(2/21/09) NJSIAA Team Finals - Boys

It's the most bittersweet moment of the bowling season: the last day of the State finals. Normally, for North Jersey teams, it's more bitter than sweet, and various local bowlers told me as much after Saturday's tournament. The boys teams from up here, though, usually have a better go of it at Carolier Lanes than the girls teams do, and with that I must issue yet another apology for a mis-stated fact (sort of).

A couple of entries ago, I had said that the last Northern team to really do well at Carolier was Clifton in 2002, when it won the State boys championship. While not entirely untrue – the Mustangs remain the last North Jersey squad to win the whole thing – Becton captured the first-ever State Group 1 title when the format was introduced in 2007. So there you go.

This year, the best finish by a North section boys team in the State finals was third – in fact, a team from some portion of this portion of the state finished third in every single bracket: Old Tappan (Group 4, 2,920), Nutley (Group 3, 2,913), Jefferson (Group 2, 2,908) and Queen of Peace (Group 1, 2,794). I use the "portion" qualifier because even though all those teams are technically in this part of the state, they don't necessarily fall under every media outlet's definition of "North Jersey." The definition, for this site's purposes, was explained a few entries ago, but now that I think of it, I'm going to include Nutley, which doesn't meet any of the existing conditions, but I see them all the time as an [ex] NNJIL team. So there, again.

However, I got a very nice e-mail from one of the parents of the bowlers in the North 1B section – a tournament that I didn't recap because I was at the North 1A finals, which took place at the same time – prompting the following decision: A number of local qualifiers from North 1B earned a trip to North Brunswick, and since I haven't gotten a chance to talk much about some of them, they get top billing this time. Well... close to the top. Had to mention the high finishers first.

Straight outta Pompton: (Sorry, couldn't resist. Please don't tell Dr. Dre.) The State qualifier with the highest pinfall (3,050) at the North 1B tournament was Pompton Lakes, which won Group 2 to bring home the first sectional bowling title in school history. I have mentioned the Cardinals before, given their dominance in the B-PSL this season – unfortunately, that success didn't seem to translate at Carolier, at least early on. But after an 858 in the opener, Pompton got better as the day went on, finishing with a 948 in Game 3. Seniors Billy Jack (200) and Jon Eis-Figueroa (214) had the two highest games, and the latter may have the best bowling nickname ever: Eis (pronounced "ice"). Seriously, when I need a strike in the 10th, and I've got two guys on my team that are otherwise equal except for their nicknames – even if the other guy is "Lefty" – I'm still sending in "Eis" every time. I seriously think Jon's got a case to sue Robert Van Winkle for the rights to the name, plus "Ice, Ice Baby" residuals, and rights in perpetuity, and all that legal mumbo-jumbo.
(Okay, I'm quitting with the rap references while I'm ahead.)

Three cheers for Lakeland: In just their third full season of varsity competition, the Lancers won the Group 3 title at the North 1B tournament, shooting a 3,012 to rally past Northern Hills Skyline rival DePaul (more on them in a bit). In the State Group 3 finals, they wound up with a 10th-place 2,415 against some daunting competition. Case in point: Lakeland shared lanes with Group 3 runner-up Woodbridge (3,160), which amassed the highest game in the house in Game 2 – a 1,162 that included a 298 from junior Matt Sabin. Lancers anchor Andrew Davidowicz, the team's lone senior, paused before even starting his 10th frame to let Sabin try and finish off the perfect game... classy move. However, after Sabin threw his last ball, he started walking away as if he had Strike #12 in the bag; the bowling gods, angered, sent the front pins wrapping around the 4-7, and the only way the young Barron could tell he missed was from the crowd reaction (dude walked about 4 lanes away to the left). Of course, that didn't help out the Lancers any, but regardless of the outcome, bowling has seemed to gain a strong foothold up in Wanaque – Lakeland probably brought the largest fan contingent of any Bergen/Passaic/Hudson team, plus they've got good bloodlines running through the program already. (Davidowicz and Zach Zuravner are both the second members of their families to bowl for the Lancers).

DePaul has DeLast laugh: At least among Northern Hills teams, it does. The Spartans finished second to Passaic Valley in the league and second to Lakeland at sectionals, but wound up carrying the conference banner at Carolier, finishing seventh in Group 3 (2,637). Senior anchor Tom Maggio had about as consistent a day as you could have: 202-204-194 for an even 600 series. Nice move by coach Jerry Fazzio letting his other senior, Calvin Yoon, step in to finish out Game 3 for Greg Corradi. All in all, DePaul has plenty going for it, with four consecutive trips to the State finals under its belt (not two, as previously stated) and quite a bit of talent returning next year, including freshman Colette Malyack, who had Saturday's high game (224), part of a 547 series. And, point of order, she averaged over 200 this year. And, yes indeed, she is a freshman (she also finished 28th at the individual finals). Also, I finally learned how to pronounce her name – MAL-yak, the most obvious way, but you never can tell with some names – it just would have been nice to see the NJSIAA print the DePaul girls' names on the roster in the program, you know, considering it's a co-ed team and all (Colette and Breanne McEldowney were both omitted. Clearly, the NJBRG will not stand for that on this site).

Passaic Power not quite enough: Unfortunately, last Saturday was the equivalent of midnight in the Cinderella story of senior Vinny Buono (detailed futher in this article) and his Indians teammates, who finished second at sectionals but ended up 10th in Group 4 (2,452) at the State finals. By my count, Buono bowled at least seven 700 series in NNJIL play this winter, topping out at 799 and finishing with a 222 average; not too shabby for a varsity rookie. Consider, however, that he wasn't the only newcomer to put Passaic back on the radar this winter – I had seen Raymond Villanueva's impressive scores all season long, but didn't find out until seeing the roster on Saturday that he's a freshman. A freshman who averaged 204 in the league. Good thing he's coming back, because the Indians are going to miss a bunch of seniors next year, including Juan Rosas (194 average), Robinson Rodriguez (173) and Pedro Rodriguez (167). Although Pedro leaves with the feather-in-his-cap of having edged out Buono for bragging honors at Carolier, 532 to 520. Check that, Rosas was 24th at the State singles finals with a 617 last Wednesday... you know what, I couldn't beat any of these guys in a single-frame roll off where they were blindfolded and I wasn't, so I'm going to let them sort out the bragging rights amongst themselves.

As for the other North 1B qualifiers to reach the boys State finals, I'm once again out of the loop, aside from what I read in the Star Ledger. But I know that Vernon won Group 4 and Vikings senior David Kinney was the sectional champ with a 720 – Kudos to them, as well as Lenape Valley, Hudson County Prep and High Tech for earning a spot among the 40 team finalists in North Brunswick.

