The old Northern Bergen Interscholastic League was one of The Messenger's favorite leagues to recap back in the day, in part because the final statistics packet put together by league commish/Bergenfield head coach Howie Conklin was a veritable statman's paradise.
Well, the good news is, Coach Conklin is still the commish of the new Big North-Patriot Divison, so the stat pack lives on... even if the new league is a random amalgamation of old NBIL-1, NBIL-2 and BCSL-American teams.
The Ramsey boys claimed their second consecutive outright league title (third in a row overall), holding off Pascack Valley in a fierce race that came down to a scant few points. This may have been the strongest division in North Jersey, given that both squads won their respective Group championships at the Bergen County tournament, both advanced to the State team finals, and both fielded the two top shooters in Bergen, seniors Kyle Landau (Rams) and Brian O'Flaherty (PV).
Meanwhile, the Bergenfield girls did as TM quasi-predicted in this very corner of the blogosphere last season — the Bears won their seventh straight league championship, with the last three all coming in different conferences (NBIL-2, NBIL-1, Big North-Patriot). Again, Pascack Valley played a pretty mean second fiddle... in fact the Indian girls finished with the exact same divisional record as the boys, which is a slightly eerie coincidence.
And now, for the tasty tidbits from the "Odds & Ends" page of the stat pack: River Dell junior Max Barnett finished the season with 9 straight 200-plus games... In 16 matches, Kyle Landau opened up with a 200 game on 13 occasions... the list of most 200 games on the season — (boys) Bergenfield junior Brian DiMarco 26, O'Flaherty 24, Landau 23; (girls) Bergenfield juniors Sarah Esmenda (7) and Cassidy Fiore (4) and Indian Hills junior Emily Ostapczuk with 4... and, always a fan favorite, the highest "low games" of the year belonged to Landau and O'Flaherty (tie, 160) and Esmenda (133).
Final random nuggets: Pascack Valley junior Tim Frantin rolled a 300 against Tenafly on Jan. 11, becoming the first Big North-Patriot bowler to do so (although DiMarco bowled a perfecto in this leagues quote-unquote "predecessor", the NBIL-2, last season)... although Mahwah struggled this season, junior Kevin Knapp had the team's high average (155) and their lone 200-plus game, a 214. Senior Esther Kim and freshman Allison Homler tied for the Lady T-Birds' high game (184)... nickname of the year may have to be Ramsey freshman Tyler Suser, who goes by "Doc" on the overhead screen (a play on the pronunciation of his last name — think Dr. Seuss). The Landau twins' handles of "R-Lanny" and "K-Lanny" seemed to be fan favorites as well, so much so that Indian Hills dubbed junior anchor Bridget Pyryt "B-Lanny". Go figure...
At any rate, congrats to coach Bill Chesney and the Rams, and to coach Conklin and the Bears, for claiming the inaugural Big North-Patriot titles. The stats:
FINAL STANDINGS (Points Won-Points Lost-Team Average)
| Patriot Div. - Boys | W | L | Avg. |
| Ramsey | 55 | 5 | 957 |
| Pascack Valley | 52 | 8 | 952 |
| Indian Hills | 40 | 20 | 881 |
| Tenafly | 28 | 32 | 861 |
| Bergenfield | 20 | 40 | 836 |
| River Dell | 13 | 47 | 774 |
| Mahwah | 2 | 58 | 714 |
Boys high game: Tim Frantin (PV), 300
Boys high series: Brian DiMarco (B'field), 566 (2 games)
Boys All-League 1st Team w/averages: Brian O'Flaherty (PV), 225.93; Kyle Landau (Rams), 225.81; Brian DiMarco (B'field), 220; Max Barnett (RD), 211; Sam Fogelgaren (T'fly), 203; Marc Solangon (B'field), 199; Ryan Landau (Rams), 198.
Boys 2nd Team w/averages: Joe Farinelli (PV), 197; Tim Frantin (PV), 195; Jerry Azzolini (IH), 188; Andrew Wierzbicki (IH), 185; Jarrett Floyd (Rams), 184; Graham Mulligan (IH), 182; Ethan McGowan (T'fly), 176.31; Andrew Trinidad (B'field), 176.22; Pat Mercogliano (IH), 175.54.
Boys Honorable Mention: Josh Burke (B'field); Eliot Sackler (T'fly); George Kim (RD); Perry Starr (Mah.); Mike Shine (PV); Ronny Wagner (IH); Bryan Boyd (Rams).
