Ok, hail to the champs time: one year after finishing a single point behind rival North Arlington for the National crown, Secaucus came back with a vengeance and took the title by 12 points over St. Mary of Rutherford and 13 over NA. Secaucus not only employed bowlers with three of the top seven averages in the entire league (Dylan Caruso 206, Dante Iyer 196, Corey Czechowski 195), but the North 1-B, Group 1 champ also was led by the BCSL's Sportsmanship Award winner (Caruso). Actually, TM does recall watching Mr. Caruso reach the finals of the North Jersey Singles Classic AND combine with Czechowski to post the team's two highest series at the State boys finals... he now wonders how Caruso and crew would have fared if there was an actual Hudson County tournament that includes the county's BCSL entrants.
We do know this: North Arlington senior Matt Priore (217 average) has very clearly stated his case to be considered one of (if not the) best bowlers ever to come through this league. Although the NJBB has no definite knowledge of the situation, we are convinced it would be a George Mason-esque upset if he were not named the North Jersey Boys Bowler of the Year. FYI, his classmate-slash-teammate Ashley Johnson (184 average) may well be the best non-IHA girls bowler in Bergen County.
As for the Olympic Division, Wood-Ridge was clearly the head of the class, overtaking last year's co-champs, Leonia and New Milford, for the 2010 title. And, as long as we've opened up the "bowler of the year" can of worms, don't think Blue Devils senior Alex Prell doesn't deserve some consideration as well. Looking strictly at league play, his average (204) was lower than Priore's. Looking strictly at County play, Priore (Bergen champ, 1,399 in six games) gets the nod over Prell (tied for fifth, 1,314) again. Looking strictly at State singles play, Prell decided to play the Vanessa Williams card (saving his best for last) and blast a 1,390, finishing third overall, although Priore's 12th-place 1,330 was, in a word, stupendous — only 43 pins separated him from the stepladder. We could go on for paragraphs, so The Messenger will float this notion in The Record's direction. Can you say, Right-handed Bowler of the Year (Priore) and Left-handed Bowler of the Year (Prell)? Again, just throwin' it out there...
A few last nuggets to chew on: Park Ridge junior Mike Wuhrman, who helped the Owls reach the State team finals in '09, was the third BCSL bowler to average over 200 on the winter (and he had the Olympic's top game, a 279). Wood-Ridge senior Nick Roman (199 average) came within a pin of being the fourth, and he registered the Division's high series, a 503... Let's not forget Wallington junior Chris Ferrara (194), who joined the varsity 300 club this winter. Needless to say, he led both divisions in the high game department... when he finished 8th at sectionals and earned a trip to the State individual finals, Joe Bocage of Becton prompted TM to wonder, "who's that?" Again, things that he could have learned by catching some BCSL play in person: Bocage led the Wildcats in average (184), finished 12th in the league in that category, and helped an underclassmen-dominated squad finish with a winning record (65-50) amid some fairly heady competition... a few entries ago, The Messenger opined that Lyndhurst had the greatest percentage of girl power in the BCSL, with lefty Nikki Villani (173 average), frosh Lexus Lopez (171) and soph Angie Sammarone leading the way. He meant to say "more girl power than anyone in the National Division." Leonia gets the nod in the Olympic Division, thanks to Jess Ragone (172), Kathy Lee (164) and Maleyna Marks (163).
Once again, a reminder: the only BCSL results mentioned in this entry were those of the National and Olympic Divisions because the NJBB has been unable to unearth much info on the league's third division, the American. We would LOVE to recap the action from Lodi Lanes, but TM needs a bit of help. Send any standings and stats from the BCSL-American to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com. If you have them, and you don't send them... well, don't complain.
FINAL BCSL STANDINGS (Points Won, Points Lost, Team Average)
| National Division | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Secaucus | 100 | 15 | 773 |
| St. Mary-Rutherford | 88 | 27 | 710 |
| North Arlington | 87 | 28 | 726 |
| Wallington | 83 | 32 | 728 |
| Lyndhurst | 76 | 39 | 705 |
| Becton | 65 | 50 | 701 |
| Harrison | 23 | 87 | 573 |
| Weehawken | 0 | 115 | 466 |
High game: Ferrara (Wall.), 300
High series: Iyer (Sec.), 493 (remember, 2 games in this league)
High boys average: 1. Priore (NA), 216.80; 2. Caruso (Sec.), 205.64; 3. Iyer (Sec.), 196.24; 4. Czechowski (Sec.), 194.76; 5. Ferrara (Wall.), 193.84.
High girls average: 1. Johnson (NA), 184.43; 2. Villani (Lynd.), 172.72; 3. Lopez (Lynd.), 170.76; 4. Jessica Calabrese (SMR), 169.81; 5. Adrienne Middleton (Harr.), 145.19.
Joe Fiegel Sportsmanship Award: Dylan Caruso (Secaucus)
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| Olympic Division | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Wood-Ridge | 96 | 24 | 741 |
| New Milford | 81 | 34 | 696 |
| Park Ridge | 77 | 43 | 732 |
| Leonia | 68 | 47 | 674 |
| Bogota | 52 | 68 | 613 |
| Hasbrouck Heights | 30 | 85 | 567 |
| Ridgefield | 27 | 88 | 558 |
| Hawthorne Christian | 17 | 98 | 531 |
| Palisades Park | 10 | 100 | 534 |
High game: Mike Wuhrman (PR), 279
High series: Roman (W-R), 503
High boys average: 1. Prell (W-R), 204.17; 2. Wuhrman (PR), 200.47; 3. Roman (W-R), 199.13; 4. Anthony Karalian (NM), 191.02; 5. Matt Lajoie (NM), 184.05.
High girls average: 1. Ragone (Leo.), 171.98; 2. Lee (Leo.), 163.94; 3. Marks (Leo.), 163.41; 4. Sarah Schrenzel (NM), 153.14; 5. Amanda Vittetoe (Ridg.), 130.55.
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That's all for today. Since the snail mail came through for us, full NBIL recap on Wednesday! Also, the part of the Kevin Macchia story that you didn't get to hear (well, from the NJBB, anyway). The season wrap-up sequence is underway...
–TM
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