On October 10, 2012, the Jesuit Rangers Bowling Team faced off against various faculty members at USA bowl. The student team consisted of David Portner ’13, Jason “Wolfy” Wolf ’13, Johnathon Mendiola ’14, Nathan Leiter ’13, Matthew Martin ’15, and Caleb Blais ’15 substitute. The faculty team was composed of faculty members who formed a “for-fun bowling team” last summer. Assistant principal Mr. Mark Knize lead the team of: theology teacher Mr. Keith Reese, sophomore counselor Mr. Raul Ornelas, President Mr. Michael Earsing, and senior counselor Mr. Jack Fitzsimmons.
The event began with greetings and a healthy amount of taunting from Mr. Knize to the captain of the student team, Portner. Mr. Reese lead us in a prayer of gratitude for our being there and in hopes that we would have a pleasant time. A one-on-one event wherein each student would take on an opposing faculty member soon started. The battle between Knize and Portner began, and the two kept close scores with each other until the 5th frame. The teachers all got a two strike lead in order to balance out their scores with the professional student bowlers’ scores, which led to Knize’s domination over Portner with 175 to Portner’s 119. Later Portner challenged Mr. Reese, and after Mr. Reese ended his final turn, Portner bantered, “Oh, it’s not over, I get to add more points onto my score,” which he did, winning the game at 153-144.
In the second half of the bowling match, the faculty and the students formed separate teams. In each team of five, every person would bowl two frames. The two teams duked it out with each other, keeping close scores until the 5th frame. After that, the students started pulling ahead, and Portner carried the team to a 140-110 victory.
According to Mrs. Mattacchione the bowling team started 3 years ago with many of the current players such as Portner and Wolf playing on the inaugural team. The 2012-2013 team features veterans Wolf ’13 as the chaplain who actually bowls with 2 hands (apparently very uncommon) and David Portner ’13 the team captain and a type of player-coach who specializes in teaching newcomers the ins and outs of bowling. Leading the junior class is Nathan Leiter ’13 who had developed a very high skill level as a result of practicing in other bowling leagues before he joined the Jesuit team. Matthew Martin ’15 will also be a part of the Rangers this year and has earned a spot on the varsity team because he was “naturally gifted in bowling” despite the fact that he was a sophomore. The rookie this year is Brice Donovan, a freshman who stopped by the bowling alley after being cut from the basketball team. However he has jumped headfirst into bowling and loves the competitive atmosphere of the sport. All of the students admitted that they had actually never bowled competitively before, but because of their exposure to bowling they loved it and would never quit.
Mrs. Mattacchione has been bowling since she was in junior high. Since most students have only bowled recreationally, Mrs. Mattacchione’s main job is to teach them basic bowling skills.
On a side note the star of the faculty team was the veteran bowler Mr. Reese. The theology teacher actually bowled competitively 40 years ago, and loves being back in the alley. He surprised the Jesuit students by coming prepared with his own bowling ball and shoes.
For more information on joining the bowling team contact to Mrs. Mattacchione and visit the team’s Moodle page.
