Northport-East Northport Schools

First Official Unified Bowling Season Kicks Off for Northport-East Northport Students

Following a successful pilot season during the 2021-2022 school year, members of Northport High School’s Unified Bowling team are excited to be back in competition mode. Now an official Section XI sport, the team will compete against local schools throughout the season. Unified sports include both special education students, referred to as the athletes, and general education students, referred to as partner players, for an integrated experience.

During their first official week competing as a team, members were excited to be bowling with their peers and enjoying some friendly competition. The team’s captain and district transition coordinator Cassie Reilly emphasized that getting to play an official sport really shows the value of the program.

Junior Wyatt Fredericks is a partner player on the team who has enjoyed seeing his peers improve their bowling skills, but really sees the program as a time for everyone to have fun as group. He said “From my perspective, I think Unified Bowling and Unified sports is just bringing everyone together, not having any stress, everyone’s having fun. It’s honestly one of my favorite things ever.”

Fellow junior and partner player Cody Goldner agreed and said “It’s fun just helping them out and helping them improve.”

For senior athlete Tom McArdle, who is a member of both Unified Basketball and Unified Bowling, he enjoys spending more time with his friends. He said “I like having fun, it’s a really nice experience to go bowling. I get to see a lot of my friends; we get along really well.”

The team must play nine official games during a match. Whichever team wins more games is named the winner; Northport is currently 1-1. Students are also not allowed to use bumpers and there must be a proper ratio of athletes to partner players in each game. Throughout the season, Northport will compete against Deer Park, Elwood, Islip, Half Hollow Hills, South Huntington and Huntington.

The Northport High School Unified Bowling team members:

Dylan Braun
Lexington Cobe
Katy DeBellis
Wyatt Fredericks
Brianna Fusaro
Brandon Garnier Winkler
Christopher Garnier Winkler
Cody Goldner
Amanda Haley
Victoria Jenkins
Ryan Louis
Thomas McArdle
Brandon Mont
Emily Regan
Christian Sloan
Christopher Vanek
Charlotte Wagner
Delaney Wagner
Nicholas Zakas

First Official Unified Bowling Season Kicks Off for Northport-East Northport Students

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