There are four more straights from the Hempstead Turnpike.
The bowling standout at Kellenburg Memorial High School is in the lane for success and allows anyone in her league to do things they have never done before.
“I can just prove to myself, I can do that…it's so cool,” Junior Kelly Callahan, who recently brought home her third Catholic High School Athletic Association title with a score of 629, told the Post. Ta.
A journey to the top of Uniondale Academy students was one of those knocking down pin and self-doubt ever since winning it all in her first year.
Callahan has loved the sport since being signed up for the league by his friend's mother at age 8 and has recognized her skills as a middle schooler after notching 190 games. However, as a freshman, Firebirds Varsity Squad's debut was a whole new bowl game.
“She was very quiet and very reserved as a freshman. Longtime Kellenberg girl bowling coach Allie Frisina added that Callahan's true potential came out in the second practice, and was nervous. I think so,” said the longtime girl bowling coach Kellenberg.
“Kelly was hitting shots where the juniors and seniors on the team started to hit. …We knew there was something special about her,” Frisina said.
During Callahan's sophomore year, the Merrick native soon showed that the first championship was something other than beginner's luck.
Last season, in a title matchup with St. John the Baptist, she bowled an almost insane 298 with 11 straight strikes in the final frame.
“It was insane. I didn't expect it,” the humble champion said. “It was so quiet and I was really nervous. I had a pit in my stomach.”
More than securing a solo victory in consecutive years, the invincible numbers have made her team a victory over Western ISLIP rivals.
“It meant everything to me because we all secured victory,” Callahan said.
A few weeks later, Callahan came in second in the statewide bowling tournament held in Babylon, the first Catholic schoolgirl in New York.
However, this time Callahan has an additional edge ahead of the Buffalo-based tournament scheduled for March 1st. Her high school opened an eight-lane bowling alley on campus at the beginning of the school year.
“I'm always here,” the 16-year-old uses six unique 15-pound balls for a variety of tactics.
“I feel more confident than last year. I'll do everything I can. I just worry about myself. I'm trying to make every spare, strike.”
The focus then shifts to her fourth year. Callahan is pondering his playing at nearby Molloy University while pursuing nursing – rolling the ball with some of the best goals.
In addition to the prospect of making local history a four-time champion, she hopes to win her first perfect 300 games and another team title.
With the dedication Callahan exhibited, the negative is merely a trench.
“Bowling taught me that I definitely have to focus on. “If you want 300 games, I have to work for it. If you need 100 on a math test, , you have to work for that.”
Despite the surprising similarities, Callahan scoffed at his comparisons with the islanders. The islanders took just one step out of her school at the Nassau Coliseum in the 1980s and won the Stanley Cup four times in a row.
“I'm a Rangers fan,” she said with pride.
