There were messengers flying all over Carolier Lanes on Saturday, including this one. First, allow me to apologize for my ranting/venting entry on the individual finals, as I momentarily lost sight of the NJBB's two most important bowling-reporting credos: 1) we do this because it's fun; and 2) half the fun is that you never know what you're going to see next.
POINT OF ORDER: In the future, should The Messenger ever suffer a similar lapse in gratitude toward having one of the most awesome jobs on the inter-web, kindly remind him of what he saw at the 2010 State boys Tournament of Champions: a brand new champ in the form of Washington Township, new group champs Keansburg and Manchester Township, a 10th-frame rally that led to a third straight ToC appearance by Sayreville, not one but two 300 Baker games, and a brief conversation lefty legend and PBA Hall-of-Famer Johnny Petraglia. Basically, TM died and went to bowling heaven, but he has revived and shall attempt to do justice in recapping the best tournament he witnessed this year, and possibly ever. END POINT OF ORDER.
BEGIN TODAY'S EPISODE: "Legends of the Pinfall." That last paragraph probably gave you a hint as to why this quasi-butchered movie title is appropriate. Unlike the State girls finals, where there are only 24 schools, The Messenger had a lot more ground to cover with the 40 at the boys finals — which included double the amount of North section teams. One similarity between the two events is that both now incorporate the third-game "Baker 5" during qualifying, where teams roll five Baker games and that counts as their series, instead of five traditional individual scores.
However, since the NJBB likes to change things up to stay fresh, instead of counting up to No. 1, we will take this particular journey from North to South (with a few exceptions when appropriate). If you are unfamiliar with the NJSIAA term "Northing number," take a peek at the State's Group Classification sheets if you have a burning desire to know how TM organized all of this info. If not, away we go...
Pascack Hills (8th in Group 2, 2,682): This was one of those teams whose scores that The Messenger didn't quite get the chance to peruse at sectionals. He got an excellent look on Saturday — sophomore leadoff man Bryan Kist began the day with 9 consecutive strikes on his way to a clean 277 that earned him third-high game honors. Senior anchor Brian Galbraith made the last individual game of his career a 235, and right now I'm really fighting the temptation to refer to this team not as the Cowboys but the Cow-Brians (too late). They had one of the better Baker series put forth by the Bergen County publics in attendance (927) and will return 5 of the 6 bowlers they used at Carolier.
Indian Hills (9th in Group 3, 2,608): The Messenger was impressed not only with the way the Braves rallied from behind at sectionals, but also with how they rallied together after parting ways with their anchor at the beginning of the month (details withheld to protect the innocent). IH made its first trip to North Brunswick since 2008, when they won their first sectional title to get there. This year's crew featured three seniors: Andrew Schwarz (203–383), Kyle Mulligan and Bob Klein, the latter of whom can be heard on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m. on WGHT's annual Sports Overtime bowling extravaganza. The Braves' finish was so-so, but the Carolier Experience may prove invaluable to freshman lefty Andrew Wierzbicki (212–391), who had their high series.
Pascack Valley (8th in Group 3, 2,661): Senior southpaw Jon Frantin is a man of his word — as soon as TM spotted him entering Carolier, the first things I noticed were the hiked-up stirrup socks. I did not, unfortunately, get a look at the Indians' mode of transportation, but I heard it was a sight to behold. Frantin led things off with a big-time effort (235), and although PV's first-game score of 941 was pretty solid, it just wasn't enough, especially competing in Sayreville's bracket. Keep an eye on junior anchor Brian O'Flaherty (204-227–431), though; he's already established himself as legit, and could be a contender for some major hardware next year.
Bergen Catholic (6th in Group 4, 2,898): The Crusaders had a 1,036 after Game 1 and were tied with Union City for second place. Their next game was a 916 — again, a respectable number, it's just that Group 4 was loaded (e.g. Jackson Memorial was over 1,000 all three games and finished third, while East Brunswick put up two 1,100s and got second). Senior Rob Grippo had about as consistent a close to a career as one could have (211-211–422), but before you ask what BC is going to do without the power-bowling righty and classmates E.J. Mendez (204–368) Mike Parsons (354 series), note the numbers put up by sophomore Charles Long: 234-216–450. He and junior Patrick Henry (201–358) should keep BC near the head of the pack next winter.
Wayne Valley (10th in Group 3, 2,554): Although I had been to see the Indians once in NJTCC play this year, Saturday was the first time I got to speak with any of them. Although he had taken individuals to North Brunswick before (Kevin Cheuvront and Kari Berkman come to mind), this was the first time coach Jason Wilke brought a team down in his 11 seasons. Senior lead-off man Dominic Pascucci (212–365) is quite the eloquent spokesperson — if you don't believe me, he'll be on GHT Tuesday as well — and talked highly of his teammates, who are all underclassmen including sophomores Dean Fiorellini (206–352) and Dan Giannone, the anchor. Since WV is in North 1B, TM did not get to see them at sectionals, but if you ask me, beating out league rivals West Milford, Wayne Hills, Lakeland and Passaic Valley for the final Group 3 transfer spot to Carolier is a pretty sweet deal for them — especially the triumph over Hills, which A) won the NJTCC-Passaic and B) is Wayne Hills. Does Valley ever not enjoy beating the folks north of Alps Road at... anything?
Teaneck (10th in Group 4, 2,632): Just as quickly as the Highwaymen peaked at sectionals, they came back to Earth at States. Then again, TM can't remember seeing a Teaneck bowler at Carolier for quite some time, and in the words of loquacious leadoff man James Hoover, if the best his team could do was qualify for the Ultimate Event, "I'll take it." Hoover (358 series) and anchorman Joshuah Romero (353) will both graduate, but junior Dylan Laloo (200-204–404) appears ready to pick up the scoring slack next season.
