2/16/11 NJSIAA Individual Finals

It was exactly two weeks late on the button, but attending the State individual tournament for the first time ever gave The Messenger the sense that he was living out part of the movie Groundhog Day -- it happened! It finally happened... TM got to witness the singles finals live and in person in North Brunswick.

(QUICK ASIDE: As for the part where we had to cut out on twittering before the stepladder finals -- look, if your best friend was turning 33, and you already had 6:30 dinner reservations for the Cheesecake Factory at Menlo Park Mall, would YOU push it off to watch the entire stepladder, even though everyone in your coverage area had already been eliminated? If your answer is yes... well, maybe your friends all have summer birthdays. Or, you don't like cheesecake. Either way, let's just move on.)

Notes & nuggets: Once again, not exactly a stellar day for North Jersey bowlers, although Passaic County was well-represented on the boys side with Passaic Tech senior Rich Gutches tying for ninth and West Milford senior Tim Scott finishing 14th. TM would like to extend a hearty apology to Mr. Scott, since his interview for yesterday's WGHT Sports Overtime Bowling Extravaganza was unaired due to time constraints (lousy AP Network News). Although, The Record had a nice feature on him after the sectional tournament, which can be accessed here. If this particular site ever becomes more multimedia friendly, perhaps we can post an MP3 file of said interview -- tales from the cutting-room floor, if you will.

The highest North finisher on the girls side was Immaculate Heart senior Nicole Linder. All she did was blast a 246-214-254 second-round series to jump from 10th to fifth (and knock defending State champ Nicole Chanin of Sparta off the stepladder), which begged the question -- at least in The Messenger's mind -- what helped her outperform all of her North Jersey counterparts? The answer was simple: travel bowling. Linder credited that for helping her get used to rolling in all kinds of different houses, and she may be onto something.

Other points of interest...
What can Brown do for Green? — At last, TM's Morgan Brown conundrum has been solved! Naturally, East Brunswick's Morgan Brown and West Deptford's Morgan Brown both advanced to the second round, adding to parallels that also include name *and* school colors (green). In spite of this, we can attest to the fact that yes, they are two different people, and we will use an old sports ticker trick to differentiate... e.g. the ESPN college basketball crawler denotes all the different Loyola colleges by state in parentheses: Loyola (MD), Loyola (IL), etc. For our purposes, we'll parenthesize school names.

Anyhow, the easiest way to tell them apart is that Miss Brown (EB) has brown hair colored green -- at least, that's how it was for the tournament -- and Miss Brown (WD) has blond hair. Also, Miss Brown (EB) just happened to win the girls State singles championship this year... and in all seriousness, she had quite a touching story that was chronicled by NJ.com.

Two hands are better than one — Couldn't resist the urge to make a veiled reference one The Messenger's all-time favorite Springsteen songs. So, not only did Egg Harbor Township's Tim Wolchko shoot the lights out by averaging over 240 on the day *and* win the boys State singles title as an independent competitor, he did it bowling two-handed! TM has observed this method work for a couple of gents in his neck of the woods -- Northern Highlands' Chris Keane and Ramapo's Tyler Kammen come to mind -- but to do so en route to the top of the New Jersey varsity bowling mountain? That's quite a feat, so kudos to Mr. Wolchko.

Movers and shakers — Finally, we also could not resist recounting which competitors made the biggest leaps in finishing position from the first to the second round. For the boys... Union's John Stigall had a 703 in the second set to jump from 16th to 6th, while Jackson Memorial's Michael Ormsby went from being the 18th and final qualifier to tying for 9th. For the girls... we mentioned Linder going from 10th to 5th, but how about Sparta's Sarah Rhodes jumping from 15th to 8th, and Morgan Brown (WD) going from 18th to 9th? ...granted, for everyone that made a big leap, there is probably an equal number that made a noticeable drop in the standings -- but since finishing in the State's Top 18 is an honor no matter how you slice it, who on Earth wants to recount those?

