Vinnie Cammarano
Key Points
Apopka and Wekiva entered Wednesday afternoon’s bowling meet with winning records and left with even more momentum as the two programs competed for the first time this season in their new Class 1A District 7 division.
The Blue Darters and Mustangs were joined by Dr. Phillips, Ocoee and West Orange for the meet. Each team bowled three 10-pin games with five bowlers and a substitute, with the scores from all three games combined for the final team total.
Apopka bowling
Apopka’s girls entered 4-1 and improved to 8-1 after posting a 1,842 total, while the boys moved from 3-2 to 7-2 with a team total of 2,798. Both teams finished well ahead of the opposing teams in their respective competitions.
The Apopka boys steadily built toward their best performance of the afternoon, saving their biggest game for last.
Logan Licavoli opened with a 197, followed by Joshua Drayton’s 192 to lead the opening game for Apopka.
Drayton followed with a 205 in Game 2, while Colby Todd rolled a 198 and Licavoli added a 191.
The third game was the difference-maker for the Blue Darters, as strikes came in bunches and Maven Cardenas put together the highest individual score of the entire meet.
Cardenas took the spotlight finishing with a top score of 242, while Todd added a 207. Dominick Brown and Bentley Trapp also made an impact as substitutes, rolling 201 and 180, respectively.
The Apopka girls were equally impressive, opening with a 552 before scoring 659 in Game 2 and 631 in Game 3.
Samantha Carlyle provided the highlight of the second game, closing with four consecutive strikes over the final three frames to finish with 180, the highest score among all girls on the day.
Carlyle followed with a 136 in the third game, while Eviannah Escalante finished with 122, Madelynn Scofield had 116, Taylor Blaszak rolled 104 and first year senior Jillian Fessia posted a personal-best 153.
“We had a great game today from Samantha Carlyle, she shot 180,” Apopka coach Jason Ramos said. “And one of our seniors, Jillian Fessia, it’s her first-year bowling with us and I’m, you know, kind of upset I didn’t have her last year or the year before, but she shot a personal best 153, her third game. So really proud of her, really proud of all the progress that’s been made.”
Ramos said the team’s development has gone beyond what he expected, with the Lady Darters’ chemistry becoming one of their biggest strengths.
“They’re doing fantastic. A lot more progress than I really expected. Not that I didn’t expect progress, but man, they’re really showing me that they’re here to bowl,” Ramos said. “They stay upbeat, they stay behind each other. It makes my job easy.”
Wekiva bowling
Wekiva entered the meet at 5-0 and left 8-1 after finishing ahead of Ocoee, Dr. Phillips and West Orange, while placing behind Apopka with a 2,478 total.
The Mustangs were once again led by junior William Warren, who continued the strong start to his season with three consistently high games.
Warren opened with a 237 before following with a 224 and 221. His three scores were the second, third and fourth-highest individual totals of the day.
Warren was coming off a meet against Bishop Moore in which he posted the highest score. Coaches Lenin Vazquez and Tony Imbriani have been crediting his work ethic as a major reason for his continued success.
Warren is chasing a second district championship, the program’s first Metro championship and another opportunity at the state championship.
Nathan Karcher also continued his strong season for the Mustangs. Karcher entered the meet leading the team with a 208 average and posted scores of 180, 213 and 157 on Wednesday.
Freshman Blake McAuliffe rolled 156, 180 and 157, while sophomore Anthony Darwin finished with 203, 131 and 113. Jordan Bowen switched with Jayden Delaney.
Wekiva also had one girl on its roster, with Cindy Carabello representing the Mustangs and finishing with a total of 215.
For Vazquez, the Mustangs’ success has been driven as much by their chemistry and work ethic as their individual scores.
“They all show up to practice. They love each other, they bowl so good as a group,” Vazquez said. “They’re always trying to make each other better. Even though it’s a smaller team than we’re used to, the kids are definitely making each other better and bowling for each other, which is, as a coach, what I really want to happen when I coach teams.”
The two programs will meet again Wednesday to host Edgewater and Horizon at Apopka Bowlero.