********************************** | Patriot Div. - Girls | W | L | Avg. |
| Bergenfield | 56 | 4 | 742 |
| Pascack Valley | 52 | 8 | 686 |
| Indian Hills | 38 | 22 | 643 |
| Tenafly | 25 | 35 | 610 |
| Ramsey | 15 | 45 | 585 |
| Mahwah | 14 | 46 | 570 |
| River Dell | 10 | 50 | 538 |
Girls high game: Emily Ostapczuk (IH), 268
Girls high series: Emily Ostapczuk (IH), 447 (2 games)
Girls All-League 1st Team w/averages: Sarah Esmenda (B'field), 176; Emily Ostapczuk (IH), 173; Cassidy Fiore (B'field), 168; Bridget Pyryt (IH), 159; Claire Reiser (PV), 154; Emma Taylor (T'fly), 146; Samantha Griffenkranz (B'field), 144.
Girls 2nd Team w/averages: Danielle Volpe (PV), 139.93; Danielle Hayes (B'field), 139.56; Sky Davenport (PV), 139.18; Ashley Delaney (PV), 132; Jodi Iannantuano (RD), 131.93; Nicole Schielzo (B'field), 131.00; Carolyn Donnelly (Rams), 129.
Girls Honorable Mention: Melissa Schielzo (B'field); Melissa Ehrlich (T'fly); Sarah Lee (RD); Alise Strauch (Mah.); Maggie Campbell (PV); Harveen Kaur (IH); Laura Dosch (Rams).
Please e-mail any/all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
Finally, a league where The Messenger doesn't have to get used to some drastic name change. What remains of the old BCSL-American Division has become the Big North-American, which this winter bowled at various houses and typically had crossover matches with the Big North-Patriot.
In the boys division, Dumont emerged as champ behind seniors Austin Bonacum and Marc Reimann — both left-handers, and therefore both sure-fire Parker Bohn III All-Stars. Although give credit to Ridgefield Park... the Scarlets not only made the league a close race, they also finished higher at sectionals and had senior Sean Carmody place 12th in the State individually. Come to think of it, third-place Westwood finished higher than both its chief rivals at Counties, so basically all three of them can claim some sort of bragging rights.
For the girls, Westwood brought home the title in a division that was rife with Q-power... the Cardinals had junior Chelsea Qualliu in their rotation, and runner-up Dumont featured senior Qynn Pascual. (See? This is what happens when TM can't get to any league matches and all he can comment on are his favorite letters). And hey, Cliffside Park hung in there too, thanks to league average leader Nicolette Brenner — who, incidentally, placed 6th at Counties for the second straight year. *Those* are the types of random factoids you'll find only on the NJBB!
Anyhow, congrats to coach Mark Ferrara and the Huskies, and to coach Dan Rattacasa and the Cardinals, for claiming the inaugural Big North-American crowns. The stats:
FINAL STANDINGS (Points Won-Points Lost-Team Average)
| American Div. - Boys | W | L | Avg. |
| Dumont | 30 | 10 | 875 |
| Ridgefield Park | 28 | 12 | 888 |
| Westwood | 25 | 15 | 856 |
| Fort Lee | 15 | 25 | 735 |
| Cliffside Park | 2 | 38 | 598 |
Boys high game: (TIE) Sean Carmody (RP) & David Daniels (FL), 278
Boys high series: Carmody, 492 (2 games)
Boys All-League 1st Team w/averages: Sean Carmody (RP), 216; Austin Bonacum (Dum.), 203; Christian Sontag (WW), 197; Nick Keim (RP), 193; Marc Reimann (Dum.), 191; Andrew Cirillo (WW), 181; Ryan Perez (Dum.), 178.
Boys 2nd Team w/averages: Nick Cytowicz (Dum.), 177; David Daniels (FL), 175; Kei Kase (FL), 174; Mike Benaquista (WW), 171; Dakota Krokus (WW), 170; Dan Buttacavole (RP), 165; Kerlyn Cortinas (RP), 164.
Boys Honorable Mention: Eric Blakeman (Dum.); Ammad Quirashi (FL); Vinnie Bucceri (CP); Ian Woods (RP); Bobby Grimaldi (WW).
********************************** | American Div. - Girls | W | L | Avg. |
| Westwood | 37 | 3 | 690 |
| Dumont | 26 | 14 | 667 |
| Cliffside Park | 25 | 15 | 651 |
| Fort Lee | 10 | 30 | 586 |
| Ridgefield Park | 2 | 38 | 529 |
Girls high game: Mary Schneider (WW), 254
Girls high series: Nicolette Brenner (CP), 490 (2 games)
Girls All-League 1st Team w/averages: Nicolette Brenner (CP), 177; Mary Schneider (WW), 166; Yeliz Inalman (FL), 154; Kirsty Flores (Dum.), 142; Kristen Bonacum (Dum.), 140.18; Kelsey Nobile (WW), 140.14; Chelsea Qualliu (WW), 137.