Of course, I can't forget our pals from North 1A, either. Outside of OT and QP, the results were fairly mixed, but here are some of the highlights:
Bergen Catholic (4th in Group 4, 2,785): The Crusaders were one of those start-slow, finish-strong teams for which I will not reference any '90s female pop artist's hits. Their 887 first game was offset by a 974 in Game 3 that vaulted them over Cherokee and South Brunswick. Junior Rob Grippo had a nice bounce-back from a disappointing 571 at the individual finals, capping a 631 series with games of 211 and 233. Props to junior Peter Afarian for jumping into the lineup and bowling a 215 in Game 2.
Nutley (3rd in Group 3, 2,913): I just realized that Saturday may be the last time I see the Maroon Raiders for a while, given the dissolution of the NNJIL. Whoever ends up as their chief competition next year, good luck: the 5 graduating seniors hand things off to 5 returning sophs – who, if they weren't bowling for the varsity, were leading the JV to an undefeated season. Seniors Ben Sowizral and Daniel Penett both posted 564 series on Saturday. Keep an eye on sophomore Angelo Lambroschino, who rolled a monster 247-669 and could be a dead ringer for Pedro from "Napoleon Dynamite", sans mustache. Added props to the Nutley faithful, who brought some creative signs and T-shirts, but more impressively managed to make themselves heard among the hoards of Woodbridge and Sayreville fans.
Pascack Valley (5th in Group 3, 2,689): The so-called "power of the socks" – Tim Leonard's phrase, not mine – ostensibly wore off. However, I remain very much a fan of the Boy Scout neckerchiefs, especially since A) the Indians shared lanes with DePaul, and I otherwise would not have been able to tell the green shirts apart; and B) I actually made Scout First-Class way back when. (Got a public speaking merit badge and everything). PV sort of did the reverse of other North Jersey teams, starting off with a 947 before fading, but senior captain Kyle Orr (203) and classmate Steve Kilduff (168) both finished strong in Game 3 (nice job by coach Judy Lucia of letting Kilduff step in for the finale). And the Indians should be boosted by the return of freshman Joey Farinelli (high game: 229) and sophomore anchor Brian O'Flaherty (213) next season.
Ramsey (8th in Group 3, 2,580): Interesting point I discussed with coach Bill Chesney – since they closed Interstate Lanes on Route 17 a couple of years ago, the talent pipeline in Ramsey has dried up a bit. The Rams made it down to Carolier with their 2004 Bergen County-championship squad, then hit a bit of a lull. However, they've been back in the State finals each of the last two years, and might start making it a tradition again with sophomores Jarrett Floyd (493 series) and twins Ryan (565) and Kyle (612) Landau returning. (FYI, the Landaus do their off-season bowling at Holiday Bowl in Oakland). Seniors Craig Wolfe and Doug Nemeth (lefty) finished their careers with matching 153s, but how about Nemeth taking his bowling career down to the last day of the season? You may remember him as the linebacker on the Rams' football team that confronted a burglar in his home in the fall of 2007, escaping with a stab wound but returning to football practice the same week. On behalf of good citizens everywhere, giving him a mention on our blog is the least we can do.

I didn't get much of a chance to observe all the BCSL locals – Leonia (5th, 2,720) and New Milford (10th, 2,588) in Group 2 and Queen of Peace and Park Ridge (8th, 2,595) in Group 1 – since most of the radio stations/newspapers I have to submit things to don't cover those teams. But I do know that Park Ridge has a nice freshman-sophomore brother combo (Dan and Mike Wuhrman) to build around, and that New Milford is excited about the return of junior anchor Anthony Karalian (although, for the record, I'm pretty sure Coach Millian has been a fan all along)... Old Tappan is also on the outskirts of my area, but I did get a look at their final scores, and they were all solid: Justin Siegel 225-623, Alex Ludewig 227-594, Justin Hussong 213-591 and Kyle Folkers 192-551, plus a 226-561 and a pretty sweet-looking neckerchief from Pat Kiernan... Finally, Science Park (5th in Group 1, 2,731), the '09 Newark City Tournament champ, is really on the outskirts of my area – but sophomore Najee Mayers had a nice run in the State individual finals last Wednesday (1,420 series for the top seed in the stepladder finals), and Chargers anchor Ryan Cooper, a senior lefty, had a 227 game on Saturday that I managed to catch a bit of.

As for the champs – Brick Memorial (Group 4), Sayreville (repeat Group 3 winner), Wall (Group 2) and Roselle Catholic (repeat Group 1 winner) – I'm not sure I can add a whole lot on top of what's been written in the other papers around the state. Sayreville rolled through the Baker game Tournament of Champions to repeat as the overall titleist, and in case you're wondering, it was the NJBRG his ownself that tipped off the Ledger's Mike Moretti about the Bombers' run of 16 consecutive strikes in their second-game 1,139. Thank you, I'll be here all week. (I should mention that I only saw 15 straight X's on the scoreboard in the 3rd, 4th and 5th frames, and I can't remember the name of the fan that tipped me off that it was actually 16 in a row – guess he'll have to settle with the fact that his team destroyed the tournament record with a 3,306 series as "consolation").

The only other random notes left on the pad... I was amazed that Elizabeth (2,621), a Group 4 school, has a co-ed team. Really? You can't manage to scrape together separate boys and girls teams at a school of over 3,000 kids? I can only assume the Watchung Conference has a bunch of smaller schools that have to field co-ed teams so the Minutemen must comply, otherwise I can't see the logic... Sadly, there are no photos, but the "Best Mohawk in Show" Award was shared by Elizabeth's Matt Milanes and Warren Hills' Mike Handley, both of whom went the extra mile by using hair gel for spiking purposes.

*Whew*... time for some sunlight. This won't be the final NJBRG entry of the winter, since we still have all sorts of All-Star stuff planned, plus there's the final edition of the WGHT North Jersey bowling recap coming up at 2:30 PM tomorrow (2/24). As the Strawberry Alarm Clock once sang, "turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around." Okay, maybe not that last part.

(2/18/09) NJSIAA Individual Finals

One of my all-time pet peeves is having to report on an event that I didn't actually see live. Unfortunately, it is a necessary evil in journalism -- especially working with weekly papers -- since even the best reporter can't be all places at all times.

That said, I was unable to make it down to Carolier Lanes for the State individual tournament yesterday, so I'm not going to pretend to know what went on outside of what I've read from various other media. However, this brings us to a convenient end: although The Record's Varsity Aces bowling blog is, technically speaking, a rival to the North Jersey Bowling Blog, author Tim Leonard does a solid job... and (sneaking suspicion) may or may not be taking a peek at this site every once in a while. All I'm saying is, in our recap of the girls State team finals, the NJBRG wrote about putting a positive spin on things -- and in the Aces' latest entry, the phrases "glass half-full" and "starting with the good news first" crop up. Hmmmmmmmm...

At any rate, to serve the dual purpose of informing you about the North Jersey entrants into Wednesday's State individual finals -- as well as to see if any Aces are paying attention -- here now is a link to their recap:
http://njmg.typepad.com/varsityaces/2009/02/crank-and-crush-nj-state-bowling-singles-tournament.html

In addition, I myself must follow up with an apology. This blog's "North Jersey" coverage area is fairly similar to that of The Record, and of course includes all of the WGHT listening area as well. I decided to go the extra step and include Hudson County, since I've gotten some feedback from the folks in that region and will, on occasion, check out the Jersey Journal online. (One edition of the paper earlier in the winter had Union City's Omar Espinal featured on the back page after he had that 854 series -- you give bowling that kind of pub, and you are clearly a friend of the NJBRG).

Well, in my listing of all the "North Jersey" individual State qualifiers last entry, I specified Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties... forgetting that the 'GHT listening area also covers several towns in Morris County. Oops. Never mind the fact that I've covered bowling for the local Butler paper before (and have stated as much on this very blog), then forgot to mention their only individual qualifier. As such, congrats to Butler's Brian Ball for earning a spot in yesterday's tournament -- he shot a first-round 600 to end up 28th.

