Editors Note: When I first broke into journalism in 1979, I was a reporter for the Ft. Myers Beach Observer. Bishop Verot High School was one of the two high school sports programs that I was able to cover, along with Cypress Lake High School. I covered these two schools until 1981. This is where I became a fan of the small high schools, and Bishop Verot in particular. Winning a District Bowling Championship this past season, is a testament to how far the catholic high school has come in athletic competitions since its inception in 1962.
Pictured is the Bishop Verot Boys' Bowling Team. Photo Courtesy Of Bishop Verot.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor thetenpinexpress.com - Director Mesa Metro Association.
Ft. Myers, Fl. - - - There comes a time in one's career as a coach. That he or she can tell that a new season will be a good one, and that the coach and his or her team can accomplish some great things together as a unit.
How can a coach sense this?
By the team's determination to improve its won/loss record from the previous year. The focus the kids bring to practice every day, and the desire to get better at their sport. And not let the outside distractions, distract them from accomplishing the task at hand.
If this in fact, is the model that Bishop Verot Head Bowling Coach, David Zukin, follows. Then he must have known that something great was going to happen to his program in 2021. That other teams in the Lee County High School bowling league didn't. And it's just fine at his end.
The Vikings posted their second best record in two years, as the boys' finished the season at 13-1, and the girls' 10-3.The boys went undefeated, 14-0 last year.
As mentioned above, the girls finished this season at 10-3. With their three loses coming against: Mariner, North Ft. Myers, and Ft. Myers. At the District Tournament the Vikings finished in 7th place with an 1,852.
"With our girls' team, my hope was that we could get to the afternoon of the District Tournament, which would mean we would be in the top four schools after the qualifying round. We only finished 7th at District qualifying," the coach said, on what he hoped the girls would accomplish in 2021. "In the end, the 7th place finish was the end of our girls' season."
Additionally, at the LCAC girls' District Tournament, which was also held at Coral Lanes. North Ft. Myers defeated Mariner twice in the double elimination finals 3-2, and 3-0 to advance to the state finals. North Ft. Myers lost its first match to Mariner 3-1. Both teams got the chance to advance to the state finals.
The top 10 team results before the double elimination finals were: 1. North Ft. Myers, 2155; 2. Fort Myers, 2,111; 3. Cypress Lake, 2,078. 4. Mariner, 2,058. Oasis, 2,057. 6. Bonita Springs, 1,865. 7. Bishop Verot, 1,852. 8. Riverdale, 1,821. 9. Cape Coral, 1,813. 10. East Lee, 1,622.
Individually, Oasis Charter's Katrina Hagler rolled a 694 series in the LCAC District 6 finals to win the individual title in 2021. Cypress Lake's Brianna Strunk finished second with a 621 set. They both got the opportunity to represent the area at the state finals as well. Rounding out the top five were: Samantha Gardenhouse (Fort Myers), 578; Katelynn Snyder, (Island Coast) 547; and Arianna Thomas, (North Fort Myers) 544.
At the state tournament, Hagler lost to Sierra Calo of Bell Creek Academy 2-1. Hagler won her opening match 255-175. But lost the last two to Calo 243-226, and 246-207. Hagler won her first two matches 2-0, and 2-1, before taking on Calo in the finals.The 1,004 Hagler rolled in the four game qualifying round, was the highest set rolled by any boy or girl.
But while the girls' season had just ended. The boys' season was able to roll on.
Located at 5598 Sunrise Drive in Ft. Myers. Bishop Verot High School first opened in 1962. The athletic department has 38 sports teams, boys' and girls' that it fields. 70% of the students who attend Verot, participate in some kind of athletics. The school has won 15 State Titles in various sports during the last 59 years. In May 2021, the school also held its 56th commencement exercise.
Besides excelling in athletic competitions. Father Casey Jones, the schools chaplain. Is hopeful the student/athletes will excel in their academic challenges and future endeavors as well.