Lyndhurst (10th in Group 1, 2,366): From the Department of "Ask And Ye Shall Receive" — Golden Bears coach Mike Rizzo e-mailed The Messenger after reading the NJBB's North 1A tournament recap and delivered the scores we'd been hoping to see. The system works! And since the senior-less Bears took their lumps down in North Brunswick, what better way to pick up spirits than to review their Feb. 13th championship outing... junior captain Nikki Villani led Lyndhurst at sectionals with a 214–580, while freshman Lexus Lopez shot 190–501 just days after firing a 547 at the North Jersey girls tourney, coming within 15 pins of advancing to the State singles finals. Coach Rizzo also pointed out that in addition to averaging 173 and 171, respectively, BOTH of these girls play basketball for Lyndhurst and often have gone right from a league match to a hoops contest in the same night. Villani, in fact, is the starting point guard — Holy Bo Jackson, Batman! Sophomore Angela Sammarone also gives the Bears more girl power than anyone in the BCSL National/Olympic, and let's not forget the boys, either. Junior anchor Kyle Bonser (233–628) and sophomore leadoff man Carmine Battista (255–619) helped them pull away from the sectional pack, and fifth man Paul Ulrich added a high game of 188. This, in all likelihood, will not be the last we hear from these South Bergenites.
Nutley (2nd in Group 3, 3,106): TM alluded earlier to Sayreville's third-game, 10th-frame comeback, and unfortunately for the Maroon Raiders, it happened at their expense. But here are some things to consider: Nutley was in third place after each of the first two games and trailed Sayreville (3,110) by over 100 pins after Game 2. The fact that they lost by 4 pins is sour, but the fact that they were able to make up so much ground — plus the fact that their 1,076 Baker game was the third-highest total in the house — is pretty sweet. And those five sophomores that we mentioned in last year's State finals entry? They are now five juniors with one more year to go (and have help from sophomore Tyler Huey), and some of their individual totals were eye-popping: Angelo Lambroschino (213–416), Nick Rizzi (215–428) and Joe Frezza (233–455) all averaged 208 or better on the day. Heck, even their Baker numbers were mind-boggling; the lowest one was 203! Granted, nobody ever wants to suffer through a close loss, but I refer you back to the story of the Manchester Township girls team, which lost Group titles by 1 pin and 2 pins in 2007 and 2008, respectively, then came back to win the 2009 ToC. If the Nutley boys keep up these types of numbers, do not be surprised to see the bowling gods smile on them in such a fashion next year.
Secaucus (7th in Group 1, 2,787): To date, Dylan Caruso had been the only member of this team — again, one whose nickname is sadly sullied due to similarities with TM's least favorite NFL team — that I had seen, and his run to the North Jersey Singles finals was impressive. What impressed me about Secaucus at Carolier was that they seemed to get even better once the Baker games began... well, the first two (203, 235), anyway. Actually, now that I look, they had the highest Baker total (959) of any public school from the "North Jersey" area (if you count only Bergen, Passaic and part of Hudson counties, as The Record does). Corey Czechowski (227–412) had the team's high game and series, and Caruso added a 211–393.
North Arlington (8th in Group 1, 2,699): Quite an end to a decorated career for Vikings senior Matt Priore, at least individually. He finished the second game with 9 strikes in a row to clock out with a 258 before helping NA to a 948 Baker series (featuring games of 225 and 203). Lest we forget, the Vikes also have employed one of the top girls bowlers in the area for the past few years in senior Ashley Johnson (186–356). They may have finished behind cross-town rival Queen of Peace in the Group standings, but in terms of bragging rights, their Baker finish was better than the Griffins' (930). Plus, these Vikings don't have to sit through any hemming and hawing about whether or not their stars will return (yes, I'm referring to YOU, Mr. Jet-jilter — good riddance) because, well, graduation hits everyone eventually.
Queen of Peace (5th in Group 1, 2,806): Other than the Baker 300s, which will be mentioned shortly, the longest string of strikes on Saturday was the 11 in a row thrown by Griffins senior Nick Gavron, who started with an 8 and ended with a 278, taking honors for second-high game. He may have been one of those who would have preferred to keep going under the old format, since his second-game 236 gave him a 514 series. QP endured the same fate as Bergen Catholic, tallying a 1,042 to take the Group 1 lead after Game 1 before dropping down to an 834. The graduation of Gavron, North 1A champ Andrew Suscreba (197–343), Rebecca Van Dyk (182–327) and George Bosch (160) will leave a mark, but the Griffins do have another one of the Maurer girls, junior Taylor (225–364), whom TM is confident will continue progressing in much the same way older sister Shannon did (P.S., the elder Maurer went out as a three-time All-Bergen first teamer and was third at State sectionals as a senior).
And now, in the interest of keeping things moving along, we will take the advice of a long-forgotten 1970s R&B one-hit wonder and take a float on:
The Stream of Consciousness... Recycling back to the top of the state — sophomore Larry Tufaro (236-224–460) led Wallkill Valley (2,975) to a fourth-place showing in Group 2... On its way to a fifth-place finish in Group 3, Sparta (2,888) had a phenomenal Baker series of 1,035 and got nice efforts from lefty Cody Spector (226-204–430), Dustin Steffen (202–361), State girls champ Nicole Chanin (206–348) and perhaps the bowler with the most fantastic surname in the entire tournament, John Hawxhurst (184–368)... Dayton of Springfield (2,828) shot a 1,069 in Game 2 to momentarily take the lead in Group 1 before dropping off in the Game 3 Bakers (844) and finishing fourth. Consolation: the Bulldogs' Mark Masucci (sorry for the Twitter misspelling) took home the high-game trophy for his 279... How insane were the scores on Saturday? Jackson Memorial and Nutley were joined by Wall (3,102) as teams to top 1,000 in all three qualifying games but not come away with a Group title. That means you KNOW we have some serious numbers to share with you in the big finish. In fact, they're so big that the rest of these sections are getting their own sub-heads...