So there you have it. TM got in 50% more time at Carolier Lanes this year, and he also got to scout a wider pool of players from which to select his Johnny Petraglia All-Stars (lefties from outside the North region). And the best part-- well, that will come with tomorrow's quasi-long-awaited blog on the State boys team finals. Cheers...

NJSIAA Boys State Singles Tournament scores
QUALIFYING ROUND

PLACE	BOWLER/SCHOOL	GM 1	GM 2	GM 3	TOTAL
1st	Tim Wolchko, Egg Harbor	278	249	222	749
2nd	Joe Gramiak, Roselle Cath.	217	224	279	720
3rd	Tyler Mortensen, Woodbridge	225	225	269	719
4th	Scott Sperling, Livingston	245	213	254	712
5th	Anthony Fiorenzo, Wall	225	266	206	697
6th	Nick Stawicki, Scotch Plains	215	244	237	696
7th	Ray Stirrat, Hopatcong	256	190	247	693
8th	Dale Barshewski, Keansburg	247	227	214	688
9th	Sean Carmody, Ridgefield Pk.	236	255	191	682
10th	Tim Scott, West Milford	211	194	269	674
11th	Rich Gutches, Passaic Tech	227	246	191	664
12th	Eric Hasenpusch, Free. Twp.	172	233	258	663
T-13	Austin Papp, Bordentown	225	199	237	661
T-13	Jason Pavlinko, Wash. Twp.	269	220	172	661
15th	Charlie Reisert, E. Brunswick	209	216	231	656
16th	John Stigall, Union	182	235	229	646
17th	Jay Ciszewski, Sayreville	217	228	196	641
18th	Michael Ormsby, Jackson M.	191	234	212	637
19th	Brandon Gershon, Livingston	174	236	224	634
20th	Matt Clark, Brick Memorial	196	209	220	625
21st	Jon Glattstein, North Bergen	224	178	221	623
T-22	Brandon Barboza, Brick Mem.	183	204	231	618
T-22	Eric Larson, Jackson Liberty	182	209	227	618
T-22	Justin Stumpf, Teaneck	200	233	185	618
25th	Kevin Manno, Barnegat	235	203	170	608
26th	Dean Edwards, Bergen Tech	170	225	208	603
27th	Luke Kane, Jackson	192	190	214	596
28th	Korrie O'Hanlon, Keansburg	177	213	205	595
29th	Brian O'Flaherty, Pascack V.	200	186	199	585
T-30	Anthony Wilson, Collingswood	188	174	222	584
T-30	Bryan Hummel, Hammonton	215	182	187	584
32nd	Anthony Scerati, Lenape	187	196	200	583
33rd	Zachary Konnecke, Newton	233	175	173	581
34th	Chris Giordano, Sparta	181	187	212	580
35th	Dan Drum, Ocean Twp.	176	196	203	575
36th	Mike Seltzer, A.L. Johnson	205	212	154	571
37th	Peter Bruinooge, Hawthorne	186	192	192	570
38th	Joe Picarelli, Bayonne	205	144	212	561
T-39	Jim Entwistle, Paramus Cath.	191	171	198	560
T-39	Nick Gianfrancesco, Colts N.	247	161	152	560
41st	Steve Natoli, Paramus Cath.	190	166	201	557
42nd	Tyler Marino, Jefferson	191	158	193	542
43rd	Brian Skolar, Woodbridge	171	172	190	533
44th	Danny Tanelli, Roselle Cath.	199	150	179	528
45th	Shane Algieri, West Milford	174	172	177	523
46th	Torren Moore, Neptune	138	205	179	522
47th	Steve Bird, Middlesex	168	176	171	515
48th	Sharif Warden, Union	181	168	156	505
49th	Adham Kadaj, Leonia	139	197	167	503
50th	Pat Kapuscinski, Sussex Tech	146	193	161	500
51st	Dylan Laloo, Teaneck	159	177	157	493
52nd	Mike Carr, Ramapo	148	158	170	476