All that said, there's one last tournament left to cap off bowling's "February Fever" -- I tried coining that term in an article once as the answer to college basketball's "March Madness," and not surprisingly, it didn't really take -- and the NJBRG will be back at Carolier, live and In Living Color, for the boys State team finals on Saturday.

(2/16/09) NJSIAA Team Finals - Girls

Today's episode: "Bummer"... not only that I've been running around working on a zillion different things and needed two days to get an entry done, but also that the North just can't seem to put it all together down at Carolier Lanes. Don't get me wrong, the trip is fun, and worth it every year (for me, anyway), but I haven't seen a bowling team from up here have a real knock-out day in North Brunswick since the Clifton boys won a State title in 2002. I recall the Butler boys finishing fourth in Group 1 once, but on the girls' side, North Jersey teams don't fare well at the finals.

Anyhow, congrats to Immaculate Heart and Ridgewood (5th and 6th, respectively, in Group 4), Warren Hills and Hackensack (5-6 in Group 3), Holy Angels and Indian Hills (5-6 in Group 2) and High Tech and Hudson County Prep (4-6 in Group 1) for earning the right to represent the North section at Carolier. That may seem like a small consolation now -- particularly for IHA, which had some pretty high hopes going in -- but in retrospect, I dare any die-hard bowler to come up with a better way to spend President's Day. Also, I've been working on a Ph.D in spin-doctoring, and my goal is to unearth the most positive news, notes and nuggets from the girls team finals in the next 9,000 words. (I'm kidding. I don't even have a word counter, and I guarantee it won't be that long.)

Good news for IHA (2,571): senior Lauren Rhein put it best -- regardless of how it ended, "This season in general was awesome. I couldn't have asked for better," she said. And Rhein should know, being not only the Blue Eagles' anchor but also their only four-year varsity starter. She and classmate Grace Capone had high games of 212 and 211, respectively -- about what you'd expect from a pair of college-bound bowlers, headed for Vanderbilt and Sacred Heart, respectively. (Have I used that word enough already?) Also consider that three Eagles still have the State individual finals to compete in, and that they didn't lose to a single team from North Jersey. Not even a game. I thought they might have gone 119-0 in the NNJIL before, but Rhein reminded me that Paramus Catholic managed to steal one game from them every year. And again... she should know.

Good news for Ridgewood (2,510): One word, courtesy of senior anchor Kim Burdi: closure. The Maroons went from starting with a 768 in Game 1 to finishing with a 922 in Game 3 -- if my records are correct, that's their highest 5-person series of the season. Senior Courtney Visco threw a 218 in her final game, while Burdi not only finished her career with a 224, she also knocked down a 7-pin to pick up the spare on her final roll -- the one single-pin spare that makes lefties wince (And in this case, I should know). Granted, Ridgewood won a Bergen County title in 2004, but according to coach Dick Bennett, this '08-09 squad was the best OVERALL team in program history. Plus, the Maroons made it onto the annual WGHT North Jersey bowling recap (more on that shortly) for the first time... not too shabby.

Good news for Hackensack (2,380): I bumped into head coach Bob Lotz before practice started up, and he reminded me that the Comet boys made it down to North Brunswick last season, and some of his girls had come down to cheer them on. Other than the synthetic lanes (which are everywhere in the Central and South and very few places up here), one of the biggest X-factors at Carolier is the crowd -- if you get a chance to observe that atmosphere in person, it gives you a better grasp of what awaits. Perhaps that's why the Hackensack girls had the best Game 1 of all the locals, an 859. Of course, that was where they topped out, but again, we're keeping it postive. To that end, some of the Comets' boys bowlers showed up to join the fan section, thusly keeping karma in Hackensack's corner.

Good news for Holy Angels (2,247): The seniors close out their careers with back-to-back sectional titles, one in Group 3 (2008) and one in Group 2 (this year). Not many teams can claim they've made it to the State finals in two different Group brackets -- maybe Mother Seton, I know they've been back and forth between 1 & 2 -- and in the interest of spin, we will ignore the fact that the state only divided up into groups three years ago. Details, details. Speaking of spin, I've determined that Angels anchor Apollonia Colacicco is the Jamie Moyer of North Jersey bowling, i.e. a master of the off-speed breaking-ball; it ain't fast, but it gets the job done... actually, let me qualify that comparison. Colacicco is like a much younger version of Moyer -- much, much, much, MUCH younger. And righty instead of lefty.

Good news for Indian Hills (2,217): The Braves will return five bowlers with varsity experience next year, and their best two are freshmen -- Emily Ostapczuk and Bridget Pyryt. Remember the names. In fact, Indian Hills might have done even better at Carolier but for the fact that Pyryt, their anchor, was out sick. (Yup. A freshman anchor. Coach Michels may still be pinching himself). However, along with Ridgewood's Visco/Burdi duo, Braves senior Katie Lach made herself into a top candidate for our Vanessa Williams Award (Saving the best for last), capping her career with a 538 series that featured a 202 game -- and that was after she had been out sick for the sectional tournament on Feb. 7. In the 10th frame, she finished up strike-9-spare, and in the 11th, she was kind enough to give an interview for the 'GHT recap. Speaking of which...

Programming reminder: With the Passaic County basketball tournaments getting down to the semifinals, WGHT 1500AM will have coverage and reaction from those on the Monday, Feb. 23 edition of Sports Overtime. The following day, Tuesday, Feb. 24, is when Part 2 of the year-end North Jersey bowling recap (including individual and boys team finals) will air at 2:30 pm. If you missed the girls team finals recap on Feb. 16, just follow the link to ghtradio.com on the blogroll, and you can e-mail a CD request to Jon & Marco. P.S. If you make a reference to "Gutterball Greg," I might weep a little on the inside, but they'll get a kick out of it.

AND FINALLY... this may be a North Jersey-centric blog, but we like bowling in general, so I stayed around for Monday's Baker-game Tournament of Champions, and would be remiss not to congratulate all the Group champs. Toms River East (2,829) won Group 4 going away... Brick Township (2,817) beat out rival Brick Memorial to take the Group 3 title... Manchester Township (2,767) won Group 2... and in Group 1, Keyport (2,509) rallied from six pins down after the second game to overtake Bordentown by... six pins. Ah, symmetry.

Naturally (sarcasm), both lower seeds advanced out of the the ToC semis. No. 4 Keyport took the first two games from No. 1 Toms River East, 161-147 and 170-139, then lost the next two games, 173-170 and 200-197, then won the clincher, 172-157. Point of order: East staved off elimination when anchor Emily Fiore struck out in the 10th frame of Game 3, then did it again when Fiore struck and got a 7-1 in the 10th of Game 4... big props to the senior, she bowled her heart out.

The day, however, belonged to the 2nd-seeded Hawks of Manchester Township... first, they toppled No. 3 Brick in the semifinals, 3-1 -- chin up, Green Dragons, yours is still a Top-10 nickname in the state -- ensuring that for the first time in 2002, a girls team other than Brick Twp. or Woodbridge would win the whole thing... then, with both finalists having the chance to become the first small-school champion since Bishop Eustace in 1985, Manchester put away Keyport, 3-1.
In the clincher, senior Kathryne Clark picked up a 3-10 split in the 5th frame, and that must have delighted the bowling gods, because the Hawks struck out the rest of the way for a 234. In a Baker game. Amanda DeMauro, Rebecca Harvey, Taylor Olsen, Chloe Krumeich and a 1-2-3 by Clark in the 10th -- all together, an eight-bagger, leaving no doubt and nary a dry eye clad in blue and gold. (Did I mention they also Bakered a 256 in the semis? Yeah... I'm pretty sure they're good).

