For Mendleson, two hands are better than one
Athlete of the Year: Jai Mendleson, Guilderland
Use two hands! It’s the mantra of driving instructors, piano teachers and baseball coaches.
It also is an increasing trend for young bowlers, such as Guilderland High sophomore Jai Mendleson. He made the switch three years ago and powered his average up to 226, worthy of selection as the Times Union boys’ bowling Athlete of the Year.
“I started off one-handed until the end of my seventhgrade year,” Mendleson said. “After I had a poor performance at nationals, I decided I needed to make a change, and two-handed felt more natural. Throughout my eighth-grade season, I worked on progressing my two-handed game.”
Mendleson finished 512th among 631 competitors in the U15 division of the 2021 Junior Gold, which has become among the most prestigious youth tournaments in the world. In the 2023 Junior Gold at Indianapolis, Mendleson was 54th among 700 bowlers in the division.
Apparently two hands are better than one.
“It gave me a little more freedom with the ball,” he said. “One-handed, I had a problem where I was trying to muscle the ball too much. I wasn’t trying to stay relaxed and at ease with the ball. I was trying to muscle it down the lane and do too much with it. With twohanded, I feel it’s helped me learn to be more relaxed.”
He was selected the Suburban Council Bowler of the Year, winning the average title by two pins over last season’s top bowler, Macallen Gagne of Saratoga Springs. Perhaps most impressive was Mendleson’s 230.7 average in road matches, where bowlers face unfamiliar conditions.
Mendleson won 87 percent of his road matches and also led the Suburban in “average over house average” at plus-38. His home center is Town ’n Country Lanes in Guilderland.
His career highlight may have been in 2019 when he and his parents drove to Portland, Maine, and met pro bowler Kyle Sherman, most notable for his “Brad and Kyle” videos on Youtube.
After his team was eliminated, Sherman — who is a one-handed bowler — asked to watch the rest of the tournament with Jai.
“I got to meet Kyle, talk to him, hang out with him a lot,” Mendelson said. “It was a life-changing experience. It was amazing.”
First team
Zach Bombard, Jr., La Salle:
211.46 average. Top Section II scorer in state championships for second straight year with 1,382 (230.33 average). First-team Times Union all-star last season.
Macallen Gagne, Jr., Saratoga Springs:
224.57 average. Second-highest scorer at sectionals, qualifying him for states. Firstteam Times Union all-star last season.
Angelo Galofaro, So., CBA: 224.08 average. Firstteam Suburban Council allstar. Won 85.7 percent of his matches, highest percentage in the Suburban.
Jai Mendleson, So., Guilderland: 226.00 average. Suburban Council Bowler of the Year. He had 41-15 match-play record. Averaged 230.7 in road matches. High game 290, high series 782.
Matthew Rogers, Jr., Mohonasen:
226.62 average, nearly 13 pins higher than Colonial Council runner-up. Colonial Council MVP. Finished third in sectionals to qualify for state tournament.
Coach of the Year
Bill Neumann, Columbia:
In addition to leading the Blue Devils to their first Section II Class A title since 2019, Neumann also assisted coach Lisa Johnas in helping the Columbia girls’ team, which won sectional and state championships. This is the fourth Coach of the Year honor for Neumann (2015, 2019, 2021), a longtime Section II bowling coordinator and accomplished bowler.
Second team
Derek Bellamy, Sr., Burnt Hills-ballston Lake
Anthony Mainello, Jr., Troy
L.J. Morse, Sr., Hudson Jeremy Shafer, Sr., Shenendehowa
Jason Walker, Sr. Mechanicville