CENTRAL NEW YORK – As a whole, the East Syracuse Minoa boys bowling team remains poised to challenge for both Salt City Athletic Conference and Section III honors later this winter. The Spartans were impressive again last Monday against Fulton at Strike-N-Spare Lanes, shutting out the Red Dragons 7-0 with five bowlers shooting series of 671 or better. Joe Gardner led with a 710 series from games of 220, 244 and 246, with Zach Kassel shooting 230, 222 and 249 for a 701 series. Alex Locke’s 211, 247 and 235 produced a 693 set. Chris Janick stepped up with 232, 215 and 225 in a 672 series, one pin ahead of Luke Liedka, whose 671 came from games of 214, 233 and 224. In the ESM boys’ 5-2 win over Central Square Thursday afternoon Gardner had 10 strikes in a 277 game in between games of 236 and 247 which led to a season-best 760 series. Kassel’s 671 series included games of 235 and 244, with Liedka landing a 256 during his 599 series as Locke opened with a 247 on his way to a three-game total of 624. Janack earned a 575 series and Ryan Dablock a 562 series. Averie Lynch’s 476 series and Alana Tuberville’s 456 series keyed the girls Spartans’ 7-0 win over the Redhawks. Fayetteville-Manlius fell 7-0 to SCAC Empire division front-runner Auburn last Monday at Rainbow Lanes, the Maroons led by Eric Barski’s 746 series with games of 257, 243 and 246. Five Auburn bowlers shot series of 555 or better, while the Hornets only had two of them. John Antczak had a 568 series while Sean Bird got a 552 series. F-M’s girls did win, though, topping Auburn 5-2 behind a 514 series from Ashlynn Yonge. Andrea Aguilar-Miranda’s 456 series beat out a 440 set from Zoe Hunt and 432 series from Lillian Squire. Against Baldwinsville a day later F-M’s girls gained some points but lost 5-2 to the Bees. Hunt’s second-game 221 highlighted a 570 series as Yonge had a 530 set and Squire a 523 series. Lizzy Hildreth gave the Bees a 248 second game during her 649 series. The F-M boys were shut out 7-0 by B’ville, Bird shooting a 588 series (212 high game) to beat out Cole Cox, whose 234 game was part of a 569 series. Antczak earned a 223 in his 565 series. F-M’s boys then lost 7-0 to Liverpool on Thursday afternoon at Green Lakes. Bird led all individuals with a 602 series and Henry Keeney earned a 246 in his 552 series, but five LHS bowlers shot series between 544 and 565 to pull out in front. Still, the girls Hornets were triumphant, topping Liverpool in yet another 7-0 decision. Geiss shot a 498 series and Squire a 484 series ahead of a 446 set from Hunt and 442 set from Aguilar-Miranda. Elliana Occhino again stood out for the Christian Brothers Academy girls in its 7-0 shutout of Homer at Hi Lanes. Occhino opened with 249, closed with 259 and had a 206 in between to finish with a 714 series, her fourth consecutive 700-plus set and fifth of the season. Meanwhile, the CBA boys lost 5-2 to Homer, though Jake Mason shot an opening 257 in his 596 series and Tom Dearnaley closed with a 218 to post a 591 set. Dempsey Horan added a 514 series as the Trojans’ John Bishop shot games of 266 and 257 during his 716 series and teammate Caleb Hamilton added a 606 set. CBA’s boys rebounded a day later, beating Weedsport by that same 5-2 margin at Rainbow Lanes as Mason’s 594 series included games of 205 and 208. Dearnaley (530 series) was ahead of Nick Chmelicek’s 508 set as, in the girls 7-0 win, Occhino cooled off a bit but still had a 676 series with games of 248 and 235 after an opening 193 as Ciereck improved to a 459 total for three games. Bishop Grimes got a sweep of last Monday’s match with Altmar-Parish-Williamstown. Casey Mierek had a 487 series and Tyler Mierek a 466 set in the boys Cobras’ 7-0 sweep of the Rebels as the Grimes girls pulled out a 4-3 decision. Two days later the Grimes boys won again, topping Solvay while the girls took a 7-0 defeat to the Bearcats. Improving to 5-3 overall the boys Cobras had Zach Leto shoot a 594 seriesl Tyler Mierek’s 237 closed out a 570 set as Owen Tierney had a 570 series and Victor Rizzo shot a 526 series. Solvay’s Justin Zimmerman had a 691 series helped by a 268 game. Grimes’ boys won again Thursday, blanking Cortland 7-0. Rizzo shot 203 and 204 games during his 581 series, while Leto had a 543 series. The girls Cobras lost by a 5-2 margin.