"In fulfilling our educational mission, we are concerned for the spiritual, intellectual, moral, physical, and social development of each student. By these efforts, we attempt to maintain standards of excellence in every school program in preparing students to meet the challenges of living a Christian life in the modern world. Bishop Verot High School is a Catholic faith community of learning, consisting of students, teachers, administrators, and staff, as well as parents, alumni, and benefactors, all sharing in the responsibility of advancing the mission of the school," he said, of the mission of the school on its website. "The philosophy of Saint Francis de Sales is the basis for the identity of our school, emphasizing for all the daily importance of following Christ by practicing the Gospel virtues of gentleness, kindness, humility, and patience. Each person is created in God’s image, and therefore an atmosphere of mutual respect between students, faculty, and staff is vital to school life and the learning process. In addition to valuing academic achievement and co-curricular success, a fundamental priority of Bishop Verot is to challenge students to develop character and leadership skills and promote personal and spiritual growth. The Catholic mission and identity of Bishop Verot is cherished and valued while at the same time is respecting of the cultural and religious diversity within our community. The ultimate goal of an education at Bishop Verot is for students to be committed to lifelong growth and learning, inspired by faith to give of themselves for the betterment of others."
Recruiting boys and girls to bowl for the high school program at Verot, is simply not just done with a handshake. The kids have to do it the old fashioned way - they have to earn it. Try-outs are held for four days prior to the start of the season. The top scoring students at the end of the try-out period make the team.
"I look for kids who are coachable," said Coach Zukin, of the recruiting process. "I also look for kids who want to improve in the sport, and want to be part of a team environment."
The Verot boys' climb to their 13-1 record and first District Championship this year, started on August 31, as they won by forfeit in a match against Oasis. Two days later, the boys' and girls' recorded their first shutout of the season. A 5-0 win over Dunbar. Tanner Filla led the boys' squad with a 265, and Adam Belof countered with a 211. Katie Krutky was high for the girls with a 162. Both teams were now 2-0.
The Verot boys, recorded their second shutout of the year, a 5-0 win over rival North Ft. Myers, on October 21. Again, Belof and Filla led the way with a 265, and 255 respectively. The boys' most memorable wins this year came on October 5, against Island Coast and Cypress Lake on October 7.
In their match against Island Coast, the Vikings lost their traditional match. But came back with three clean Baker games of: 216, 230, and 204 to seal the win. Then against Cypress Lake, came from behind to beat the Panthers 3-2. Their only loss this year was to Mariner.
"This particular group has only been together this year. In high school sports, there’s a new group (to some extent) every year," said Coach Zukin, of his young team. "Only three of the boys participated in the State Tournament in 2019. We had four freshmen boys and one freshman girl. Overall, we added eight new boys and girls."
However, a coach and his team can't be as good as they are. Without great assistant coaches. And Coach Zukin feels he is fortunate to have them.
"This year was special for many reasons. My assistant coach, Mitch Moscowitz, was not able to coach with us last year, due to the pandemic. He was back this year and brings so much passion and knowledge to our team. Having him back was great!," the coach said, of his assistant. "We only had two seniors - Tanner Filla and Katie Krutky. Katie was our first four-year female letter winner, and Tanner was our second male four-year letter winner. Tanner elevated our entire program because of his talent and determination. Winning the Boys' Districts for the first time, made the year a very special one."
There are 17 teams in the Lee County Athletic Conference bowling league that participated this year. The league was formed in 2012. Included in the league, are all 17 Lee County public high schools. And Bishop Verot and Oasis Charter. To this point, the proprietors have covered the bowling costs of the league.
Once the season begins, it runs for seven weeks, with two matches per week. The matches are held on Tuesday and Thursday. Practice is held on Monday and Wednesdays. The Vikings' home center is Lightning Strikes. Three other schools also call Lightning Strikes its home center. Four other bowling centers also serve as home sites for other teams, so Verot gets to bowl at those sites when it has away matches. Giving the kids the experience, they need to bowl in other centers besides their home center.
"We are mostly 4A, but with some of the smaller sports, we could be 1A. It just depends. We have about 700 students, and bowling only has one class," said the coach, on where Bishop Verot compares to other schools in the district. "Many of our sports win district championships and we have had several students attend college in different sports. We have had a couple players in the last decade or so, play professional baseball. Daniel Vogelbach made the all-star team a couple of years ago, while playing for the Seattle Mariners. He is now a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. We also have a rising star in the Boston Red Sox system in Thad Ward."
Filla and Belof led the boys' team the whole season. The next question put to Coach Zukin was: could they both become the first bowlers out of Verot, to join the PBA tour?
"Becoming a pro bowler is something that takes years of dedication," he said, of his talent. "What is really hard to predict, is that it will or can happen."
Like the girls' district event this past year, the boys' district was also held at Coral Lanes in Cape Coral. In the Double elimination team finals. Bishop Verot Defeated Mariner 3-0. Cypress Lake def Cape Coral 3-2. Bishop Verot def Cypress Lake 3-1. Mariner def Cape Coral 3-0 and then eliminated Cypress Lake 3-1. Then in the finals Mariner won the first match against Bishop Verot 3-2. But the Vikings bounced back in the title match to take down Mariner 3-0.