Girls 2nd Team w/averages: Kristen Connolly (WW), 134; Melissa Reimann (Dum.), 133; Kamber Chaiken (Dum.), 131; Kristen Fernandez (Dum.), 128; Qynn Pascual (Dum.), 124.92; Tiffany Ebanks (WW), 124.88; Sarah Ann Martello (CP), 121.
Girls Honorable Mention: Justine Valdez (FL); Sabrina Johannemann (CP); Chin-Kyong Kim (RP).
Please e-mail any/all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
In Peanuts-speak, The Messenger would use the rubric: "It's an NBIL reunion, Charlie Brown!" For all intents and purposes, the old NBIL Division 1 reformed as the Big North-National, minus Bergenfield and Wayne Hills.
Fair Lawn rejoined the others after a one-year "exile" to the stopgap NJTCC and came back with a flourish, winning the girls division title. For the boys, Northern Highlands added to its banner year, bringing home a league title for the first time since– we're not really sure. The Highlanders had a bowling team back in the 1970s, dropped it somewhere along the line in the early '80s, then resurrected the program about eight years ago. So, to borrow a page from TMQ's book of nomenclature, we can say it's the first league championship for Northern Highlands Release 2.0.
Congrats to coach Matt Markman and the Cutters, and to coach Rich Smith and the Highlanders, for claiming the inaugural Big North-National crowns. The stats:
FINAL STANDINGS (Points Won-Points Lost-Team Average)
| National Div. - Boys | W | L |
| No. Highlands | 36 | 4 |
| Ramapo | 32 | 8 |
| Fair Lawn | 21 | 19 |
| Old Tappan | 10 | 30 |
| Demarest | 0 | 40 |
Boys All-League 1st Team w/averages: Mike Carr (R'po), 221.5; Billy Olszewski (NH), 211.1; Kevin Macchia (R'po), 203.8; Ben Schuckman (FL) 195.2; Eric Sibbald (NH), 195.1; Josh Taylor (NH), 187.8; Nick Rossi (NH), 187.7.
Boys 2nd Team w/averages: Matt Brown (FL), 182; Victor Stickna (R'po), 174.7; Ray Geller (OT), 172.7; Tyler Kammen (R'po), 171.8; Nick Fasolo (R'po), 170.9; Scott Royse (OT), 169.6; Brendan LoDolce (FL), 168.1.
Boys Honorable Mention w/averages: Chris Keane (NH), 166.5; Joe Haverilla (OT), 155.6; Ian Wiese (Dem), 143.3; Shawn Kerestes (FL), 142.3.
***************************** | National Div. - Girls | W | L |
| Fair Lawn | 38 | 2 |
| No. Highlands | 20 | 20 |
| Demarest | 17 | 23 |
| Ramapo | 15 | 25 |
| Old Tappan | 10 | 30 |
Girls All-League 1st Team w/averages: Denise Marain (FL), 157.84; Nicole Munczinski (FL), 153; Ellie Schuckman (FL), 144.87; Tiffany Lee (Dem), 142.38; Shannon Rossi (NH), 140.58; Chelsea Lawlor (FL), 131.50; Carly Bonsignore (R'po), 129.03.
Girls 2nd Team w/averages: Jen Do (R'po), 128.91; Cassandra Weisman (NH), 127.04; Yoojung Kim (Dem), 119.63; Kristina Barila (OT), 115.93; Emily Sposa (OT), 115.83; Cari Gaynes (Dem), 114; Trisha Gregory (NH), 114.
Girls Honorable Mention: Jessica Oviedo (FL); Lauren Scheck (R'po); Amanda Mamunes (NH); Shannon McBride (OT); Mina Choi (Dem).
Please e-mail any/all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
Made up primarily of former NNJIL/NJTCC-Bergen denizens, the Big North-Freedom featured a good, close race on the girls side and a not-so-close one on the boys side. Most everyone in this division called Bowler City home, but again, with the amorphous mass that is the new Big North Conference, almost everybody bowled in at least two or three different houses this year.
Anyway, The Messenger was a bit surprised to see Hackensack mixing it up with the big boys at tournaments this year since, well, he was under the impression that the Comets had lost a few key components to graduation. Having observed facts to the contrary, he is not surprised that they are the inaugural boys champs of the Freedom Division.
