Jan. 10, 2026
By Alexandra Lourenço
Editor-in-Chief
After earning a state sectional title last year, the bowling team has continued its success with a 5-3 record as of Jan. 10.
Senior captain Payton Rivezzi, who has been on varsity for two years, said she hopes this season will be her best yet.
“I want to go out with a bang for my senior year,” Rivezzi said. “I want to win the league title, I want to win states, I want to win the girls sectional states [and] I want to win the girls tournament.”
Rivezzi said this season will be challenging because Wallington High School, which LHS beat 7-0 twice last season, has improved. While LHS still beat Wallington on Dec. 8 at Bowl O’ Drome in North Arlington, the score was much closer, with LHS winning by just one point in the 4-3 match.
“I was very shocked, [but] everyone is determined to get back to where we were last season,” Rivezzi said.
She said the hardest aspect of bowling is the resilience it requires.
“Once your mental[ity] goes down in the sport, you’re going to perform on the lane horribly. If you keep your mind clear, you’ll be perfectly fine,” Rivezzi said.
Junior Henry Keefe, a two-year varsity member, said there have been many adjustments this season, as four new bowlers have joined the junior varsity and varsity teams.
“The incoming [bowlers] have never really tried this sport before,” Keefe said. “It’s more of a team-building year, but that does not take away from the fact that we’re still competitive.”
Keefe said the most challenging aspect of the sport is adapting to the oil pattern on the lanes, which is necessary for mastery.
“I want to go out with a bang for my senior year.”
“What oil does is slow down the curve, which is what you need to get a strike, so you adjust your body and how you throw based on how the oil is patterned,” Keefe said.
Head Coach Offitto, who has been coaching the team for eight years, said bowling is an underrated sport.
“Bowling gets a reputation of [being] super easy… but when you’re not in the thick of it, you don’t realize the technical part,” Offitto said. “The pins aren’t always forgiving. Sometimes you’re throwing a great shot, and you’re not going to strike. You’ll leave a split, so it becomes frustrating.”
Offitto said, even without graduates Jayden Peterson, Patrick O’Rourke and Mark Rigano, who knocked down a combined 28,498 pins last season, his expectations have not changed.
“The group that has come back is motivated. They want to be great,” Offitto said. “They want to compete for the league, they want to compete in the counties and they want to go back-to-back in the sectionals.”