Recipe for perfection — Bake @ 300: Let it be said, at this very time, in this very space, that The Messenger will never again bemoan missing a 300 game, because he saw two of the absolute best. On its way to winning Group 1, Keansburg (3,093) didn't start out all that strong in the "Game 3" Bakers, rolling 169 and 198. Then came a 267. Then came one of the most improbable occurrences you'll ever see on the lanes: congratulations Ryan Schoentube, Shaun Moran, Dylan Jordan, Korrie O'Hanlon and Dale Barshewski, you just combined to throw a perfect game. All told, an 1,122 Baker series for the Titans.
BUT WAIT... they were not the first ones to accomplish the feat. Moments earlier, Washington Township (3,287) was cruising toward wrapping up the Group 4 championship with Baker scores of 240 and 212. Then it happened: Nick Maccarone (212–376), Matt Lucich (207–378), Jason Pavlinko (224–439), John Bartosiewicz (268–481) and Steve Pavlinko (252–454) all struck in order through the first five frames of the next game. They followed up with five more strikes before Steve Pavlinko, the anchor, cemented his place in The Messenger's Book of Awesomeness... he recorded the 11th strike by getting a messenger pin — the very inspiration for yours truly's moniker — to come across and knock out the 10-pin... and he blasted the 12th strike by getting another messenger pin to fly in from the left and take out the 10 AGAIN. This could well be the greatest coup that has ever occurred for this blog's purposes, and even though the NJBB has stressed the "no cheering in the press box rule," TM couldn't help but feel like the Minutemen were angling for his allegiance.
At any rate, I can't recall seeing a team get as much pin action in one afternoon as Washington Twp. Johnny Petraglia himself, who was on hand to observe, said the probability of a team "Bakering" a 300 is next to impossible, and sure enough it happened twice within 10 minutes. Mr. Petraglia also introduced TM to the term "slamming the dime," which apparently is exactly what Mr. Pavlinko did in sending the aforementioned messengers to take out the 10-pins. Oh, speaking of the living PBA legend...
Parker Lewis Can't Lose; Parker Bohn, we're not so sure: All of a sudden, The Messenger is in a quandary! His very own category of postseason awards, the Parker Bohn III All-Stars — so named because A) TM's top 3 defining characteristics are left-handedness, love for his home state of New Jersey and a passion for bowling, and B) he wishes to honor those varsity bowlers in similar shoes — was created with his favorite active bowler in mind. He unwittingly yet completely forgot that the now-retired Johnny Petraglia has many similar outstanding traits: left-handedness, a tasteful surname that is nearly identical to that of TM's alter ego, and oh yeah, he had a tournament named after him (the Johnny Petraglia Open) that used to be held at Carolier Lanes. The fact that Mr. Petraglia was born in Brooklyn perhaps may have been the original cause for our gross oversight, but the NJBB is prepared to throw that out the window since Johnny currently resides in the Garden State and is now a close, personal friend of The Messenger ("close" meaning TM stood next to him and chatted for about 5 minutes, and "friend" meaning he was polite enough to accept one of TM's business cards).
So the quandary is now this... should the NJBB rename the Parker Bohn III All-Stars? Should we turn it into a combined honor like the Johnny/Parker All-Stars? If you have any opinions on the subject, e-mail The Messenger at NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com. P.S. In the highly unlikely event that Mr. Petraglia drops us an e-mail on the subject, we're basically going to do whatever the heck he says. I mean, TM has never met anyone else that's on the PBA's list of the 50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years.
Okay, where were we? Oh right, Hawk pride!: The boys from Manchester Township (3,227) joined their female counterparts as State Group 2 champions this year. The Hawks won the first game of their Baker semifinal match with Sayreville, 255-181, before the two-time reigning ToC champs won the final three. Still, take a look at this Baker series that Manchester put together in the morning: 248, 237, 185, 215, 265. And that was the second-highest "Game 3" series. Four different Hawks averaged over 200 in the two individual games, including John Herbert (257-225–482), Nick Nametko (225-224–449), Alan Garcia (202–403) and Billy Carudo (215–401). What a job that coaching staff (and the bowlers, of course) have done with this program, kudos to MT.
Say you, say me... Sayreville always, naturally: Even though the Bombers were unable to become the first team to win three straight ToC crowns, they did not go down without a fight. When Nutley came storming back to take its brief lead at the end of qualifying Game 3, Sayreville was still on the lanes and knew what it needed to get the job done. Junior Eric Applegate, a veteran of last year's title team, responded with an 8-spare-strike in the 10th and final frame of the five Baker contests to cap off his team's Group 3-championship tally of 3,110. In the ToC semis, with the Bombers leading two games to one, senior returnee Glenn Sauer touched off a string of five consecutive strikes from frames 6 through 10 — with Wayne Bebert, Anthony Nicholas, Phil Bailey and Applegate following suit — that helped Sayreville put away Manchester, 232-174, in Game 4. Nicholas, Bailey and Applegate each struck twice in Game 2 of the ToC finals, helping their team to a 231-191 win that evened the series at 1-1.
But let's face it: the day belonged to the Township.
