The FMCC Men's and Women's bowling teams opened the Mountain Valley Conference in fine fashion on Wednesday, as both teams found themselves in first place at the end of competition.
The Lady Raiders finished second in the opening round, finishing behind Schenectady who has won the last four National Championships. Captain, Makayla Williams paced FM with a 545 series. High single games were posted by Rebecca Van Deusen 169, Shayla Staves 163, Angelique LaFreniere 149, and Allie Borst with a 146.
The Lady Raiders saved the best for last as they finished first in the second round. Makayla Williams was solid again with a 585 series and a high game of 254. The real spark for the women was second year bowler Shayla Staves of Little Falls. She posted a personal best in the first game with a 204 but wasn't satisfied with that and obliterated that score with a remarkable 253. Her series of 610 was also a personal best. Also contributing was Allie Borst with a high game of 209, Rebecca Van Deusen 185, and Angelique LaFreniere with a 141. The FM Women are now tied with SCCC for the conference lead.
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The FMCC Men enjoyed similar success posting the best overall team scores since the inception of the program three years ago. The combined team score in the first match was 3202, 150 pins better than the closest competitors, MVCC and HVCC. Bryan Green paced the Raiders with a 741 series and a high game of 279, tying the highest score ever posted by a FM bowler. Charlie Cusano of Saratoga posted that similar score in the first year of the program.
Bryan bested teammate Zach Rinehart by a single pin as he posted a 278 with a 641 series. Ethan Hadcock was ultra-consistent by posting scores of 201, 201, and 203 for a 605 series. Captain Richard Taylor had a 579 series with a high game of 228. Other high games were Brandon Little, 224, Brandon King 192, and Hunter Meher 182.
In the second match, the FM men continued their hot pace with a 3242 total, nearly 200 pins better than Herkimer. Brandon Little took charge for the Raiders and posted a team high series of 693, and a high game of 244. Ethan Hadcock improved his scores from the first match with a total of 673 and a high of 252. Zach Rinehart also improved with a 651 series. Other high scores were Hunter Meher 228, Brandon King 226, Richard Taylor 199, and Andrew Sitterly with a 139.
"I was obviously impressed with the effort and production of both teams. Whenever we made a substitution for the men, that person posted a fine score. It was a total team effort. For the women, I can always count on Makayla, but what Shayla did on this day was something special, I was so proud of her."
The Men garnered 10 out of a possible 10 points to lay claim to first place. There are four teams tied for second place with 5 points each. The Women captured 5 of a possible 6 points and are tied with SCCC.
The Raiders will be back at it on Friday as they travel to Ilion as Herkimer will host the second of 3 Conference matches. The site is State Bowling Center in Ilion and the start time is 1:00 P.M.