The girls league chase featured a great battle between Bergen Tech and Ridgewood. The latter got the best of the former at Counties and State sectionals, but the Knights eked out the division title in perhaps the most literal sense — they won both meetings, 3-2, and according to the Maroon folks, the first match-up between the two was decided by something like 8 pins.
Again, with the Big North's decentralized bookkeeping this year, the NJBB was unable to accrue quite the depth and breadth of stats it so ardently pursues. Also, please note that all BN standings we have will include ONLY intra-division matches and *not* crossovers. Nonetheless, TM is happy to be able to present the All-League selections along with the standings:
FINAL STANDINGS (Points Won-Points Lost-Team Average)
| Freedom Div. - Boys | W | L |
| Hackensack | 34 | 6 |
| Ridgewood | 20 | 20 |
| Teaneck | 20 | 20 |
| Paramus | 14 | 26 |
| Bergen Tech | 12 | 28 |
Boys All-League 1st Team w/averages: Rob Gilbert (H'sack), 205.91; Dean Edwards (BT), 193.07; Dylan Laloo (Tea), 190; Dalton Dupree (Tea), 190; John Draney (H'sack), 189.94; Justin Stumpf (Tea), 188.3; Kevin Skettini (R'wood), 185.25.
Boys 2nd Team w/averages: Gordon Chen (Par), 185.1; George Steffani (BT), 184.3; Shane Sassone (Par), 183.5; Kevin Muldoon (R'wood), 180.5; Justin Morin (Tea), 180; Kevin Hamza (H'sack), 177.78; Takuya Tokunago (Par), 176.6.
Boys Honorable Mention: Christopher Cannon (H'sack); Jordon Kotellos (R'wood); Michael Vacarro (Tea); Yuki Ito (Par); Kevin Toledo (BT).
Boys Coach of the Year: Bob Lotz (Hackensack)
***************************** | Freedom Div. - Girls | W | L |
| Bergen Tech | 36 | 4 |
| Ridgewood | 34 | 6 |
| Hackensack | 20 | 20 |
| Teaneck | 5 | 35 |
| Paramus | 5 | 35 |
Girls All-League 1st Team w/averages: Belle Estee Dante (BT), 184.3; Nyasia Williams (BT), 181; Shelby Taylor (R'wood), 179.83; Nicolette Maggiolo (R'wood), 171.19; Jesmarie Reyes (BT), 163.2; Kelly Skettini (R'wood), 162.83; Kendall Tinston (R'wood), 160.67.
Girls 2nd Team w/averages: Rachel Healy (H'sack), 158; Sarah Chirichella (BT), 153.4; Brittany Hovan (Par), 153; Kim Ercolino (BT), 152.43; Brenda Griepenberg (Tea), 150; Stacie Harewood (H'sack), 149; Kelsey Sarro (H'sack), 142.
Girls Honorable Mention: Alex Ptak (BT); Gwen Widicus (R'wood); Cindy Navaro (H'sack); Marissa Guilianti (Par); Billie Jean Kureck (Tea).
Girls Coach of the Year: Joe Prenenski (Bergen Tech)
Please e-mail any/all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
As promised, both NJIC divisions that call Wallington Lanes home have been given their own unique season-recapping entries. Rest assured, The Messenger is and always has been a team player... but, as anyone who's ever grown up in a house with multiple siblings knows, it's nice to get some individual attention every once in a while.
Again, quick overview the current Patriot Division residents and where they finished in their 2010 leagues: Bogota (5th in BCSL-Olympic), Hasbrouck Heights (6th, Olympic), Hawthorne Christian (8th, Olympic), North Arlington (3rd in BCSL-National), Palisades Park (9th, Olympic), Park Ridge (3rd, Olympic), St. Mary of Rutherford (2nd, National), Wallington (4th, National) and Wood-Ridge (1st, Olympic). Sadly, Ridgefield dropped its program this season, and just after TM moved into the borough... to avert future occurrences of such an unfortunate circumstance, he plans never to move back to his old home towns of Franklin Lakes or Midland Park for any reason — or, to any other town with a high school bowling team in this state.
