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ALL-AREA BOYS BOWLING TEAM
BOWLER OF THE YEAR MATT GEARY
All-Area First Team
Angelo Bonadeo
Coach of the Year
Brian Chapman
Andrew Conte
John Gallagher
Kenny Garcia
Phil Haley
Trevor Maine
Kenneth Merrick
DUKE SCHNEIDER
St. Lucie West Centennial, second year This season: Despite having only five bowlers on the team, Centennial finished second at the Kegel High School Challenge, won the District 12 tournament and advanced to the FHSAA Finals. Quotable: “I knew at the Kegel that the boys were forming something special. They had fun bowling. My whole thing as a coach is to take a kid, no matter what sport you’re coaching, and make him a better person. He has to understand what team is about, he has to come to practice to perform and he has to have fun. Our guys had fun. They were good bowlers and they worked at it.”
HONORABLE MENTION JAKE CORCORAN Martin County sophomore JOSH DENNIS Jensen Beach sophomore
Sean O’Reilly
Corey Snyder
RYAN FRANKLIN Jensen Beach senior
ANGELO BONADEO
LOGAN HARTSEIL Fort Pierce Westwood senior
Martin County junior Stats: Bonadeo averaged 213.17 pins per game during the regular season and finished fourth individually in the District 12 tournament.
NICK IANNOTTI Jensen Beach sophomore KEVIN MARKOWITZ Fort Pierce Central
BRIAN CHAPMAN
Okeechobee sophomore Stats: Chapman averaged 224 pins per game during the regular season.
JACOB NEWMAN South Fork freshman ROMAN PEDATELLA Martin County junior
ANDREW CONTE
Lincoln Park sophomore Stats: Conte averaged 209 pins per game during the regular season and finished fifth individually in the District 12 tournament.
CHRISTOPHER ARNOLD/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS
St. Lucie West Centennial’s Matt Geary is the 2013 All-Area Boys Bowler of the Year.
ANTHONY PIGOZZI St. Lucie West Centennial junior
Mission accomplished
JOHN GALLAGHER
Martin County senior Stats: Gallagher averaged 214.7 pins per game during the regular season.
KENNY GARCIA
GATES RAYMOND South Fork junior AUSTIN WALKER Okeechobee junior
Centennial’s Matt Geary was determined to be the area’s best bowler and put in the work needed to be just that
Treasure Coast sophomore Stats: Garcia averaged 201 pins per game during the regular season.
JOHN PETERSON Martin County freshman
PHIL HALEY
St. Lucie West Centennial junior Stats: Haley averaged 204 pins per game during the regular season and helped Centennial advance to the FHSAA Finals.
TREVOR MAINE
Martin County freshman Stats: Maine averaged 215.4 pins per game during the regular season.
KENNETH MERRICK
Lincoln Park freshman Stats: Merrick averaged 205 pins per game during the regular season, finished second individually in the District 12 tournament and finished 28th overall at the FHSAA Finals.
SEAN O’REILLY
Jensen Beach senior Stats: O’Reilly averaged 217 pins per game during the regular season.
CODY SNYDER
South Fork sophomore Stats: Snyder averaged 195.8 pins per game during the regular season and finished sixth individually in the District 12 tournament.
By Jon Santucci
Bowler of the Year
Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers
PORT ST. LUCIE — St. Lucie West Centennial bowler Matt Geary approached coach Duke Schneider during an early season practice and made a bold declaration. He wanted to be the All-Area Boys Bowler of the Year. Then Geary went out and made it happen. The junior finished the year with a 198 pins per game average, won the individual titles at the Kegel High School Challenge and District 12 tournament and helped lead the Eagles to the Florida High School Athletic Association Finals. “Matt practiced, practiced and practiced,” Schneider said. “That’s what you have to do — go to the bowling alley and get better. He was committed to being player of the year. He was determined that’s what he was going to do and he went after it.” Geary’s accomplishments are all the more impressive considering this is only his second year of bowling. He saw an ad in the newspaper for $2 games at St. Lucie Lanes the summer after his freshman year and quickly became addicted. “I love the sport. It’s what I want to do,” Geary said. “I loved it since
MATT GEARY
St. Lucie West Centennial junior Stats: Geary had a season average of 198 pins per game, won the individual title at the District 12 tournament with a three-game series of 716 and finished 26th at the state tournament. Geary was the individual champion at the Kegel High School Challenge and led Centennial to the District 12 team title and the FHSAA Finals. Coach Duke Schneider: “Any time you talk about kids on the (allarea) first team, they can all handle pressure, but his play at districts, he was determined to put everything together and that’s what you have to do. Matt led the charge for our team this year.”
the day I started. It’s a fun sport and it’s something I can see myself doing. It’s really just having fun and the only way to be good is to keep practicing. “I bowled every single day over the summer. I bowled every day for hours straight.” Geary spent a lot of time working with personal coach Terry Moore on everything from timing to his form.
Schneider praised Geary’s approach and ability to finish shots, but it was the overall dedication to the game that impressed most. Early in the season, Geary had to get 19 stitches in a finger on his left hand and was placed in a sling. A few days later, while wearing the sling, Geary threw a 288 in practice. After a full day of bowling at the Kegel Challenge in October in Lake Wales, Geary and teammate Anthony Pigozzi returned home and went straight to St. Lucie Lanes. “It’s a fun sport and really the only way to be good is to keep doing it,” Geary said. “I never really felt any pressure this year, I just tried to bowl to the best of my abilities and the only way to bowl good is if I have fun.” The most fun aspect to the season for Geary was reaching the state championship with his close-knit team. “We’re all really close friends,” Geary said. “We’re like family, that’s our relationship, and we pick each other up when we’re bowling. “Districts was a really good event and Kegel was the same thing. It was nice to be on top — just to show up and do what I do. Going to states was phenomenal as a new experience and we hope to go back next year and win.”
All-Area Teams
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The Team
The 2013 Boys AllArea Bowling team was compiled by Jon Santucci.
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DEC. 23
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