WHS senior Cindy Guzman knows the essential elements for success on the runway: balance, follow through, focus, position to the right, and aim at the first arrow. Cindy is Woodlands High School first-ever female bowler to earn a spot on the Section I Composite All-Star Team and compete in the NYSPHSAA State Championship held this past weekend in Syracuse, NY. “I found out I made the team after sectionals in Fishkill when they called out my name,” she said. “I finished in the top 3. I was surprised, and really excited.” Cindy’s WHS girls varsity bowling coach described this achievement as remarkable. “We’ve never had a female student qualify as an individual for States before,” said Coach Bettina Mailman. “With Cindy’s seasonal average, she went into Sectionals considered a ‘sleeper’, but when the pressure was on and results mattered, Cindy came up big and had 37 pins over her average. She absolutely rose to the occasion.”
Making the All-Star team might have been a surprise to Cindy, but her journey to States has its own element of surprise. “I joined the varsity girls bowling team in tenth grade,” she said. “I wanted to play because my cousin inspired me, but I was nervous because I wasn’t good.” As a backup player that first year, she didn’t play team matches, but that didn’t stop her from improving. In her junior year, Cindy played half of the time, and by her senior year, she was the lead-off for her team.
“The first year I focused on practicing. During games, while my teammates were competing, I spent the whole time on practice lanes. That, and the support from my coaches and teammates, made me a stronger player, she said.” Coach Mailman agrees that hard work and perseverance changed the game for Cindy. “When I’d ask her for feedback on her performance she'd say ‘I can do better’. That kind of attitude has served her well,” she said. “As lead-off, you set the tone for the team. Cindy approaches the game with calm and consistency, and she keeps everyone on the team in that same frame of mind.”
While last weekend's competition didn’t result in a spot on the podium for the Section I Compositie team, it was still a success for the WHS varsity player and her coach. “Going to States was the experience of a lifetime,” said Coach Mailman. “Cindy represented Greenburgh with class and grace. She is a true role model.”
Cindy has called the Greenburgh Central School District home since her early education. The support, she says, goes beyond the lanes. “I was always a good student, but I have been shy my whole life,” she shared. “My teachers have helped me to be a better communicator, gave me good advice, and always been supportive - especially Ms. Mekeel. She’s like a second mom to me.”
Once this Falcon flies the coop, Cindy knows that bowling will be something she can do anytime. In the future, after graduation, her sights are set on another passion found through Southern Westchester BOCES - a career in the beauty industry as a nail artist. That might make bowling a little more complicated, but knowing Cindy, she will find a way to make it work.