avilez rolled a 903 five-game series to claim the U18 division. Her games were 178, 155, 205, 164, and 201.
Meanwhile, Brod paced the 15U division with games of 159, 184, 184, 171, and 203, good enough for a 901 series.
Complete results can be found at bowlatrabs.com/tournaments.
The next opportunity for youth bowlers to compete and earn spots for the Junior Gold Championships will be the Rab’s Gold Challenge on Jan. 5, 2021.
The 12th Annual Staten Island USBC Masters Championship will take place on Saturday, Dec. 5 at Rab’s Country Lanes, where the Island’s top bowlers will compete for the elusive title. $100 entry fee, register online, siusbc.org to reserve your spot.
The reigning champion is Tony Everts.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, tournament director Jim Elliott has decided to postpone the 46th Annual New Year Singles Classic due to the pandemic. Contact Jim for details. The event will return in 2022.
Wilkinson reports that the Catholic High School Bowling League will start on Dec.15 at Country Lanes.
This has been pushed from a projected start of the Nov. 24.
“A sign of normalcy in youth sports after a non-existent PSAL season,” said Wilkinson.
Youth bowlers took to the lanes on Sunday November 22 to compete for titles in Rab’s Gold Shootout and their shot at advancing to the 2021 Junior Gold Championships to be held in Indy, next summer.
Maya Avilez rolled a 903 5-game series to take the win in the U18 Division, complete with the games of 178, 155, 205, 164, & 201!
Gavin Brod lead the U15 Division with games of 159, 184, 184, 171, & 203, 901 series.
Click here for complete results!
The next opportunity for youth bowlers to compete and earn their spots to the Junior Gold Championships will be Rab’s Gold Challenge on January 5, 2021!
By Joe D’Amodio | damodio@siadvance.com
Staten Island Advance | Click Here for the Full Story
The doors at Rab’s Country Lanes remind customers to Mask Up also provide the option to open the doors without having to touch the handles.
League bowling returned to Staten Island’s two bowling centers this past week and things looked a little different thanks to the pandemic.
Plastic partitions in between pairs of alleys are in place at Showplace Entertainment Center, while all bowlers must wear face masks in both centers, among other pandemic protocols mandated by the state during these uncertain times.
At Rab’s Country Lanes, proprietor Frank Wilkinson was excited to welcome his league bowlers back after an almost six-month hiatus because of the pandemic.
Here is a question-and-answer session with Wilkinson, son of former late Island bowling great and proprietor Rab Wilkinson.
“Our season officially started this past Tuesday (Sept. 8), so we’re still in the swing of getting the new season up and running. The start of the season is always an exciting time for us, as we get to welcome our bowlers back after not seeing them all summer long, with this season having much more significance, being off after a shortened season on top of the summer. While the season looks and feels very different in the start, it has provided our family and team some normalcy, seeing familiar faces, as well as new faces, back on the lanes with us. Bowlers are overwhelmingly happy to be back to their regular habits, seeing their friends and family while sharing the experience of bowling. The season looks very different, because we are operating at 50% and utilizing every other lane, many of our leagues are bowling in shifts so we can accommodate as many bowlers as possible. Historically, our league business uses most if not all 48 lanes at one time. On the business side, operating at 50% with no indoor dining (for now) is very challenging. We have many league bowlers who did not return, just yet, for understandable reasons.”
There are plenty of hand sanitizers at Rab’s Country Lanes.
“For the most part, yes! Our regular customers certainly understand and appreciate that we need to follow the protocols in order to keep their favorite place to bowl open.”
At this time we have not installed partitions between bowling lanes. We are operating to the guidelines utilizing every other, allowing for space for bowlers to physical distance between lanes. As always, our patrons come first and we want everyone to feel as comfortable and safe as possible being in our environment enjoying the sport we all love. There is 11 1/2 feet between each pair, so this allows our bowlers to utilize as much of the available space. The guidelines do not require partitions. However, the utilization of partitions potentially allows the use of additional lanes.
“There is no restriction on the number of bowlers per lane/pair of lanes.”
Bowling is back at Country Lanes, but this sign covers all the new protocols patrons must follow during the pandemic.
“Yes, just like every other facility in the state, masks/face coverings must be worn at all times.”