Don't let those other four "Washington Townships" fool you: Yes, by now the existence of New Jersey's five townships named "Washington" has become a standard Garden State geography gag (although there used to be six, thanks to Robbinsville for stepping out of line and getting a little creative). A long, long time ago, a young The Messenger lived in the Bergen County Washington Twp., but that's quite a hike from whence this year's champions hail.
And yet, perhaps nothing makes a 70-mile bus ride back to Gloucester County happier than a Group 4 trophy (which the Sewell-based Washington Twp. captured with a house-leading 3,287 in the morning) and a ToC trophy (which the Minutemen claimed with their 235-189, 191-231, 262-174, 247-199 victory over Sayreville in the finals). I can't even begin to tell you how many strikes this team threw on the day... well, we know it was 12 in the perfecto, plus they added 10 more strikes in that 262, and they even made another bid at perfection in the title-clincher, starting off with a 7-bagger before getting robbed by a stone-10 in the 8th.
Give Sayreville credit, they strung together a 5-bagger in the finale to keep the pressure on. But after getting a 9 on his first ball of the 10th, Steve Pavlinko picked up the spare to clinch the victory, leapt into the air and did his best Springsteen/Super Bowl-halftime stage slide (fortunately there was no TV camera in his sliding line, as there was for Bruce).
The Minutemen also have their own "legends" connection. Nick Maccarone's father Sam, the team's assistant coach, has bowled on the pro tour and works with coach Mike Hudock's squad on a volunteer basis. The payoff was not only Washington Township's first-ever trip to the boys State team finals, but also its first State title.
When asked about it, the younger Maccarone did agree that the Baker 300 was a sign the Minutemen might be in for a special afternoon. "That's when you know," he said, "When those [messenger] pins come over and then take [the 10-pin] out, you know it's your day. I mean, it's a good shot when you come in and send a messenger, and when it doesn't miss, you know that it's your day to win."
Quite simply, it was indeed The Messenger's day...
NJSIAA Boys State Team Tournament scores | GRP 4 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Washington Twp. | 1015 | 1113 | 1159 | 3287* |
| 2nd | East Brunswick | 1100 | 947 | 1130 | 3177 |
| 3rd | Jackson Memorial | 1033 | 1043 | 1002 | 3078 |
| 4th | Livingston | 1006 | 1007 | 931 | 2944 |
| 5th | Old Bridge | 978 | 940 | 1000 | 2918 |
| 6th | Bergen Catholic | 1036 | 916 | 946 | 2898 |
| 7th | Union | 979 | 965 | 949 | 2893 |
| 8th | Union City | 1036 | 817 | 891 | 2744 |
| 9th | Kearny | 934 | 931 | 851 | 2716 |
| 10th | Teaneck | 858 | 893 | 881 | 2632 |
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| GRP 3 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Sayreville | 1091 | 1051 | 968 | 3110* |
| 2nd | Nutley | 1010 | 1020 | 1076 | 3106 |
| 3rd | Woodbridge | 961 | 1072 | 986 | 3019 |
| 4th | Scotch Plains | 1046 | 964 | 986 | 2996 |
| 5th | Sparta | 869 | 984 | 1035 | 2888 |
| 6th | Brick Township | 968 | 1013 | 881 | 2862 |
| 7th | Jackson Liberty | 902 | 987 | 884 | 2773 |
| 8th | Pascack Valley | 941 | 823 | 897 | 2661 |
| 9th | Indian Hills | 847 | 894 | 867 | 2608 |
| 10th | Wayne Valley | 809 | 852 | 893 | 2554 |
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| GRP 2 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Manchester Twp. | 1029 | 1046 | 1152 | 3227* |
| 2nd | Wall Township | 1000 | 1054 | 1048 | 3102 |
| 3rd | Burlington Twp. | 1000 | 992 | 1025 | 3017 |
| 4th | Wallkill Valley | 959 | 1031 | 985 | 2975 |
| 5th | Hopatcong | 897 | 939 | 978 | 2814 |
| 6th | Gov. Livingston | 866 | 993 | 890 | 2749 |
| 7th | Ocean Township | 894 | 910 | 902 | 2706 |
| 8th | Pascack Hills | 926 | 829 | 927 | 2682 |
| 9th | A.L. Johnson | 921 | 902 | 838 | 2661 |
| 10th | Lyndhurst | 711 | 837 | 818 | 2366 |
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| GRP 1 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Keansburg | 1039 | 932 | 1122 | 3093* |
| 2nd | Monsignor Donovan | 1029 | 953 | 960 | 2942 |
| 3rd | Roselle Catholic | 917 | 997 | 949 | 2863 |
| 4th | Dayton | 915 | 1069 | 844 | 2828 |
| 5th | Queen of Peace | 1042 | 834 | 930 | 2806 |
| 6th | BCIT-Medford | 968 | 984 | 845 | 2797 |
| 7th | Secaucus | 967 | 861 | 959 | 2787 |
| 8th | North Arlington | 845 | 906 | 948 | 2699 |
| 9th | Sussex Tech | 885 | 882 | 900 | 2667 |
| 10th | Bishop Ahr | 827 | 858 | 767 | 2452 |
*Group champ, advanced to Tournament of Champions
| T of C - SEMIFINALS | BAKER 1 | BAKER 2 | BAKER 3 | BAKER 4 | BAKER 5 | GMS WON | AVG |
| 1) Washington Twp. | 268 | 177 | 225 | - | - | 3 | 223.3 |
| 4) Keansburg | 166 | 174 | 214 | - | - | 0 | 184.7 |
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| 2) Manchester Twp. | 255 | 178 | 210 | 174 | - | 1 | 204.3 |
| 3) Sayreville | 181 | 193 | 212 | 232 | - | 3 | 204.5 |
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| T of C - FINALS | BAKER 1 | BAKER 2 | BAKER 3 | BAKER 4 | BAKER 5 | GMS WON | AVG |
| 1) Washington Twp. | 235 | 191 | 262 | 247 | - | 3 | 233.8 |
| 3) Sayreville | 189 | 231 | 174 | 199 | - | 1 | 198.3 |
Please e-mail any/all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
The Messenger's predecessor wrote it in this very space last year, and TM his ownself echoes the sentiment... one of his all-time pet peeves is having to report on an event that he didn't actually see live. Again, 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. And, as the NJBB remains in its infancy, we have a long way to go before we're the best at anything.