As with our NJIC-Colonial review, all of the NJIC-Patriot's top scorers for the season are listed below, but we will reserve this paragraph for the top shooters on their respective teams that did not make any of said lists... HASBROUCK HEIGHTS: Mark Robinson, 186. HAWTHORNE CHRISTIAN: Isaac Marcinuk, 161. NORTH ARLINGTON: Matt Glarner, 182. PALISADES PARK: Kevin Lee, 160. WOOD-RIDGE: Craig Jasionek, 179... special 180-plus mention also for St Mary's Evan Downey (180 even)... special random mentions for Hasbrouck Heights' Matt Marinelli (171), whose father just celebrated a milestone birthday (39 was it?), *and* for the almost-aptly named Giuseppe Tartaglione of Wood-Ridge — yes, he only bowled one game in the league (142) and two in the North 1A sectional tournament (167, 165), but c'mon, how often do reporters get to cover athletes that have (almost) the exact same name as we? Or, at least a similar name to TM's alter ego.
Anyway, congrats to head coach Blair Boscarino and the Park Ridge Owls for swooping up the inaugural NJIC-Patriot championship. The stats:
FINAL STANDINGS (Points Won-Points Lost-Team Average)
| NJIC - Patriot | W | L | Avg. |
| Park Ridge | 78 | 2 | 754.7 |
| St. Mary (Ruth.) | 67 | 13 | 772.3 |
| Wallington | 52 | 28 | 703.9 |
| Wood-Ridge | 51 | 29 | 682.6 |
| North Arlington | 32 | 48 | 612.4 |
| Hasbrouck Hts. | 31 | 49 | 622.4 |
| Hawth. Christian | 22 | 58 | 595.7 |
| Palisades Park | 14 | 66 | 584.2 |
| Bogota | 13 | 67 | 544.7 |
High game: Dan Wuhrman (Park Ridge), 290
High series: Dan Wuhrman (Park Ridge), 510 (2 games)
Boys high average: 1. Dan Wuhrman (PR), 212.68; 2. Mike Wuhrman (PR), 205.33; 3. Stephen Marciniak (SMR), 202.34; 4. Nikko Deliantis (SMR), 195.68; 5. Chris Ferrara (Wall.), 195.56; 6. Rey DeJesus (SMR), 193.34.
Girls high average: 1. Jaclyn Yurus (HC), 148.65; 2. Leeann Butterfield (HC), 128.29.
Joe Fiegel Sportsmanship Award: Chris Ferrara (Wallington)
Please e-mail any/all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
Wallington Lanes was home to this reincarnation of the old Bergen County Scholastic League — in fact, the erstwhile BCSL National and Olympic divisions essentially became the NJIC Meadowlands and Patriot divisions, with only slight modifications.
Granted, both new leagues still bowl together and have their stats kept by the same folks, but The Messenger decided to shake things up a bit and give each one their own recap.
Before we get into this year's final numbers, a quick review the current Meadowlands Division residents and where they finished in their 2010 leagues: Becton (6th in BCSL-National), Harrison (7th, National), Leonia (4th in BCSL-Olympic), Lyndhurst (5th, National), New Milford (2nd, Olympic), Queen of Peace (whoops, they came over from the BCSL-American, couldn't find the standings), Rutherford (also BCSL-American) and Secaucus (1st, National).
As with our NJIC-Colonial review, all of the Meadowlands' top scorers for the season are listed below, but we will reserve this paragraph for the top shooters on their respective teams that did not make any of said lists... LEONIA: Robert Zimbaldi and June Park, 180. NEW MILFORD: Matt Trento, 168. HARRISON: Robert Archibald, 160 (boys) and Adrienne Middleton, 142 (girls)... special mention also for Becton's Seif Fahmy (191) and Paul Kuprat (188), Lyndhurst's Paul Ulrich (184), Rutherford's Brandon Moore (190) and Secaucus lefty Austin Masser (196 and automatic induction into the Parker Bohn III All-Stars) for averaging over 180.
Congrats to head coach Marc Caprio and the Becton Wildcats for claiming the inaugural NJIC-Meadowlands championship. The stats:
FINAL STANDINGS (Points Won-Points Lost-Team Average) | NJIC - Meadowlands | W | L | Avg. |
| Becton | 63 | 7 | 778.9 |
| Lyndhurst | 53 | 17 | 759.4 |
| Rutherford | 47 | 23 | 726.6 |
| Leonia | 39 | 31 | 690.2 |
| Secaucus | 38 | 32 | 689.2 |
 | 30 | 40 | 693.3 |
| New Milford | 7 | 63 | 587.8 |
| Harrison | 3 | 67 | 527.1 |
Boys high game: Austin Masser (Secaucus), 279
Boys high series: Dean Hansen (Becton), 502 (2 games)
Boys high average: 1. Hansen, 208.53; 2. Max Gruttaduria (Ruth.), 204.41; 3. Dante Iyer (Sec.), 199.86; 4. Joe Bocage (Bec.), 199.48; 5. Kyle Bonser (Lynd.), 198.57; 6. Bryan Valentin (QP), 198.25.