Keyport had nothing to hang its head about. In fact, the Red Raiders will graduate just one senior, Catherine Wegman, and their anchor is a sophomore, Alexa Guirk. BUT, for Manchester, this was the best part... they had lost the Group 2 title in 2007 by one pin (to Mother Seton) and last year by two pins (to Carteret, and I do remember the Hawks leading after Game 2). Now, plenty of athletes have told me they think of their team like a family over the years -- but when Clark told me the same thing, it was anything but cliche. I could just sense heart-felt, deep-down emotion behind those words, because you don't get much closer as a bowling team than you do after picking each other up from heartbreaks like that. Gold nugget: DeMauro said it all -- "That's what made it all worthwhile."

Hopefully, I was able to do enough justice to this entry to make up for its lateness...

***************

As a footnote, I should mention that there is more hope for the North on Wednesday (er, today. Ahem.) at the State individual championships, since that tournament doesn't seem to cast quite as much of a hex on bowlers from our area. Unfortunately, deadline duty calls, and I won't be able to make it down to Carolier today, but I'll be back for the boys team finals on Saturday. I'm guessing The Record ran short on space because I'm not sure all the local individual qualifiers got mentioned -- but as a refresher, your Bergen-Passaic-Hudson county entrants are:
GIRLS: Sonja Shirak (Clifton); Victoria Grimshaw, Nicole Linder and Lauren Rhein (IHA); Brianna Carlo (Dumont); Colette Malyack (DePaul); and Lorisa Jones (Marist).
BOYS: Freddy Carlo (River Dell); Alex Prell (Wood-Ridge); Matt Priore (North Arlington); Sean Carmody (Ridgefield Park); Mike Wuhrman (Park Ridge); Rob Grippo (Bergen Catholic); Perrin DeFreitas (Hackensack); Gary Job (Lyndhurst); Steve Fernandez (Queen of Peace); Andrew Davidowicz (Lakeland); Rich Gutches (Passaic Tech); Jon Rizzi (Pompton Lakes); Matt Gilcher (North Bergen); Jaylin Floyd (Manchester Regional); Tom Maggio (DePaul); Juan Rosas (Passaic); and Omar Espinal (Union City).

And, as always, if you read something you like/don't like/whatever, drop me a line at NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.

(2/14/09) North Jersey 1A Sectional Finals - Boys

So, which movie title to parody for this one? You've got "A Knight's Tale," with New Milford winning its fourth straight sectional championship... how about "Meet the Folkers"? Yeah, it's not spelled the same, but cousins Rob (Pascack Valley) and Kyle (Old Tappan) helped their respective teams to Group titles... maybe "Peace Rules" to salute the monster effort by Group 1 champ Queen of Peace-- oh wait, that was a race horse, not a movie. Moving on.

Now, New Milford didn't end up with the high score -- their 2,799 was 8th-best overall -- but consider that the '07 and '08 Group 1 winner bumped up to Group 2 this year... AND, that the Knights' streak began in 2006, the year before each section was divided into groups and they beat big guns Bergen Catholic and Fair Lawn. Leonia maintained a streak of its own, earning a trip to Carolier Lanes for the third straight year in Group 2 -- the Lions have two runner-up finishes since winning the '07 title. Gold nugget: New Milford anchor Anthony Karalian rolled a 664 series (235-225-204) with a broken middle finger on his throwing hand. He missed the individual cut by 6 pins, but who cares? A) It gives him more time to rest up for the team finals, and B) I couldn't bowl a 6-anything with a good hand, so he's got that going for him.

Group 3 champ Pascack Valley (2,972) has already had its sartorial tendencies well-documented by the local media this season, but we would be remiss to mention the Indians' two other match-day superstitions: they always bring a small Buddha-esque statue and some sort of wooden Tiki doll. Neither really conjures up images of Pedro Cerrano's pal Jobu from Major League (although I am a tad leery since that Dennis Haysbert Allstate commercial is playing on the TV as I type this paragraph), and in fact I was told the Tiki was just found in Rob Folkers' father's car and immediately added to the team roster. Hey, whatever works -- Rob had a team-high 630, including a first-game 247 that started with 7 strikes, and PV had a fairly-impressive 1,097 team series in Game 3. (Why "fairly"? You'll see shortly.) And we gave props to New Milford for bumping up a Group and still going to the state finals -- how about Ramsey, which won Group 2 last year but emerged from a very tough Group 3 bracket to earn its second straight berth in the State finals.

In Group 4, Kyle Folkers and the Golden Knights of Old Tappan (3,000) didn't bring quite as many esoteric rituals into play, they simply got hot at the end (993 in Game 3) and overtook a Bergen Catholic team that stumbled (861) after posting back-to-back 1,000s but still managed to hang on to second place. Ridgewood actually led this group after shooting 1,031 in the opener, but the Maroons couldn't quite maintain the pace. And so, OT becomes the third different Group champ in 3 years, reaches the distinction of averaging 200 per bowler per game... but even that wasn't the most impressive outing of the day.

There was only one thing that could make us qualify Pascack Valley's 1,097 as "fairly" impressive, and that was Queen of Peace firing a second-game 1,197. Would love to find out where that stacks up in terms on 1A Section records, but for the record right here, the Golden Griffins produced the score in the following manner: Nick Gavron 254 + Rebecca Van Dyk 223 + Greg Purvis 201 + Steve Fernandez 265 + Andrew Suscreba 237. Wow. I really don't have anything to say, although here's a theory to consider: perhaps Ridgewood's first-game mojo somehow got transferred to QP, since the two teams were sharing lanes? Possible, but it's getting too late to think that one out, and I'm even too tired to make a coherent Austin Powers "stolen mojo" joke. PS, Becton's two-year stranglehold on second place in Group 1 has ended, with Park Ridge (2,838) shooting three games over 900 to earn a trip to North Brunswick next Saturday.

Individually, congrats to River Dell's Freddy Carlo (yes, he is related to Brianna Carlo of Dumont, it's her brother) for winning the sectional title with a 706, although Alex Prell of Wood-Ridge (703) and Matt Priore of North Arlington (700) were close behind. The cutoff was about 30 points higher than it had been the last two years, leaving some pretty good bowlers on the outside looking in.

Mike Wuhrman of Park Ridge got high game honors -- he threw a 286 in the second game, starting off with 10 strikes before finishing 7-2. Ramsey sophomore Kyle Landau was nearly as impressive in Game 1, carrying a perfecto through 9 before leaving a 7-10 split on his first ball of the 10th -- a bummer, but I do have to offer props for getting the wood on his second ball since the Rams ended up beating River Dell by just 20 pins for 2nd in Group 3.