Missing Wednesday's State singles tournament was perhaps even more frustrating to TM this time around, as he not only missed out on grabbing the brass ring for bowling reporters (covering a 300 game), he missed it twice: big kudos to Kevin Macchia of Ramapo and Jason Maulbeck of Madison for tossing perfectos in the very first game of the tournament to throw down the gauntlet for what was (I presume) an outstanding, high-scoring day at Carolier Lanes. Did we mention that Macchia bowls for one of the key schools in the NJBB's prime coverage area?
However, TM can't change what happened, and perhaps it was good that the tournament fell on Ash Wednesday, because it served as a grounding reminder that all we are is dust in the wind... oh wait, that was Kansas. Whatever — ashes to ashes, dust to dust, tomorrow is another day, and next year I'm taking this entire week off from my day job so this site can cover State finals week properly.
(No, seriously, within 30 minutes of hearing about Macchia's 300 from our friends/rivals at Varsity Aces, The Messenger e-mailed a vacation request for the third week of February 2011 to his supervisor, because he refuses to be beaten to the punch again. Fool me once...)
All that said, I have been able to peruse some of the scores from the State individual finals, and since this site is never lacking for opinion, I will blindly comment on what happened by belly-flopping into:
The Stream of Consciousness... More often than not, the girls from North Jersey seem to have trouble navigating the lanes in North Brunswick. The one notable exception to this rule: Sussex County. Congrats go out to No. 2 seed Sparta junior Nicole Chanin, who is now No. 1 after not only lighting up the house with a 757 morning series, but also posting the high game of qualifying (269) AND the stepladder finals in defeating top-seeded Morgan Brown of East Brunswick, 249-212 in the title match. Chanin became the first North girl to emerge as individual champ since Newton's Krista Cutler in 2003 (the stepladder format began in 2002). FYI, Crystal Keller of Lenape Valley qualified as the No. 3 seed, helping Sussex County equal Middlesex County (Brown and South Brunswick's Jackie Sutton) with two entrants in the stepladder 5. Must be the air up there... East Brunswick still came away with a title in the form of junior Danny Holihan, who bested Brick Memorial's Brandon Barboza, 218-209, in the boys finals. So no sweep for the Bears, but we did get a sweep of A) juniors and B) right-handers. That's right, for all the crowing he does about southpaw superiority, The Messenger is throwing a bone to the starboard-siders... P.S. lefty Alex Prell of Wood-Ridge also made a bid at perfection with a 9-bagger to start off his stepladder match against No. 4 Domenick Luongo of Brick Memorial. The third-seeded senior ended up with a 279-258 victory and top billing in The Record's "North Jersey Sports" section on Thursday (an online version of the article is here)... Brick Memorial gave Ocean County two representatives in the boys final 5, but Bergen County also acquitted itself quite well on the day. In addition to Prell and Macchia in the stepladder, Bergen Catholic senior Rob Grippo (9th place, 1,354), North Arlington senior Matt Priore (12th, 1,330) and Bergenfield sophomore Marc Solangon (14th, 1,299) also advanced to the afternoon session... Remembering our North Jersey roots, the NJBB must also acknowledge the efforts of Nutley's Nick Rizzi (8th, 1,362) and DePaul's Greg Corradi (10th, 1,332) in the boys tournament, as well as those of Jefferson's Heather Van Dyk (10th, 1,255), IHA's Nicole Linder (11th, 1,225), Clifton's Sonja Shirak (13th, 1,194) and Ridgefield Park's Stacy Fernandez (18th, 1,141) in the girls tourney... finally, congratulations to Morgan Brown for shooting a 2,622 on the day. That's right — you thought fantasy football fanatics went crazy trying to tell apart the Adrian Petersons that play running back for the Vikings and Bears? Having not been to Carolier in person on Wednesday, I have no way of differentiating (aside from reading their order of finish) between the Morgan Brown of East Brunswick (2nd place, 1,428) and the Morgan Brown of West Deptford (14th, 1,194).
You see? THIS is the type of stuff I need to be present to document. Lucky for The Messenger, there is one more tournament left to tweet about, blog about and just generally enjoy — the boys State team finals are tomorrow at Carolier, starting 9:30 a.m. "SHARP!", according to the NJSIAA.
See you on the other side...
Today's episode: "A one-derful weekend." As The Messenger follows in the practice of his predecessor, Sunday is all about enjoying his favorite sporting event, the Daytona 500, prior to spending Presidents' Day in North Brunswick. Although his favorite driver (Ocean County's own Martin Truex Jr.) did not win, he was one of several to have the lead with 2 laps left, and he ended up 6th — not too shabby, considering TM's now-retired fave traditionally used to run into disaster at Daytona. Anyhow, Truex's former ride was driven to victory by Jamie McMurray, meaning car No. 1 finished No. 1... and that's where today's entry is headed.