Girls high game: Lexus Lopez (Lyndhurst), 278
Girls high series: Nikki Villani (Lyndhurst), 463 (2 games)
Girls high average: 1. Lopez, 196.53; 2. Villani, 179.94; 3. Taylor Maurer (QP), 171.13; 4. Katherine Lee (Leo.), 161.42; 5. Krystal Toledo (NM), 147.21; 6. Sarah Schrenzel (NM), 146.42.
Please e-mail any/all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
The NJIC-Colonial brought varsity bowling back to Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park this winter. Once upon a time, an Official Brother of The Messenger bowled for Indian Hills (circa 2000-03) when the old NBIL was stationed at Parkway and lane conditions were often, um, subpar.
In recent years, the lanes at Parkway have been redone, and it sure looks like the scoring has gotten a boost, at least for some. *And*, point of order, an Official Cousin of TM bowled for the Midland Park JV there this season — although the general NJBB rule of thumb is that if you carry an average lower than The Messenger (127... ish), we'll "spare" you (ahem) the indignity of being so noted. Sorry, Joe — if you really want a name drop, try starting your own blog and challenging TM to some kind of showdown, a la his pal Hanna Jane.
Anyway, this division is basically the former Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League, plus the addition of a first-year program at former B-PSL member Glen Rock, plus NBIL expatriate Pascack Hills. And wouldn't you know it? Head coach Glenn Priddy's Cowboys ran away with the first-ever NJIC-Colonial championship, winning every match and dropping just one game all year to runner-up Pompton Lakes, which had its streak of four consecutive league titles come to an end.
All the season's top scorers are listed below, but for the benefit of those teams whose top bowlers did not make any of said lists, here are the top shooters from said squads... POMPTON LAKES: Nick Oddo, 179. MANCHESTER: Justin Floyd, 171. ELMWOOD PARK: Chris Meyerhoffer, 157. MIDLAND PARK: Kyle Cairns, 139.
FINAL STANDINGS (Points Won-Points Lost-Team Average) | NJIC - Colonial | W | L | Avg. |
| Pascack Hills | 88 | 2 | 912.2 |
| Pompton Lakes | 70 | 20 | 847.2 |
| Glen Rock | 67 | 23 | 811.3 |
| Garfield | 60 | 30 | 792.4 |
| Hawthorne | 49 | 41 | 738.1 |
| Manchester | 48 | 42 | 724.9 |
| Eastern Christian | 27 | 63 | 614.8 |
| Elmwood Park | 24 | 66 | 644.0 |
| Midland Park | 12 | 78 | 588.4 |
| Mary Help | 5 | 85 | 566.3 |
Boys high game: Jason Prezant (Pascack Hills), 300
Boys high series: Bryan Kist (Pascack Hills), 556 (2 games)
Boys high average: 1. Kist (PH), 228.06; 2. Tyler Blind (Glen Rock), 215.19; 3. Jake Rollins (Glen Rock), 204.87; 4. Prezant (PH), 204.44; 5. Peter Bruinooge (Hawthorne), 182.83; 6. Shaun Dunning (Garfield), 181.46.
Girls high game: Elizabeth Mulcock (Eastern Christian), 246
Girls high series: Elizabeth Mulcock (Eastern Christian), 391 (2 games)
Girls high average: 1. Mulcock (EC), 144.70; 2. Natasha Edwards (Garfield), 142.90; 3. Marla Auslander (Glen Rock), 135.46; 4. Sarah Butera (Manchester), 128.84; 5. Paula Redmon (Mary Help), 128.31; 6. Tiffany Badawy (Glen Rock), 128.22.
E-mail any and all corrections to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
Had the chance to head up to T-Bowl II in Wayne on Monday -- a place The Messenger had not been since his days of covering bowling for the Suburban Trends up in Kinnelon some 3 or 4 years ago. Actually... that's a bit of a white lie. TM still contributes to the Trends from time to time, and since they asked him to put together something on how their area teams fare at the ['snow-stponed'] North Jersey Sectional girls tournament today, he decided to check out the last day of league play at the old house, for old times sake. Granted, there was a new league there this year, but whatever.