AND NOW, FOR THE BIG FINISH: As many possible notes & nuggets as I can fit in before hitting the hay because I have to leave for the girls State finals at Carolier at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow... Perrin DeFreitas of Hackensack heads back to the individual finals for the 2nd straight year; his second-game 262 featured all strikes except for a pesky 6-2 in the 5th... I did catch up with Indian Hills coach Mike Michels, he said his girls team knew that they beat Bergenfield by 1 pin last week, they just skedaddled since there was no second-place hardware to be handed out (to make the story sound better, I will assume they wanted to beat the line at White Manna)... PV coach Judy Lucia told me her team dedicated their 3rd game to former Mahwah coach Marlene Kowal, who recently passed away from breast cancer. The two NBIL coaches were fairly close, and Judy had some very nice things to say -- going to see if maybe the Mahwah Suburban News might have interest in a feature story... Fort Lee had only four bowlers, but managed to outscore a couple of 5-bowler teams, and one 1-bowler team... For some reason, North Arlington was listed on the team scoreboard even though Priore was its only entrant... Speaking of outscoring, QP's magical Game 2 gave it a subtotal of 2,195 -- more than the three-game totals of four other teams... Also, the Golden Griffins' Rebecca Van Dyk (584 series) may have had the best day of any girl at the boys tournament, but Midland Park senior Amanda Stacey "made the most noise," announcing the final ball of her career, as has become her right and custom. And I, for one, have not the slightest wry remark to make about that, since Stacey threw a last ball strike to finish off a 201, tying teammate Shaun Cairns for the Panthers' high game.

And, that's all I've got. Can't wait for the finals...

North 1A Sectional Tournament scores

Group 4	SCHOOL	GAME 1	GAME 2	GAME 3	TOTAL
1st	Old Tappan	959	1048	993	3000
2nd	Bergen Catholic	1007	1022	861	2890
3rd	Paramus Catholic	961	1013	863	2837
4th	Bergen Tech	965	869	998	2832
5th	Ridgewood	1031	867	830	2728
6th	Ramapo	915	981	814	2710
7th	Fair Lawn	934	912	863	2709
8th	Hackensack	894	991	797	2682
9th	Bergenfield	927	820	796	2543
10th	Northern Highlands	861	817	826	2504
Group 3	SCHOOL	GAME 1	GAME 2	GAME 3	TOTAL
1st	Pascack Valley	1006	869	1097	2972
2nd	Ramsey	992	878	891	2761
3rd	River Dell	997	877	867	2741
4th	Indian Hills	876	803	884	2563
5th	Tenafly	868	862	833	2563
6th	Garfield	811	789	867	2467
7th	St. Joseph	812	774	795	2381
8th	Mahwah	728	738	652	2118
9th	Fort Lee	683	676	735	2094
Group 2	SCHOOL	GAME 1	GAME 2	GAME 3	TOTAL
1st	New Milford	983	895	921	2799
2nd	Leonia	828	915	1000	2743
3rd	Lyndhurst	873	893	889	2655
4th	Pascack Hills	819	891	935	2645
5th	Ridgefield Park	808	954	878	2640
6th	Westwood	827	913	878	2618
7th	Rutherford	860	871	703	2434
8th	Dumont	869	818	727	2414
9th	Elmwood Park	656	745	663	2064
Group 1	SCHOOL	GAME 1	GAME 2	GAME 3	TOTAL
1st	Queen of Peace	998	1197	961	3156
2nd	Park Ridge	945	993	900	2838
3rd	Bogota	861	959	919	2739
4th	Wood-Ridge	878	906	914	2698
5th	Becton	836	802	805	2443
6th	Wallington	789	844	807	2440
7th	Midland Park	716	743	820	2279
8th	Ridgefield	690	603	653	1946
9th	North Arlington	223	257	220	700

INDIVIDUALS

PLACE	SCHOOL	GAME 1	GAME 2	GAME 3	TOTAL
1st	Freddy Carlo, River D.	245	236	225	706
2nd	Alex Prell, Wood-Ridge	223	266	214	703
3rd	Matt Priore, NA	223	257	220	700
4th	Sean Carmody, RP	233	246	217	696
5th	Mike Wuhrman, PR	184	286	223	693
6th	Rob Grippo, Bergen C.	198	244	242	684
7th	Gary Job, Lyndhurst	223	245	214	682
8th	Perrin DeFreitas, H'sack	215	262	205	682
9th	Steve Fernandez, QP	213	265	192	670

It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

I considered entitling this entry "The Best Laid Plans...", since mine went awry earlier this week. I had intended to get out and see the final day of the NBIL so I could post final standings and such, but because I started the Ultimate Weekend on Thursday -- explanation forthcoming -- I had to work late to meet my newspaper deadline on Wednesday, so no NBIL for me. Sorry folks, I'll see if I can get the info from one of the coaches later...

Anyhow, the reasons I opted against the "Of Mice and Men" reference were A) it reminded me of studying the orginial Scots poem in my high school English class, and how it just sucked all the fun out of that saying for me. "Gang aft agley"... darn you, Robert Burns. Darn you. Oh, and B) I like Springsteen and have been listening to Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. a lot recently. Sue me.

Now, as for the Ultimate Weekend... it has become a Bowling Reporter Guy tradition to spend the third weekend of every February as follows: take Thursday and/or Friday off from work... venture down the shore to see the family... watch my favorite sporting event, the Daytona 500, on the big screen... then leave on Monday morning and stop by Carolier Lanes on the way back home to spend Presidents' Day covering the State finals. Technically, the weekend doesn't wrap up until Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., when we air the yearly North Jersey bowling wrap-up on WGHT's Sports Overtime (1500AM on your radio dial! Sorry, had to). Anyway, it gives me a chance for a little mid-winter break and helps ease the sadness of the recently-ended NFL season. Note that I didn't say "Jets season." Ahem.

This year, the plans will be altered slightly, because the boys and girls team finals were separated onto different days. Lucky for me, my pals Jon & Marco have granted me an extra half-episode of Sports Overtime (and by half, I mean 5 minutes -- you take what you can get) to recap the boys finals a week from Monday... which reminds me, I have to add GHT to the blogroll.
So, if you're in the 1500AM listening area, remember: Girls bowling state finals recap at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 2/17... Boys bowling state finals recap at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, 2/23. Please note that all times are Eastern, and approximate (i.e. they may save bowling until the 2nd half of the show).

I'll have more time to do a full recap on the North 1A boys sectional finals tonight, but for now, congrats to the winners & state qualifiers... Group 4: 1. Old Tappan (3,000); 2. Bergen Catholic (2,882). Group 3: 1. Pascack Valley (2,972); 2. Ramsey (2,761). Group 2: 1. New Milford (2,799); 2. Leonia (2,743). Group 1: 1. Queen of Peace (3,156); 2. Park Ridge (2,838).

Individual Qualifiers: 1. Freddy Carlo (River Dell) 706; 2. Alex Prell (Wood-Ridge) 703; 3. Matt Priore (No. Arlington) 700; 4. Sean Carmody (Ridgefield Park) 696; 5. Mike Wuhrman (Park Ridge) 693 -- also had high game, a 286; 6. Rob Grippo (Bergen Catholic) 684; 7. Perrin DeFreitas (Hackensack) 682; 8. Gary Job (Lyndhurst) 682; 9. Steve Fernandez (Queen of Peace) 670.

More later on WBRG-FM...

(2/7/09) North Jersey Sectional Finals - Girls

Ok -- this is why even though it may take a couple of days to get full recaps posted, it's worth the wait: had a chance to go back to search the old NJBRG archives and found out that on Saturday, Immaculate Heart won its eighth consecutive sectional title. EIGHT! I'd have to do signifcantly more research to find out where that ranks in the scheme of all-time great sports dynasties, but for the moment, I'd put the Blue Eagle bowlers right behind Mount Union's D-3 football team and just in front of Marshall High School from Remember the Titans.