TOP 18 QUALIFIERS

PLACE	BOWLER/SCHOOL	RD 1	RD 2	TOTAL	AVG
1st	Tim Wolchko, Egg Harbor	749	712	1461*	243.5
2nd	Joe Gramiak, Roselle Cath.	720	725	1445*	240.8
3rd	Ray Stirrat, Hopatcong	693	713	1406*	234.3
4th	Anthony Fiorenzo, Wall	697	685	1382*	230.3
5th	Scott Sperling, Livingston	712	667	1379*	229.8
6th	John Stigall, Union	646	703	1349	224.8
7th	Dale Barshewski, Keansburg	688	646	1334	222.3
8th	Tyler Mortensen, Woodbridge	719	613	1332	222.0
T-9th	Rich Gutches, Passaic Tech	664	650	1314	219.0
T-9th	Austin Papp, Bordentown	661	653	1314	219.0
T-9th	Michael Ormsby, Jackson M.	637	677	1314	219.0
12th	Sean Carmody, Ridgefield Pk.	682	621	1303	217.2
13th	Eric Hasenpusch, Free. Twp.	663	631	1294	215.7
14th	Tim Scott, West Milford	674	598	1272	212.0
15th	Jay Ciszewski, Sayreville	641	627	1268	211.3
16th	Nick Stawicki, Scotch Plains	696	569	1265	210.8
17th	Charlie Reisert, E. Brunswick	656	590	1246	207.7
18th	Jason Pavlinko, Wash. Twp.	661	544	1205	200.8

*Top 5 advance to stepladder finals

STEPLADDER RESULTS

4-Anthony Fiorenzo (Wall) d. 5-Scott Sperling (Liv.), 246-214

3-Ray Stirrat (Hop.) d. 4-Anthony Fiorenzo (Wall), 218-213

3-Ray Stirrat (Hop.) d. 2-Joe Gramiak (Roselle Cath.), 255-200

1-Tim Wolchko (EHT) d. 3-Ray Stirrat (Hopatcong), 237-235

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NJSIAA Girls State Singles Tournament scores
QUALIFYING ROUND