First, hats off to the Wayne Hills boys and DePaul girls for claiming the first and last North Jersey Tri-County Conference Passaic Division championships. I was well aware the Spartans had Colette Malyack (a The Record Athlete of the Week earlier this winter) at their disposal, but to win a league title in your first year of existence as a team? Honestly, I don't recall them having a separate girls division in the old Northern Hills Conference, it was a coed league as long as I knew it... if I'm wrong, correct me. Either way, whale of a job by coach Jerry Fazzio getting his team off the ground.
As for the boys from Hills -- we'll write all about them but cannot, for NFL rivalry-related purposes, type their nickname in this space -- consider that they were in an entirely different league (NBIL) in an entirely different house (Holiday Bowl) last year, and they just came right in and dominated. By TM's count, they lost one match all year, finishing 19-1 and 115-25 in points. Their lone loss? The other "newcomer" to the league, Clifton, which finished third behind WH and DePaul. The Mustangs also had a 1-point lead on the DePaul girls in the win column heading into the final day, but they had a bye, the Spartans took all 7 points from West Milford, and that was all she wrote.
(New! Standings/leaders added 3/25/10)
FINAL NJTCC STANDINGS (Points Won, Points Lost, Team Average) | Boys Division | PW | PL |
| Wayne Hills | 115 | 25 |
| DePaul | 101 | 39 |
| Clifton | 90 | 50 |
| Passaic Tech | 90 | 50 |
| Wayne Valley | 88 | 52 |
| West Milford | 78 | 62 |
| Lakeland | 78 | 62 |
| Passaic Valley | 77 | 63 |
| Passaic | 39 | 101 |
| Kennedy | 14 | 126 |
| Eastside | 0 | 140 |
High game: Tim Scott (WM), 300
High series: Greg Corradi (DePaul), 803
High averages: 1. Scott, 222.0; 2. Corradi, 210.9; 3. Rich Gutches (PCT), 207.8; 4. Ryan Kattine (WH), 203.5; 5. Matt Guarino (PV), 203.1; 6. Dom Pascucci (WV), 202.7; 7. Corey Burtwell (PCT), 200.5.
***************************** | Girls Division | PW | PL |
| DePaul | 129 | 11 |
| Clifton | 123 | 17 |
| Passaic Valley | 110 | 30 |
| Lakeland | 99 | 41 |
| Eastside | 76 | 64 |
| Wayne Hills | 64 | 76 |
| Passaic | 54 | 86 |
| West Milford | 47 | 93 |
| Passaic Tech | 37 | 103 |
| Wayne Valley | 25 | 115 |
| Kennedy | 4 | 136 |
High game: Michele Sadkin (PV), 278
High series: Sonja Shirak (Clifton), 731
High averages: 1. Shirak, 209.4; 2. Colette Malyack (DePaul), 198.2; 3. Sadkin, 168.7; 4. Amelia Silvestro (Lakeland), 160.5; 5. Rebecca Dykstra (DePaul), 160.3; 6. Rebecca Nemeh (DePaul), 156.1; 7. Isabelle Nemeh (DePaul), 146.4.
*****************************Sorry, no team averages. They weren't listed on the sheet and I didn't quite have time to calculate them all based on the scratch pins listed. Maybe some other time...
As always, e-mail corrections and such to NorthJerseyBRG@gmail.com.
The title of this entry is fitting for several reasons. 1) As was the case with the North Jersey Tri-County Conference's predecessor last year, it took a couple of days to put the final update together, but I was able to make it out to Bowler City for NJTCC-Bergen Position Day on Wednesday (as I write this, it's now the weekend. But hey, it's not like the final standings changed, and being snowbound in Seaside gave me a chance to finally get caught up on my blogging). Plus, 2) the final standings of the state's lone one-and-done league bore striking resemblance to those of the old NNJIL. So, we do lose the element of surprise a bit — and, come to think of it, that reminds The Messenger of one of the top stories from said NJTCC Position Day.
As chronicled by TM's alter ego at this link, Ridgewood head coach Dick Bennett earned his 100th win in boys bowling in fairly exciting fashion. The Maroons beat St. Joseph, 5-2 in the match, taking total wood by a count of 2,055 to 2,025. In fact, the wood was tied entering the 10th frame of the final game. A late turkey by senior Kevin Clough helped Ridgewood rebound from about an 80-pin deficit midway through, and freshman Kevin Clough (217–560) clinched the victory before senior anchor Mitchell Scher put a bow on it by striking on his final league roll. In the setback, the Green Knights got some nice efforts from Kevin Walters (211–576) and Jack Perez (222–568).