Teams from the North had another up-and-down day at Carolier Lanes, but TM observed something positive out of everybody — so, purely for organizational purposes, the NJBB will "count up" the list of finishers and cap it all off with a look at this year's four Group champs (Bordentown, Manchester Township, Brick Township and South Brunswick), plus give our annual breakdown of the Tournament of Champions finals and the new No. 1 team in the State (even though TM tweeted who won, he's going to keep up the pretend-suspense until the end).
There was a new twist for the girls team tournament this year: instead of bowling 3 traditional games, they did 2 traditional games, followed by 5 Baker games that were used to make up the "Game 3" total. The Baker concept seems to be getting more popular — the state has used it for the girls ToC in recent years, and it has become a staple of the Bergen County tournament as well. The reaction sensed by TM was lukewarm (some expressed no preference for either format) but generally positive. Speaking of which, the NJBB will both follow the same format as last year and keep it positive. Away we go...
Good news for Clifton (6th in Group 4, 2,058): Not that it was good news at the time, but the Mustangs were missing two starters who were away on a band trip in Canada (non-Olympic related, from what TM was told). To me, that means Clifton can be even better than it got the chance to show, and darned if they won't have a chance to show it next year when their entire lineup returns, led by the sound 4-5 combo of juniors Kortney Casperino (177–338) and Sonja Shirak (191–369). In fact, both of those girls will be back at Carolier on Wednesday for the State singles finals, so perhaps the Mustangs aren't done showing what they can do this year. They certainly earned every right to feel good about themselves after toppling the IHA dynasty at sectionals, lest we forget. And, Miss Shirak was kind enough to share a few words with The Messenger, which will air on the annual WGHT Sports Overtime bowling extravaganza, Tuesday Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m. (tune in 1500 AM on radio, or click "listen live" at ghtradio.com on the computer. End shameless plug.)
Good news for Bergenfield (6th in Group 3, 2,067): The Bears are one of those teams that aren't in the coverage area of any of TM's newspapers or radio stations, but the NJBB will include them because A) they're consistently one of the top programs in the North section, and B) they have been quite gracious and helpful as host team for the sectional tournaments — I believe good coaching is to credit for that. Monday wasn't the best of days for Bergenfield, but TM did get a chance to watch the Schelzo sisters, Melissa and Nicole, go at it on the lanes (as opposed to at the Bowler City scorer's table. Ahem). And while we're on the subject of sibling rivalry, it was nice to see the passers of the Esmenda-Fiore torch (BHS grads Ralph and Jesse) turn out to support the current carriers of said torch (Sarah and Cassidy), one of whom rolled the Bears' high game (a 178 by Miss Esmenda). And, silver lining again, both Sarah and Cassidy earned a return trip to Carolier for Wednesday's individual finals, which affords them the opportunity to win more shiny things.
Good news for High Tech (6th in Group 1, 2,170): I'm gonna be honest — there is never any bad news when your nickname is the Lasercats. Anchor Erika Nedwell (202–389) had a nice day, Becky Egizi (162-162–324) had an almost-eerily consistent day, and Liz Gould (151 high game) continued to lead the cutting-edge hair color trend by rocking Laser Purple (She added some sweet color-coordinated socks to the ensemble as well). It seemed like High Tech was better suited to the traditional games, as the team was solidly in fifth after 2 rounds but faltered in the Baker games. Yet I still say that their chief Hudson County rivals — County Prep and Holy Family, who finished less than 20 pins behind HT at sectionals — would have traded places in a heartbeat, so the 'Cats have the local-bragging-rights thing going for them, which is nice.
Good news for DePaul (4th in Group 2, 2,356): True, the Spartans didn't finish as well as they would have hoped, but look at it this way — their girls team didn't even exist last year! Plus, the Colette Malyack (188–363) era has barely reached the halfway point (the sophomore sensation will be there Wednesday with teammates Rebecca Dykstra and Rebecca Nemeh), and both Dykstra (186–368), a junior, and freshman Isabelle Nemeh will return next year. Did we mention they'll be featured on the annual WGHT Sports Overtime bowling extravaganza coming up next Tuesday? Miss Malyack and seniors Lorena Faisca, Kate Behrens and Rebecca Nemeh were all good enough to chat with TM, so you get to hear from them on the 23rd. Finally, didn't DePaul win some sort of other titles and shatter the stereotype that first-year teams always struggle? You know, Passaic County champs, NJTCC-Passaic Division champs, North Group 2 champs... those should make the Spartans smile.
Good news for Holy Angels (3rd in Group 2, 2,397): The Angels were one of two North schools to hang around the top 3 of their bracket for most of the day — granted, they got stuck in the bracket with defending ToC champ Manchester Township (2,948) and a real strong Ewing (2,575) team, but to TM, that makes third an even more respectable accomplishment; especially when you consider the 1-2 finishers in the group had far more experienced upperclassmen. Morgan Buckey (199–383) showed why coach Patrick Dunne made her the anchor as a freshman, while sophomore Tammy Wong (191–338) and junior Maura Oates (176–334) provided glimpses of more good things to come down the road for the Angels.
Good news for Hackensack (4th in Group 3, 2,413): The North's struggles at Carolier are starting to seem almost inevitable, but in the past couple of years, the Comets have been a team that has tended toward bucking the trend, at least early in the Statefinals. Once again, they started off strong with an 842 in Game 1, pushing North Brunswick (870) for second place. And they appeared as relaxed as any team, sporting bandanna headbands and making enough noise to stay within earshot of the Brick Township and North Brunswick crowds. If you compare Monday's scores with the Comets' league averages, Rachel Healy (190–362), Stacie Harewood (189–350), Korey Kozaryn (183–344) and Jaclyn Draney (167–304) all shot above their norms. Having thrown Baker games in the County tournament also seemed to help Hackensack, which had the best "Game 3" total (785) of all the local public schools.