Of course, the state only started awarding Group championships at the sectional level two years ago, so instead of the old format of the top 4 or 5 teams advancing to the State finals (done until 2006), the top 2 teams in each Group qualify, for a total of 8. Yes, this is more fair to some of the smaller schools that would not otherwise have a chance to reach the state finals... No, it's not fair to some of the higher-scoring teams that get snubbed. Is there a solution to this mess?

Well, I'd like to think that if they can make the changes they have so far, perhaps the NJSIAA can continue tweaking the system. Cosmic thought: How about wild card entries? I'm almost positive they do this in cross-country and track, and if you take two wild card teams -- i.e. highest scorers that did not advance, regardless of Group size -- that still gives you a nice even 10 teams from each section. And, since they've already split up all the State bowling finals on to separate days (another rant for another time, trust me), this could easily be implemented without overcrowding the T of C field. Just a thought.

Anyway, time to review all the fun stuff from Saturday's action at Bowler City. Once again, congrats to the champs & State qualifiers...

GROUP 4 -- 1. IHA, 2,972... That's 3 straight North-Group 4 titles, plus 5 North Sectional titles from 2002-06 for a total of 8. The last overall section champ other than IHA? Paramus Catholic in '01.
2. Ridgewood, 2,582... Only two Maroons had ever earned a trip to Carolier under coach Dick Bennett -- Alecia Hefter and Ellen Seavers each went once as individuals early in the '00s (or whatever you call them). Now the whole team gets to go, and they do it in the same season that they gave coach Bennett his 100th win with the RHS girls. P.S. Their lineup includes three sophomores. Regardless of what happens on President's Day, this group may be heard from again down the road.

GROUP 3 -- 1. Warren Hills, 2,531... Since they won the section, they are ineligble to win our "Best Nickname Award" for the tournament -- however, the Blue Streaks can rarely be topped in that category, plus they now have two Group 3 titles in the last three years. Originally, I had said they're from Blairstown; it's actually one of the 5 Washington Townships in the state (the Warren County one), and coach Greg Rottengen did say the trip took about an hour and 15 minutes, but again, well worth it.
2. Hackensack, 2,163... The Comets beat Fair Lawn by 15 points, and that wasn't even the closest race of the day. It's kind of odd to see Hackensack in Group 3, but in this case it just means more NNJIL teams get to move on.

GROUP 2 -- 1. Holy Angels, 2,336... another memo from the Department of [writing] Corrections, the Angels win their 2nd title in a row. They dropped down from Group 3 to Group 2 this year, but would have scored big enough to go either way. Both the surprise and the controversy of the day was with the Group 2 runner-up...
2. Indian Hills, 2,232... the Braves trailed Bergenfield by 53 heading into the final game, and ended up beating the Bears (2,231) by ONE PIN. Big props to IH leadoff bowler Breana Parian, who bounced back from a second-game 98 to roll a 161 and give her team a Game 3 total of 769. However, I still have yet to talk to coach Mike Michels because the Braves left early -- which means the first question for him, naturally, is: did you even know you advanced?

GROUP 1 -- 1. County Prep, 2,297... This is typically a Hudson County-heavy division, so not a big surprise that that's where the top 2 teams are from. The Hurricanes sure the like the Group-title setup, as they have now captured the Group 1 championship in all 3 years of its existence.
2. High Tech, 2,255... another fantastic nickname -- the Lasercats -- set aside in the interest of fairness. They beat Pascack Hills by 25, which any other year might qualify as a "heartbreaker" for the Cowgirls. Man, the NBIL really ended up getting squeezed out this year... luckily, I think they'll give me a lot of good stuff to write about at league finale day on Wednesday.

The individual cutoff ended up being 593. The 12 qualifiers....
1. Nicole Chanin (Sparta) 674
2. Sonja Shirak (Clifton) 658
3. Nicole Linder (IHA) 642
4. Lauren Rhein (IHA) 640
5. Brianna Carlo (Dumont) 631
6. Samantha Carter (Wallkill Valley) 626
7. Gia Bethea (University) 617
8. Colette Malyack (DePaul) 616
9. Victoria Grimshaw (IHA) 614
10. Lorisa Jones (Marist) 609
11. Heather Van Dyk (Jefferson) 595
12. Stacy Fernandez (Ridgefield Park) 593

Chanin also had the high game with a 269. She may have had the line of the day as well -- the second- and third-place individuals both got medals, so I think she may have been anticipating the same when she was called up to the counter for the high series award. Tournament director Howie Conklin then presented her with the first-place trophy, drawing the following reaction: "Oh wow, a trophy!" So, she ended up with a pleasant surprise, and the rest of the Group champs ended up with "Oh wows" instead of trophies (I did notice Conklin pull Chanin aside when he gave her the high game trophy, so my guess is that he asked her if it was okay to use her line as kind of an inside joke when presenting the rest of the awards. Clearly, she was cool with it -- as I often like to say, that's the price you pay for greatness). Anyway, that leads us to this site's own, very unofficial awards, for the teams that put a capper on their season Saturday...

Best nickname: The Mother Seton Setters. They were the two-time defending champs of Group 2, but dropped down to Group 1 this year and ran into County Prep. Their trip wasn't quite as long as Warren Hills', since Clark is right down the Parkway, but Mother Seton is the lone Union County girls team in the section, so they deserve some "ink."

Best dressed team(s): TIE, Mahwah and Westwood. The Thunderbirds stayed within the guidelines with matching sky-blue shirts, but they went the extra mile and decorated with that fabric... paint... stuff, or whatever it's called. Meanwhile, I don't know if the Cardinals thought it up themselves, but their T-shirt design and slogan were masterful: "XXX [next line] Get your mind out of the gutter." The best 3-strike ideas my friends and I ever came up with all involved turkeys -- bravo, Westwood, for thinking outside the box.

Best plot twist: Northern Highlands and Ramapo are pretty familiar with each other, being NBIL rivals. So at least twice this year, they've had to deal with the whole "coach-versus-former-team" rigmarole, with first-year Ramapo head coach Pat Noto having spent the previous 3 years as Highlands' assistant coach. So, which two teams got paired together on Lanes 9 and 10 at Bowler City on Saturday? Yup, the Green Raiders and Highlanders. How funny the fates can be sometimes -- not unlike coach Noto himself, who NH senior Sara Schwartz (half-jokingly) accused of making silly faces at her before she went up to bowl. The Bad News Bears and Yankees could learn a thing or two from this type of rivalry.

There's no cheering in the press box -- but...: Maintaining journalistic objectivity isn't always as easy as it looks. Yes, I've shared my not-so-veiled bias toward left-handers -- c'mon, we only make up 11 percent of the population -- but when you try to curry favor by supporting my favorite football team, well, that puts me in a pickle. So Part 1 of this award goes to IHA southpaw Victoria Grimshaw, who uses a New York Jets ball as her spare ball. Good thing she earned her way onto the blog with a top-12 series (614) and top-3 high game (240), otherwise I'd lose all credibility.
Okay, for Part 2, I have to get a little more serious... Bergenfield senior Brittany Kniesler (591) missed the cut by two pins, and normally, my heart goes out to anyone in that situation anyway. Now, throw in the fact that I had a whole conversation with Brittany at the girls county tournament about how she has a disabled younger brother who is a frequent visitor to Boston Children's Hospital -- ironic, given that I have a younger brother who spent about 1/3rd of his life at Boston Children's before finally getting a kidney transplant that took in 1997 (there aren't enough wooden surfaces nearby to knock on right now). Anyhow, it's tough not to root for a person when you share similar experiences like that, especially ones based around family. Plus, you know, she was the 13th-place finisher, and that's my lucky number, and... (hey, give me a break, I'm trying to keep from getting too heavy-handed here).
I know how to lighten things up again...

