Averyana Camiolo loves her high school.
And because of that, whenever the Franklin Towne High School sophomore would see the Warriors win a championship, she loved it.
More than anything, she wanted to join them.
Freshman year, she fell just short.
Sophomore year, she became a champion.
Not only did Camiolo, who attended the FTC in grade school, too, help the Warriors win their first Public League girls bowling championship, she did it the same year the boys claimed their first Public League title.
And Camiolo did it in style, winning the triple crown. That means she had the high average (171.36), had the highest game (228) and highest series (436) in the Public League.
She not only got her school into the record books, she got there herself.
“That was a good day for me, but if I have a good day, I can bowl very well, that’s the kind of bowler I am,” Camiolo said. “I was very focused. I bowl better when there’s better competition. I feel more pressure, I like bowling under pressure. I got it from my dad and my coaches. You have to be competitive to do well, especially do well.
“It meant a lot. Through Franklin Towne, I met so many of my closest friends. I loved doing that. I love the school, the school has given me so many different opportunities. Our coach always tries his best for us. Second year doing it, last year we lost our district championship by four points and the boys lost by one. This is the first year we won everything, so it means so much to me.”
Not just the girls, either.
While they’re different teams, the boys and girls at Franklin Towne are always there for each other, so it meant a lot that they didn’t just win, they won together.
“We were so happy the boys won, too,” Camiolo said. “So much fun. I created such good bonds with the boys, too. We’re all getting to do it all together. It’s great. All the other sports are great, they’ve been going on for a long time. So to be a newer sport that won the Public League, it was great. We showed everyone we can do it.”
Camiolo loves winning for the Warriors, but she also enjoys the sport because it’s a passion she shares with her dad. It’s something he got from his mom.
“My grandmom, she passed before I was born, but I always hear how good she was,” Camiolo said. “I feel like it’s a bond I can build even though she’s not here. I hope she’d be proud of me.
“My dad, bowling is our thing. He loves the sport, too. He goes to every single thing, every game, every practice and tournament. It’s fun to have him there. I really love it. He’s loud when we’re winning, he loves showing us support and always cheering.”
Family is big for Camiolo.
And boy is Camiolo’s family big.
She’s the youngest of nine children, and as the youngest she has a lot of role models to look up to. For her, it’s Tiffany, Cori, Kaley, Brielle, Vinny, Richard, Marissa and Mack.
“My oldest sister is 32 and I’m the youngest,” Camiolo said. “We’re all so close, which you don’t typically see with big families. I talk to all of them every day, we can’t go a day without talking to each other. I talk to all of them every day.
“It always gave me someone to look up to, very chaotic because there’s so many of them. I look up to every single one of them. They’re all my role models.”
They have pretty good role models themselves.
“My dad goes to everything, he’s always there,” Camiolo said. “My mom shows up every chance she can and she’s always showing me support and love. She comes to all the games she can and is always posting about us.
“It’s pretty much family. My life is family, school and sports.”
She might be better in the classroom than she is in the lane. She maintains a 4.0 grade point average.
“I do pretty well in school, that’s something that I work hard on,” said Camiolo, who grew up in Port Richmond but now lives in Bustleton. “Bowling isn’t too bad. We have school practices on Monday and Wednesdays are matches, practice Thursday, Friday league, and then tournaments on weekends. I’m off Tuesday, that’s the day I don’t bowl. So I bowl a lot, but I love it.”
She has worked hard to get where she is, and she’s very happy that the work has paid off.
“It meant so much, it made me realize how much hard work I put into something I’m passionate about, and how hard work pays off,” Camiolo said. “It meant the world. It put the sport into perspective for me.
“It means a lot to win at Franklin Towne. We have so many sports teams that are so good. We always love cheering for them. It was great how everyone supported us. We won for the school.”