Good news for Immaculate Heart (3rd in Group 4, 2,584): If only the Blue Eagles could throw out that first game! To their credit, they bounced back from a 763 with much more IHA-like scores of 915 and 906, and we know they have experience in Baker games (see: Bergen County tournament), so their "Game 3" effort came as no surprise. It does seem like anchor Nicole Linder (216-202–418) has been around for quite some time, but she is only a junior and has another season (plus the State singles finals) to improve upon an already outstanding average, which was up to 212 in league play this year. Junior Colleen Blake (203–386) made her second straight appearance in the team finals and, knowing IHA, it likely won't be her last. Seniors Hanna DiFresco, Sara Hroncic and Murphy McVeigh (180) each got to bowl one final game, and even though it wasn't reflected in Monday's series (289), sophomore Taylor Strothmann is going to be a good one. All in all, the Blue Eagles may have had the most ironic finish of any team at Carolier — they were fifth in Group 4 with a senior-laden roster last year, and with a squad that began this season as quote-unquote "inexperienced," they scored 13 pins higher this time around. Again, interpret that as you will based on the tournament's format change, but TM must say that's fairly noteworthy.
There was only one team to come out of the North section that The Messenger did not get to witness extensively, but that's okay — they'll get a mention, along with several other notes and nuggets, as we drift toward the big finish on:
The Stream of Consciousness... Maybe it's because they bowl in a league with basically all Central Jersey teams, but TM doesn't get to see much of Mother Seton Regional. He still loves the nickname (Setters) and still noted that they were right in the mix in Group 1 after the first game, when the top four were separated by just 34 points... Keyport came in as the defending Group 1 champ and got a great outing from junior anchor Alexa Guirk (215-204–419), but the wheels sort of came off in Game 2, when the Red Raiders managed just 711 as a team. They bounced back with an 888 Baker showing, but it wasn't quite enough... Cardinal McCarrick had the best Baker score (907) in Group 1, but even they couldn't keep pace with the champs, who we will spotlight shortly. Duly noted: the Eagles' Nicole Baginsky (244) earned the award for third-high game... Ewing bumped up from Group 1 to 2 this year and was right there with Manchester Township after Game 1, but the Hawks were just too much. On top of that, their name was originally read over the PA as "EE-wing," instead of the proper pronunciation, "YOU-wing." The Blue Devils did get a nice effort from senior Tara Elonis (230–420), who reportedly has a scholarship to bowl at St. Peter's (a report made public by her family, so I'm thinking it's probably true).
AND FINALLY... our salute to the champions of the 2010 girls State tournament. After a 6-pin loss to Keyport last season, Bordentown came back with a vengeance and held off McCarrick to win Group 1, 2,593 to 2,577. Jessica Gareis (202–369) and senior anchor Brittany Havens (217–401) each rolled a deuce, but The Messenger was perhaps most impressed with one of the Scotties' reserves.
As the No. 4 seed for the ToC, Bordentown was matched up against No. 1 South Brunswick and fell behind 2-0 in the semifinals, dropping a pair of very close Baker games (167-158 and 156-149). For game three, Scotties coach Ron Jones called upon junior Felicia Markley to step in cold, and she came through with a pair of strikes in the next two games, which Bordentown won, 167-149 and 181-157. Game 5 of the semifinals was dead even through the first four frames before South Brunswick unleashed a turkey, and a couple of late opens (including a difficult 3-6-7 split) signaled the end of the Scotties' run. Still, Miss Markley gets the Manny Mota Pinch-Hit Award and — wait, what's that? — oh, gracious me, The Messenger almost forgot to mention that she's a lefty! Her impending inclusion on the 2nd annual Parker Bohn III All-Stars is now the worst-kept secret on the NJBB.
THIRD RUNNER-UP: The Green Dragons of Brick Township (2,980), who for the second year in a row captured the Group 3 championship AND earned the No. 2 seed for the ToC AND ran into arch-rival Manchester. There were precisely five 1,000-plus games shot at Carolier on Monday, and Brick had two of them, including a 1,027 that they compiled in the morning five-game Baker total. Freshman left-hander Sydney Scelfo (258–458) walked away with the high game award and a sure spot on the Parker Bohn III All-Stars (okay, two worst-kept secrets), and none of the Dragons averaged below 166 on the day: Ashley Lane (216–404), Katarina Kiseli (202–381), Kaitlynn Nardiello (192–377) and Emily Robertson (172–333) kept Brick on top of Group 3 wire-to-wire, also combining for Baker games of 206, 214 and 234.
In the ToC semifinals, the Green Dragons jumped out to a lead in Game 1 before Manchester came roaring back with a 4-bagger (hambone!) to win it, 207-203. After the Hawks took Game 2, 180-158, Brick held a 105-102 lead in the 6th frame of Game 3 before another 4-bagger propelled Manchester to the sweep, 209-205, although Lane kept the pressure on by striking out in the 10th — always good to see from your senior anchor.
SECOND RUNNER-UP: Talk about announcing one's presence with authority — seeing Ewing in the rear-view mirror after Game 2, Manchester Township fired a 1,013 and pulled away to win its second straight Group 2 crown. The Hawks also Baked up games of 200, 210 and 223 in the morning. Sophomore Julie Taylor led the charge with a 225-235–460, while lefty Tina Shahinian (197–368; I'm just gonna use PB3* from now on), junior Amanda DeMauro (192–384) and seniors Taylor Olsen (216–403) and Chloe Krumeich (199–371) all impressed.
