BOWLING!
INPERSON
BY NICOLE TAFE
Alex Smith sets the
Western PA youth
three-game series
record at Nesbit’s
Lanes in Plum.
A
lex Smith has been bowling since he
could walk. “My parents got involved
in a bumper league when I was 4 years
old at Holiday Lanes in Plum—moving
into the Nesbit’s Lanes bumper program the
following year, once Holiday Lanes closed,” he
says.
The 16-year-old junior at Franklin Regional
High School has come a long way since the
bumper league, having recently set a record at
Nesbit’s Lanes by bowling two perfect games in a
row, and a 279 in the third game for an 879 series.
Alex, who is the son of Ben and Wendy Smith,
is a starter on the varsity bowling team at Franklin
Regional, member of the National Honor Society
and Paws for a Cause, and a middle and elementary
school tutor. In the community, he volunteers at
his local library and the Palace Theater by way of
his participation in the National Honor Society.
Additionally, in the past, he’s been a catechist
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aid and Vacation Bible School crew leader at his
church—Our Lady of Joy Parish in Plum.
You can find Alex bowling at least four to five
days a week—throwing anywhere from three to
10 games per session, and practicing as often as
possible. For his high school team, he practices
at Moose Lodge 234 in Export, and otherwise at
Nesbit’s Lanes any chance he can get. “There are
very few lanes in Western PA I have yet to bowl in,”
he notes.
Alex has been a part of the varsity team as a
starter for three years and on the Nesbit’s U20
Travel Team each year since he was 12. He coaches
with a wide variety of people including the high
school team’s coaches, Adam Reabe and Gwen
Richards, along with assistants Joe Mediate and
Cruz Fink. “I have many coaches/supporters who
help me during all levels of competition—from
my dad to my grandpa, Darryl and Shawn Pilyih,
Mark Diehm, Rich Grilli, Brian and Bill Hite, Jeff
“
Bowling is unlike
any other sport in
the world,” says
Alex. “The people
involved with the
sport at all levels—
professionals down
to the average
league bowler and
everyone else in
between—make it
one of my absolute
favorite things in
the world.”