The Twilight Zone award: Has to go to Ramsey's Kate Strangfeld. In the third frame of her first game, the gate inexplicably came down after she had shot the ball, but before it reached the pins. Maybe the pinsetter grew a mind of its own, or perhaps its own sick sense of humor? Either way, the ball hit the gate and slumped off into the gutter, and they had to go retreive it. It seemed like a pretty random accident, but just in case, I'm keeping my eye on Lane 1 at Bowler City for the rest of the season.

That's about all I've got for now. I did get a hold of the final averages from the NNJIL, so I will go back and fix/update those when I get a chance, plus I'm hoping to see the NBIL finale on Wednesay. Cheers...

(2/4/09) NNJIL Champs: One final time

(*Final averages updated 2/10/09*)

Took a couple of days to update this, but I was able to make it out to Bowler City for Position Day on Wednesday (as I write this, it's now Friday. But hey, it's not like the final standings changed). And, while I will never regret heading out to see a bowling match, it was a bit of a bummer that all the league races had basically been settled before the position round. On the other hand, there are a handful of coaches who aren't huge fans of the position round, so in a way it's good, since no one was driven to start pulling out hair or graying prematurely.

There were a few close races for second place, the best of which was between the Bloomfield and Ridgewood boys in Division B, where Nutley basically ran away and hid with first place – more on that in a bit. Two days prior, the Bengals made it close with a 5-2 win, thanks in part to Steve Grabowski's 694 series. Well, Grabowski bowled even bigger on Wednesday, racking up a 706, but the Maroons responded with their first 2,400 series of the year (remember, only 4 bowlers in the NNJIL) and managed to take total wood.

Just one quirk with the 3-game, 7-point series – it is possible to win total wood but not the match, which is exactly what happened with Bloomfield winning Game 1 by 10 pins and Game 3 by six. In a way, I feel partly responsible, especially since Ridgewood senior Kevin Seavers shot 255 and 228 in his first two games, then a 181 after I got there in time for the start of the third game. Actually, I didn't even notice that until Kevin's dad pointed it out, so in [kidding] actuality, it's all Mr. Seavers' fault for saying something. Either way, the end result is that Bloomfield won, 4-3, and ended up 73-53 – same record as Ridgewood – so they'll have to make up two second-place plaques (At least, I think that's what Debbie at Bowler City told me... also, thanks again to her for faxing over the final standings sheets. In fact, she even told me that she has read this very blog, and yes, that really is all it takes to get name-dropped on this site).

A couple lanes over from Bloomfield/Ridgewood, St. Joseph went into the final day with a chance to overtake Paramus Catholic for second in Division C. Of course, I didn't realize this until after I looked at the final standings... but hey, PC won 5-2 to hold onto second place. Also, in the back-and-forth of trying to see as many teams as possible (35 in all between the boys and girls), I didn't get a chance to jot down any of their scores before the machines were turned off. Crumbs. Well, I did see that PC's Jobee Buenaventura ended up with a 248–626, and I definitely have to find out what the relation is between Jobee and Jaybee, both of whom bowl for the Paladins.

Oh, whoops, I just realized I totally buried the headline. We must extend congratulations to the last-ever division champions of the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League: Bergen Tech, Nutley and Bergen Catholic on the boys side and Hackensack, Ridgewood and Immaculate Heart for the girls. Nutley and IHA both deserve special mention since their JV squads both went completely undefeated (didn't lose a game or a point all year) – the Maroon Raiders, from what I understand, have basically turned into a bowling factory... which is kind of ironic since the breakup of the NNJIL had a lot to do with the dominance of the NON-public schools, particularly in the major sports like football and basketball.

Anyway, a number of current NNJIL teams will see each other again in the new Tri-County Conference, but the Essex County squads must say farewell – Barringer, Belleville, Bloomfield, Montclair and Nutley. I did get the chance to chat a bit with Nutley coach George Ackerman (easily one of the classiest coaches in North Jersey, in any sport), and those teams' biggest issue in the new, yet-unnamed SuperConference 1 will be the lack of girls competition. Apparently you need 6 teams to make an official league, and right now all they have is those 5, since the other schools going into the Conference 1 are from the co-ed Northern Hills and Iron Hills conferences. So glad the NJSIAA realignment committee took bowling into consideration (I know, they wouldn't even if they had to do it all over again, but there's my little soapbox rant for today).

Anyway, couple of last little nuggets... one of the reasons I've always liked going to NNJIL Position Day is to see some of the teams that don't get much notice. And don't ever think or say that no one cares about the quote-unquote "also-rans" – last time I checked, I still carry a 127 average, so I applaud the best efforts of anyone that has the privilege of competing at the varsity level in this game. As long as they give their best... no dogging it. Unless you're this fellow.

Have to mention the Kennedy boys, who lost to rival Eastside, 5-2, but managed to win their first game of the season in one of their final opportunities. No team should ever go winless – insert your own Detroit Lions joke here – and I'm happy to report that there are no zeroes in the win column of any NNJIL team this season... speaking Eastside, the Lady Ghosts got a nice 241 from Tiana Warren. Saving the best for last-- uh oh, I feel a Vanessa Williams song popping into my head, so let's just cut right to the chase with the final numbers...

2008-09 NNJIL FINAL STANDINGS - BOYS
Division A
1. BERGEN TECH: 98-28
2. Passaic: 85-41
3. Hackensack: 76-50
4. Clifton: 69-57
5. Barringer: 16-110
6. Eastside: 12-114
7. Kennedy: 2-124
Division B
1. NUTLEY: 112-14
T2. Ridgewood: 73-53
T2. Bloomfield: 73-53
4. Teaneck: 62-64
5. Paramus: 57-69
6. Montclair: 56-70
7. Belleville: 51-75
Division C
1. BERGEN CATHOLIC: 103-23
2. Paramus Catholic: 69-57
3. St. Joseph: 64-62
4. Don Bosco: 56-70

High game: (TIE) Nick Corvelli (BC), Perrin DeFreitas (H'sack) and Rob Grippo (BC), 300
High series: Vincent Buono (Passaic), 799
High average: Steve Grabowski (Bloomfield), 222.98... he edged out Buono (222.11) by 47 pins. 3rd was DeFreitas (221.5), and Corvelli (218.65) was 4th.

*************************************
2008-09 NNJIL FINAL STANDINGS - GIRLS
Division A
1. HACKENSACK: 92-27
2. Clifton: 85-34
3. Bergen Tech: 50-69
4. Passaic: 32-87
5. Barringer: 30-89
6. Eastside: 27-92
7. Kennedy: 2-110
Division B
1. RIDGEWOOD: 108-11
2. Bloomfield: 91-28
3. Nutley: 49-70
4. Belleville: 48-71
5. Paramus: 46-73
6. Montclair: 32-87
7. Teaneck: 28-91
Division C
1. IHA: 119-0
2. Holy Angels: 92-27
3. Paramus Catholic: 63-56

High game: Nicole Linder (IHA), 299
High series: Lauren Rhein (IHA), 748
High average: Sonja Shirak (Clifton), 208.37... it was close until the end of the season with IHA's Lauren Rhein (206.41), but Shirak exploded in the final week with series of 735 and 726, finishing 100 points clear of Rhein, 10,627 to 10,527.