Perhaps their most impressive feat, however, came in the opener of the ToC championship round: 7-spare, five straight strikes, 6-spare, five straight strikes for a 266-179 win over South Brunswick. (A 266 in a Baker game? TM's brain does not compute!) The two teams were tied at 68 through 4 frames of Game 2 before the Vikings marked the rest of the way... Manchester then opened Game 3 with a hambone before hitting a bump known as the 8-10 split, and a couple of 8th-frame opens in the final two games clipped the Hawks' wings. Still, what a fantastic run by coach Mike McCrae's crew — they've been a great deal of fun for The Messenger to watch over the past two ToC's, and they take home some lovely parting gifts, too: Ocean County tournament, Shore Conference tournament, Southern Ocean A Division, South Jersey Group 2 and State Group 2 championship trophies.
HAIL TO THE CHAMPS: they would be seniors Kayleigh Kimberlin, Carly Kohutanycz and Jackie Sutton, junior southpaw Ally Zimmitti (PB3*) and sophomore Justine Bleacher of the South Brunswick Vikings, winners of Group 4 and the ToC, as well as purveyors of the following achievements in the State finals: highest overall score (2,988), highest single-game score (1,053), second-highest five-game Baker score (1,008) and second-high game award (for Bleacher's 256). Incidentally, Kimberlin is one of a handful of bowlers who can lay claim to both State individual (2009) and team (2010) championships; she rolled a 223–421 in the morning.
To TM, the Vikings displayed the mark of a true champion, as evidenced by their ToC results: after Bordentown came back to tie the semifinals, 2-2, and had Game 5 tied, 48-all — from that moment on, South Brunswick strung together all marks (except for a 9 on the 12th ball), four of which were strikes, to ice the series. Again, in the title round, after Manchester had taken the 1st game by 87 pins and had Game 2 tied, 68-all — from that moment on, over the course of two-plus games, the Vikings left precisely 2 pins standing, and again, both of those came on a 12th ball after the outcome had been decided. SB took the final three of the championship series, 206-171, 232-212 and 219-198, posting clean frames essentially the entire way. Just for good measure, Sutton the anchor picked up a 5-10 split in the 10th frame of the decisive Game 4, then blasted the Vikes' 19th strike in a 3-game span. After it was all over, ninth-year SB coach Tara Burniston told The Messenger, "This is the best team I've ever had."
THOSE my friends, are the "marks" of a true champion.
(Sorry, couldn't sign off without at least 1 more nonsensical pun. TM just has too much fun at this job...)
NJSIAA Girls State Team Tournament scores
| GRP 4 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | South Brunswick | 927 | 1053 | 1008 | 2988* |
| 2nd | Brick Memorial | 873 | 896 | 911 | 2680 |
| 3rd | Immaculate Heart | 763 | 915 | 906 | 2584 |
| 4th | Piscataway | 750 | 769 | 917 | 2436 |
| 5th | Washington Twp. | 723 | 725 | 813 | 2261 |
| 6th | Clifton | 667 | 741 | 650 | 2058 |
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| GRP 3 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Brick Township | 924 | 1029 | 1027 | 2980* |
| 2nd | North Brunswick | 870 | 933 | 863 | 2666 |
| 3rd | Colonia | 816 | 877 | 908 | 2601 |
| 4th | Hackensack | 842 | 786 | 785 | 2413 |
| 5th | Central Regional | 746 | 826 | 758 | 2330 |
| 6th | Bergenfield | 712 | 707 | 648 | 2067 |
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| GRP 2 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Manchester Twp. | 973 | 1013 | 962 | 2948* |
| 2nd | Ewing | 915 | 820 | 840 | 2575 |
| 3rd | Holy Angels | 767 | 816 | 814 | 2397 |
| 4th | DePaul | 757 | 797 | 802 | 2356 |
| 5th | Carteret | 662 | 784 | 685 | 2131 |
| 6th | Burlington Township | 643 | 719 | 685 | 2047 |
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| GRP 1 | SCHOOL | GAME 1 | GAME 2 | GAME 3 | TOTAL |
| 1st | Bordentown | 853 | 905 | 835 | 2593* |
| 2nd | Cardinal McCarrick | 822 | 848 | 907 | 2577 |
| 3rd | Keyport | 845 | 711 | 888 | 2444 |
| 4th | Mother Seton | 819 | 757 | 704 | 2280 |
| 5th | Bishop Eustace | 718 | 754 | 795 | 2267 |
| 6th | High Tech | 745 | 784 | 641 | 2170 |
*Group champ, advanced to Tournament of Champions
| T of C - SEMIFINALS | BAKER 1 | BAKER 2 | BAKER 3 | BAKER 4 | BAKER 5 | WON | AVG |
| 1) South Brunswick | 167 | 156 | 149 | 157 | 204 | 3 | 166.6 |
| 4) Bordentown | 147 | 139 | 173 | 200 | 157 | 2 | 163.2 |
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| 2) Brick Township | 203 | 158 | 205 | - | - | 0 | 188.7 |
| 3) Manchester Twp. | 207 | 180 | 209 | - | - | 3 | 198.7 |
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| T of C - FINALS | BAKER 1 | BAKER 2 | BAKER 3 | BAKER 4 | BAKER 5 | WON | AVG |
| 1) South Brunswick | 179 | 206 | 232 | 219 | - | 3 | 219.0 |
| 3) Manchester Twp. | 266 | 171 | 212 | 198 | - | 1 | 193.7 |
Please e-mail any/all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
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