PLACE	BOWLER/SCHOOL	GM 1	GM 2	GM 3	TOTAL
1st	Alexa Guirk, Keyport	238	257	222	717
2nd	Morgan Brown, E. Brunswick	279	226	205	710
3rd	Nicolette Sarin, Wash. Twp.	236	233	229	698
4th	Nicole Chanin, Sparta	208	188	289	685
5th	Kaitlynn Nardiello, Brick Twp.	247	202	191	640
6th	Shelby Taylor, Ridgewood	182	230	226	638
7th	Katie Latham, Card. McCarrick	238	209	186	633
8th	Ashley Chiaramonte, Jax Lib.	203	196	231	630
9th	Brittany Elansky, Wash. Twp.	241	177	204	622
10th	Nicole Linder, IHA	194	193	227	614
11th	Crystal Keller, Lenape Valley	181	235	196	612
12th	Julie Taylor, Manchester Twp.	191	194	223	608
13th	Sara McKenna, Old Bridge	190	175	242	607
14th	Dominique Torio, Mo. Seton	191	177	236	604
15th	Sarah Rhodes, Sparta	161	246	194	601
16th	Gia Bethea, University	177	199	215	591
17th	Danielle Larsen, Carteret	225	176	189	590
18th	Morgan Brown, W. Deptford	213	191	183	587
19th	Delilah Bethel, Piscataway	215	177	188	580
20th	Laura Uzzell, Science Park	173	206	198	577
21st	Amber MacLeod, Brick Twp.	181	217	178	576
22nd	Tiara Bryant, New Brunswick	230	170	172	572
T-23	Colette Malyack, DePaul	181	222	168	571
T-23	Amber Nardiello, Brick Twp.	176	183	212	571
25th	Kelly Nicosia, Brick Memorial	169	197	190	556
26th	Bryce Rose Petraccoro, PPB	183	201	169	553
27th	Victoria Berenato, C.H. West	188	171	192	551
28th	Lexus Lopez, Lyndhurst	182	171	197	550
29th	Christine Gordon, Cherry Hill E	150	223	172	545
30th	Justine Bleacher, S. Brunswick	192	169	180	541
31st	Ashley Buck, Howell	172	205	157	534
32nd	Amanda Pearce, N. Brunswick	171	181	179	531
33rd	Nikki Villani, Lyndhurst	208	182	137	527
34th	Brianna Boze, Summit	210	163	151	524
35th	Deanna Sanchez, Colonia	187	137	197	521
36th	Kendall Tinston, Ridgewood	154	149	216	519
37th	Sonja Shirak, Clifton	185	195	138	518
38th	Amanda Romano, Brick Mem.	181	140	190	511
39th	Faith Meder, Toms River So.	162	157	190	509
40th	Kendall Hageman, Jax Liberty	167	173	164	504
T-41	Bridget Pyryt, Indian Hills	132	160	211	503
T-41	Lauren Scholes, Warren Hills	169	160	174	503
43rd	Morgan Buckey, Holy Angels	136	185	181	502
44th	Brittany Bobik, Edison	153	145	202	500
45th	Amanda McCormick, N. Bruns.	202	145	149	496
46th	Carolyn Bucci, Jackson Mem.	123	198	167	488
47th	Katelyn Stickney, BCIT-Med.	131	179	171	481
48th	Rikki Cohen, Cherokee	134	151	190	475
49th	Kelly Skettini, Ridgewood	164	137	145	446
50th	Kendall Patterson, Howell	157	126	150	433
51st	Elizabeth Szalay, Long Branch	141	136	141	418
52nd	Estelle Leamon, Barnegat	110	138	118	366

TOP 18 QUALIFIERS

PLACE	BOWLER/SCHOOL	RD 1	RD 2	TOTAL	AVG
1st	Alexa Guirk, Keyport	717	666	1383*	230.5
2nd	Kaitlynn Nardiello, Brick Twp.	640	699	1339*	223.2
3rd	Nicolette Sarin, Wash. Twp.	698	637	1335*	222.5
4th	Morgan Brown, E. Brunswick	710	624	1334*	222.3
5th	Nicole Linder, IHA	614	714	1328*	221.3
6th	Nicole Chanin, Sparta	685	626	1311	218.5
7th	Ashley Chiaramonte, Jax Lib.	630	636	1266	211.0
8th	Sarah Rhodes, Sparta	601	639	1240	206.7
9th	Morgan Brown, W. Deptford	587	640	1227	204.5
10th	Crystal Keller, Lenape Valley	612	609	1221	203.5
11th	Dominique Torio, Mo. Seton	604	603	1207	201.2
12th	Shelby Taylor, Ridgewood	638	566	1204	200.7
13th	Danielle Larsen, Carteret	590	593	1183	197.2
14th	Julie Taylor, Manchester Twp.	608	559	1167	194.5
15th	Katie Latham, Card. McCarrick	633	529	1162	193.7
16th	Gia Bethea, University	591	565	1156	192.7
17th	Brittany Elansky, Wash. Twp.	622	527	1149	191.5
18th	Sara McKenna, Old Bridge	607	494	1101	183.5

*Top 5 advance to stepladder finals

STEPLADDER RESULTS

4-Morgan Brown (EB) d. 5-Nicole Linder (IHA), 236-202

4-Morgan Brown (EB) d. 3-Nicolette Sarin (WT), 235-202

4-Morgan Brown (EB) d. 2-Kaitlynn Nardiello (Brick), 215-168

4-Morgan Brown (EB) d. 1-Alexa Guirk (Keyport), 267-199

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