We'll get the All-League teams online as soon as they get released to us. And, as always, e-mail any and all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.

-North Jersey Bowling... Reporter... Guy

(2/3/09) B-PSL Champs: So close, and so far

For our first blog back from a semi-hiatus, I direct your attention to the B-PSL, the league from which my very first bowling report originated. In 2001, my first post-college employer, WGHT, assigned me to do a radio feature on Amanda Pezzano and the Hawthorne bowling team. I'm almost afraid to go back and listen to it, since I've toned down the "corny" quite a bit since then -- not entirely, but enough -- however, it still brings back memories, and halcyon days, and blah blah blah. Today, Position Day... much more exciting. At least on one end.

Pompton Lakes dominated the B-PSL Carpenter all season, losing just one match (and only two games) en route to its third straight league title and fourth in the last five years. In fact, all five Cardinals made first team All-League, which isn't that easy to do, even in a small league. And just an aside for any lingering doubters: their first game against Eastern Christian today was a 1,096. All five went over 200. I'd say too bad that four of them are seniors, but there's still a state tournament to be contested, so too bad nothing. The Cardinals will be there at T-Bowl on Feb. 14 for the North 1-B finals, returning to the house where they finished second in last month's Passaic County tournament.

The B-PSL King race came down to the last day -- which, ideally, is what having a position round is for: settling the score one last time. Garfield and Manchester came into the day tied with matching 46-19 records, but the Falcons emerged with a sweep behind a matter-of-fact 223-233--456 from junior Jaylin Floyd. I interviewed him for my 'GHT State Finals wrap-up back in 2006... when he made it to Carolier as a freshman. Needless to say, I continue to be impressed. The best part is, his delivery is pretty unconventional, but he sticks with it because it works for him. And, as I've come to learn, life very often is all about doing what works (right) for you.

Of course, Manchester has arguably one of the top 5 girls bowlers in the area as well, with Jen Houseward playing Joba Chamberlain to Floyd's Mariano Rivera. (Did I need to go big-time with the Yankee references? No -- but hey, it worked for me). David Vela is a solid third man, and -- point of order -- the Falcons already have finished as a semifinalist at the FDU Holiday Challenge (where both Floyd and Houseward were named tourney all-stars) and fourth against some tough competition at Counties. I'm sensing some serious "little-team-that-could" potential come sectionals.

Other notes and nuggets from B-PSL Position Day... Welcome to the league Mary Help of Christians, stepping in for Immaculate Conception, which no longer fields a team. The Blue Jays don't become official members until next year, so their wins and losses don't count, but their averages do. Kristin Chiocchi had Mary Help's game of the day with a 151... Midland Park senior Amanda Stacey, known as a vocal leader on the softball field, is much the same on the lanes. I couldn't help overhearing the decree that she was about to make her final B-PSL throws in the 10th -- she capped an 8-9-10 turkey on her first ball before finishing up 9-open... the tough-luck team of the day, and possibly the season, had to be Elmwood Park. The Crusaders dropped their first game against Hawthorne by 24 points and the second game by just 8. Ryan Kipilla had a nice day, starting with a 218 and missing a 400 series by 1 pin (See what I mean? EP needs to invest in some seven-leaf clovers)... Speaking of Hawthorne, congratulations to Kyle Bruinooge, who was finally awarded his first-team All-League plaque after a brief mix-up. Hopefully the Bears can forgive league president Andy Antista, especially since he used to be their coach before handing over the reins to John LaForge... Saw some good things out of Garfield and Eastern Christian, too; in particular, the Boilermakers' Shaun Dunning picking up a 6-7 split in the 10th frame of Game 2 and the Eagles' Austin Bullock picking up a tough second-game split as well (I think it was Austin -- also, I can't remember the exact pins since I only caught the tail end. BTW, e-mail the link below for corrections).

Okay, that should cover everybody. Here are the final numbers to close the book on the 2008-09 B-PSL season... NNJIL, it's your turn tomorrow.

FINAL STANDINGS (Points Won, Points Lost, Team Average)
King Division
Manchester: 51-19 (846 avg.)
Garfield: 46-24 (823 avg.)
Hawthorne: 37-33 (773 avg.)
Elmwood Park: 2-68 (737 avg.)

Carpenter Division
Pompton Lakes: 65-5 (940 avg.)
Eastern Christian: 25-45 (775 avg.)
Midland Park: 19-46 (741 avg.)
Mary Help: No record (Official league member in 2009-10)

High game: (King) Ryan Kipilla, Elmwood Park, 277; (Carpenter) Jon Eis-Figueroa, Pompton Lakes, 269
High series: (King) Jen Houseward, Manchester, 473; (Carpenter) Jon Eis-Figueroa, 483
High average: (King) Jaylin Floyd, Manchester, 209; (Carpenter) Jon Rizzi, Pompton Lakes, 200

ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS (Averages in parentheses)
KING DIVISION, 1st team: Jaylin Floyd, Manchester (209); Ryan Kipilla, EP (189); Jen Houseward, Manchester (183); Nick Stone, Hawthorne (180); Alex Cheski, EP (180); Kyle Bruinooge, Hawthorne (179); David Vela, Manchester (174).
2nd team: Matt Dunning, Garfield (173); Andrew Jarosz, Garfield (172); Peter Bruinooge, Hawthorne (167); Shaun Dunning, Garfield (160); Vincent Mooney, Garfield (160); Steve Puzio, Garfield (158); Chris Gervasio, Manchester (151).

CARPENTER DIVISION, 1st team: Jon Rizzi, PL (200); Jon Eis-Figueroa, PL (192); Billy Jack, PL (190); Kevin Kornberg, PL (180); Danielle Gelok, PL (178); Debbie Vogel, EC (171); Devon DeJong, EC (164).
2nd team: Amanda Stacey, MP (160); Shaun Cairns, MP (158); Kyle Cairns, MP (156); Austin Bullock, EC (154); Brian Vanderheide, EC (151); Shawn Bartosik, MP (147); Michelle Okma, EC (135).

E-mail any and all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com, and yes I am getting caught up on answering e-mails, too.

-North Jersey Bowling... Reporter... Guy

Update Upcoming

Umm... yeah... so, if you've managed to get into our little blog-deal here, I must apologize for the lack of posts in the last two weeks. If you've just stumbled upon this site for the first time -- Welcome! And, please disregard that first sentence entirely.

The original intent of this site was to give some coverage when the newspapers might run short on space. Well, it turns out that I got a lot of newspaper space to write about the Bergen County boys tournament (in a couple different weeklies, no less), and on top of that, The Record has been covering the local major tournaments, too. Plus, they've been putting a lot more into their own blog, Varsity Aces... which, at this point, is this site's chief competition, but Tim Leonard does a nice job with it, and I'm about to add some stuff that almost never makes the papers: league championship recaps.

Also, if Tim is reading this, I call a truce. Varsity Aces will make the blogroll as soon as I figure out what one of those is and how to add it to the North Jersey Bowling Blog.

Belated congrats to Bergen Catholic (overall champ, and a record 6,211 six-game series), Indian Hills (Groups 1-2), Chris Hopkins of Tenafly (high series) and Nick Gavron of Queen of Peace (high game) for taking home the hardware from the Bergen County boys tournament. B-PSL fans, your Position Day recap is on the way...