The top 10 teams before the final matches were: Mariner, 3056; Cypress Lake, 2097; Cape Coral, 2947; Bishop Verot, 2,868; Island Coast, 2,753; Riverdale, 2,598; Oasis, 2,526; Ft. Myers, 2,360; North Ft. Myers, 2,339; and Dunbar, 2,173.
"For our boys' team, I knew we were solid and one of the more talented teams in the district," the coach said, of his boys' team. "My hope was the school could win its first district championship and we did. This meant we qualified for the state tournament."
Last year, the Vikings had a perfect season at 14-0. But didn't have a chance to compete for the District Championship.
"We didn't have a chance to compete for the District Championship last year, as we did not bowl well at the tournament," he said, of 2020. "While a regular season undefeated record would have been nice. It doesn't mean anything compared to winning a District Championship."
And the boys' were able to accomplish this task, while also dealing with Covid-19.
"We were masked up all of last year, and our school had strict guidelines," he said, of dealing with Covid-19. "The kids did a good job with the protocols."
The top five individuals were: Devin Richards (Cypress Lake), 790. Randy Ayala (Cape Coral), 739. Joseph Letobar (Oasis), 737. Bryce Davis (Island Coast), 697. And Adam Belof (Bishop Verot), 688.
"We only lose two seniors. One boy and one girl. For the boys, we should return four juniors, a sophomore, and four freshmen," the coach said, of his young squad coming back next year. Our juniors are our leaders. Adam Belof should be our best bowler. For the girls, we bring back five. Four of them are juniors. It will be interesting who steps up from that group."
Backing up Sr. Katie Krutky on the Verot girls' roster this year were: Isabella Lentz Fr. Madison Meyers Jr. Camy Schockling Jr. Mackenzie Fennell Jr. Annabeth Corrigan Jr.
The boys' roster this year included: Chris Carranza Fr. Nolan Wagner Fr. Shea Murray Fr. Andrew Marino Fr. Carter Davis So. Justin Layne Jr. Adam Belof Jr. Gavin Hart Jr. Chris Davis Jr. Tanner Filla Jr.
also FHSAA state tournament was held the following week at Boardwalk Bowl and Entertainment Center in Orlando. In Orlando, the BV boys qualified eighth for the state finals. But, were eliminated in a match at state against Melbourne. The Vikings lost game #1, 210-184; won game #2, 188-179; lost game #3, 237-125; and lost game #4, 255-172. The four games were a Baker format. The girls didn't qualify for the round of 16 at state.
"At State, we finished eighth after qualifying. If you are in the top 16, you qualify for bracket play the next day and have a shot to win a championship," said coach, of the format at state. "After we qualified for the State Tournament in 2019, we were pretty over matched and overwhelmed. Since we were so much more experienced this time, I thought we could get to the top 16. Especially, based on how we had been bowling."
But the Baker games did not go as planned for the Viking boys.
"I was not surprised that we were able to get that far. We had been good in Baker matches throughout the season," the coach said, of the round of 16. "I was actually surprised that we did not win any Baker matches during bracket play at the State Tournament. In our first match, we just didn't bowl very well. In our second match, we just got beat even though we bowled well."
After winning the LCAC District Championship this year, Bishop Verot also collected some hardware as well.
"Tanner Filla will be named to the First Team All-Area Boys Bowling Team for SWFL. Adam Belof was nominated for Boys Bowler of the Year for SWFL along with Devin Richards and Randy Ayala," said Coach Zukin. "We won't know if he wins until May or June. Also, I was named Boys Bowling Coach of the Year for SWFL."
Coach Zukin is in his fifth season as Head Coach of the bowling team. Coach Zukin has been bowling since he was seven years old, and a bowling league participant for 35 years. He has bowled two perfect games and he is a perennial tournament participator. Coach Zukin is in his 27th year in education. Teaching Algebra 2 Honors, Statistics Honors, and College Algebra Honors.
"As far as bowling goes, I would like to get our girls program to be more competitive. I have tried to encourage our girls to bowl in a league, but most are beginners when we get them," he said, of what he would like to accomplish in 2022. "For the boys, I would like to challenge for a team and/or State Championship. I think we are doing the things we need to potentially get there."
And the kids will always get an extra push from the big guy above: to be successful in bowling, and in academic