The CHS girls’ and boys’ bowling teams recently finished stellar seasons with both teams making a run in the playoffs. The Lady Pirates finished first in their division with a record of 18-3 while the boys were close behind with a record of 17-4 and second in their division.
Each season student captains are named to lead their respective teams. Besides being a student leader, captains must demonstrate a positive attitude, exemplify hard work, and encourage their teammates. Senior Chase Gallant is one of this year’s captains. He attributes the team’s success to their ability to give and receive feedback on their performances.
“I think coaching’s probably the biggest thing helping them, working through some of their problems, teaching the right things to do, and just trying to correct mistakes that it took way too long for us to correct,” Gallant said.
On the boys team, Gallant, along with fellow seniors Jonathan DePhilippo, Logan Wickizer, Mathias Corona, and Ian Jungblut, have been selected as captains. The girls’ team is led by senior Eliana Malave, and juniors Abigail Gordon, Makaila Zammett, and Alianna Miller.
Spanish teacher and head coach AJ Miller said he looks for specific qualities in his captains and has selected each captain for different reasons.
“They were selected because not one of them encompasses everything I am looking for in a captain, but all of them together have all the qualities that I am looking for: most talented player, most dedicated, most selfless player, best leader,” Miller said.
Last year, the bowling team lost a couple of seniors, but that did not affect the team’s overall performance coming into the 2026 season.
“I am more focused on the team this year. The boys’ success is directly related to how many seniors we have this year because the majority of them are four-year participants in the program, and this year we are really seeing the return on their hard work and dedication,” Miller said. “We will miss these seniors tremendously.”
During practices the team can build on each player’s individual strengths. They start with drills, acting as if they are in a competitive setting to help them prepare and get into the mindset for their next match.
Gordon explains what a typical practice looks like.
“I might try a different shot,” Gordon explained. “I might leave certain spares so I can erase the part, practice those spares, so in a game, it’s easier to pick up the spare.”
One of the contributing factors to the girls’ success this season was the close bond they share with one another. As a result, the girls achieved one of the highest winning streaks they have had in the last few years.
“The girls are completing some unfinished business,” Miller said. “The girls had some really bad luck health-wise that cost them their first division title last year.”
On the boys’ side, senior Ian Jungblut has been a main contributor to the team’s success, bowling an average of 198.44 this season, which has only been achieved by one other athlete in CHS history, Jason Freeman, who averaged over 200 in both his junior and senior seasons. On the girls’ team, junior Alianna Miller has the highest game average with 167.30.
Another contributing factor to the team’s success and accomplishments is their dedicated coach. Similar to Gallant’s feelings about the team, Miller said he enjoys coaching bowling and creating new drills to watch his players achieve new goals.
Although the teams have various rivals, as of this season, the girls beat Bordentown twice, with their first match 4-1, and then had the opportunity to play them again later in the season with a 3-1 win. DePhilippo said he achieved his goal of bowling a 600 series against Bordentown.
“But I think, within the team, we’re all out, running, driving the season, both best on certain days. We like beating them. They like beating us. They have personality, we have personality. It’s a good clash,” Gallant said.
Building on Gallant’s thought, DePhilippo does not see Bordentown as their only toughest competition of the season.
“The sense of wanting to win and knowing that we can, I would say yes, but realistically, our hardest competition would be, like, Ewing and the teams that are just beating us by 200 pins,” DePhilippo said.
Ahead of the playoffs, Gordon said she envisions seeing the girls’ team going far.
“I think we can do it. I definitely think if all of us do our best, we’ll be able to win, and go to states,” Gordon said.
While Miller said he is sad to see this team graduate, he knows they have all left a wonderful legacy behind them.
“Fingers crossed, I would love to sit in this interview and see the girls challenging as a repeat division champion, and they are more than capable of winning the division this year and protecting the division next year. The boys are going to miss our seniors, although our underclassmen have the ability to step up and fill some spots,” Miller said.
