April Scholar-Athlete: Canisius’ Matthew Hassenfratz gets joy from bowling, academics

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — There are few things that bring as much joy to Canisius High School’s Matthew Hassenfratz than bowling.

Matthew has been a part of the Crusaders bowling program since his freshman year. Though his love for bowling started way before he entered high school.

“Bowling has always been a huge part of my life. I’ve been bowling since I was three years old. The family that bowling has brought to me at Canisius high school has truly been one of my favorite parts, “Matthew said.

Matthew has an impressive 4.0 GPA while also making time for bowling, hockey, tennis, and the drama club. However, his busy lifestyle does not take away from his academics. Matthew has not decided where he’ll continue his schooling, but he’s interested in pursuing a career in biomedical engineering.

“Academics are everything,” Matthew said. “I love bowling and I can bowl whenever I want, but I know that my academics are what’s going to carry me in life. It’s been important that when I decided to go to Canisius, academics were at the forefront and that’s leading me through college and beyond.”

Matthew had a special moment in his bowling career just a few months ago. Before his match, he had lost someone very special to him, his grandfather. Even though he wasn’t physically here, his grandfather’s presence was still felt at the lanes when Matthew bowled a perfect 300 to qualify for the state championship.

“The perfect game is something that every single bowler dreams of finally bowling and for it to finally come at the time that it did, I kind of felt like it was partially me, but I know it wasn’t all me at that point.” he said. “It was just special to know that after everything that happened it was going to be ok, and we were going to keep moving forward no matter what.”

Sara Holland is a Sports Anchor/Reporter at News 4. Follow her on Twitter @SaraaHolland and see more of her work here .