Athlete of the Issue: Peter Strippoli

Everything changed for Neshaminy High School Junior Peter Strippoli on Jan 17, 2017. The bowling team was at a match against Norristown High School, and Strippoli did the seemingly impossible action of scoring a perfect game by striking on all 12 shots.

“The moments leading up to the last ball were very nerve-wracking, and I needed a bit of luck in that final shot.” Strippoli said, “When it struck, though, I immediately felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, and the congratulations I got from everyone in the bowling center was awesome.”

For Strippoli, bowling has always been a part of his life. His grandfather owns a large bowling center in New York and shortly after he was born, his father bought the local bowling alley, Penndel Lanes. Born into a bowling family, he naturally learned bowling at a very young age from his father. Since he was introduced to the sport, it has always been a source of enjoyment and fun, and as a junior his love hasn’t stopped.

“Bowling is fun for me just because of every little variable you have to pay attention to.” he said, “There’s a lot more to it than most people realize, like the best angle a ball should have when it hits the pins or the amount of oil on a lane and where it’s been placed.“

In 7th grade, Strippoli realized how much he truly enjoyed bowling, and how good at it he was. Immediately upon entering high school, he joined the bowling team.

“I had to choose between the musical and the bowling team.” Stippoli said, “but I knew freshman year that I could be really successful on the team if I tried hard enough.”

The coach of the Neshaminy bowling team is Mark Dunfee, a language teacher in the district. Dunfee has been the coach for four years now, and always motivates the team to work hard.

“He always keeps us positive and organized and motivates us to do our best in every match.” Strippoli said.

The team’s hard work and efforts have reflected in their past seasons, with the last 3 seasons with overall winning scores.

“Our team this year has definitely become a lot closer and more competitive. We have contributors in every grade that often bowl for the varsity squad, which is very important so that someone can easily step up if another bowler isn’t having the best day.” Strippoli said.

Strippoli himself has had a very striking record with the bowling team,with an average score 212 points per game this year. He was part of the 2015 state championship team, and as a sophomore, won the 2016 Boys Eastern Pennsylvania Championship. This success got him an invite to States, a competition where the best 24 high school bowlers compete, where he finished in 12th place.

After all the hard work and sweat he has put into practices and matches, the junior achieved what every bowler hopes for, scoring a perfect game.