But, as stated, that was just one of the top stories. Congratulations to the Bergen Catholic boys and Immaculate Heart girls for "repeating" as league champs (even though it was technically a different league this year, and there was only one division each for both boys and girls in the NJTCC).
BC entered the Position Round with a relatively safe eight-point lead on Fair Lawn but put away the Cutters, 7-0, just for good measure behind a 213–559 from leadoff man Charles Long and a 224–633 from anchor Rob Grippo. Well, maybe "put away" is a bit misleading, since FL got a 246 from Ryan Cauwels and a 221 from Chris Auld in Game 1 and only lost by one pin, 803-802.
IHA, meantime, was its usual dominant self, going 13-0 in match play and losing only one game all year (courtesy of Bergen County quarterfinalist Bergen Tech). Since there were an uneven number of teams in the league, the Blue Eagles were one of two teams that ended up bowling against their own averages for Position Day — which, if you want to look at it this way, technically means that IHA beat itself, 7-0. TM is far too confused by such a notion to delve into it further, but how about Colleen Blake rolling a pair of 199s and Nicole Linder with a solid 207–586?
P.S. The other team to "bowl itself" was the Paramus boys, who finished 9th out of 9 but, over the course of this season, always seemed to perform much better than they used to anytime The Messenger saw them. Michael King started things off with a 244 and southpaw Neil Sheth (Parker Bohn III All-Star alert!) helped the Spartans' 7-0 "victory" with a 205–606. It's a shame this team won't be at sectionals, I really thought they made some great strides this year.
Ok, time for another dip in... The Stream of Consciousness: Don Bosco anchor Vin Siekierski put together a clean 225 in Game 3, only to be outdone by Teaneck anchor Joshuah Romero, whose 255 capped a 673 series and a 5-2 Highwaymen win. Of course, the Ironmen did have to bowl without senior Ryan Cobb — something about a "National Signing Day," where he was indisposed inking a "Letter of Intent" to play football at Virginia... over on the Teaneck girls' score screen, The Messenger spotted a bowler named Billie Jean K. — why wasn't she bowling against the boys? — alright, it turns out the "K" stood for "Kurek," but she had a 166 in Game 2 trumped at least a few of the boys scores on the day. That said, let's move on before TM is asked to turn in his Man Card... Shot-of-the-day candidate: lefty Gwen Widicus picked up a 7-9 split in her first game for the Ridgewood girls, and fellow port-sider Shelby Taylor helped seal a 5-2 Maroons victory over Fair Lawn with a 235 in the finale. Also, at the risk of being sent to awful-pun purgatory, "Ridgewood" will be known as "Closewood" for the rest of this entry, since the girls' margin of total pinfall (1,735 to 1,710 for FL) was even narrower than the boys' margin against St. Joe's... and how could we forget to mention Bergen Tech's George Steffani? He began Game 1 with 9 conescutive strikes before leaving a flat 10 on his 10th ball. The end result: a 278 and a house-leading 679 series for the day, leading the Knights to a 5-2 win over Hackensack. In fact, BT faced Hackensack in the girls' Position Round, too, and the Knights won that match 5-2. Told you the title of this entry was fitting...
FINAL NJTCC STANDINGS (Points Won, Points Lost, Team Average)
| Boys Division | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Bergen Catholic | 95 | 24 | 781.7 |
| Fair Lawn | 80 | 39 | 776.5 |
| Bergen Tech | 69 | 50 | 728.0 |
| Hackensack | 58 | 61 | 718.0 |
| Don Bosco Prep | 57 | 62 | 734.5 |
| Teaneck | 55 | 64 | 702.8 |
| St. Joseph Regional | 44 | 75 | 697.7 |
| Ridgewood | 42 | 77 | 696.2 |
| Paramus | 39 | 80 | 683.5 |
High game: Ryan Cobb (DBP), 296; 5 other bowlers tied for 2nd @ 278
High series: Cobb, 748; Auld was 2nd with a 739
High average: 1. Auld, 215.25; 2. Grippo, 209.61; 3. Steven Patchen (BT), 206.06; 4. Mike Parsons (BC), 200.71.
***************************** | Girls Division | PW | PL | Avg. |
| Immaculate Heart | 89 | 2 | 685.1 |
| Bergen Tech | 58 | 33 | 591.4 |
| Hackensack | 57 | 34 | 600.9 |
| Fair Lawn | 51 | 40 | 567.3 |
| Ridgewood | 38 | 53 | 545.6 |
| Paramus | 18 | 73 | 460.5 |
| Teaneck | 11 | 80 | 441.7 |
High game: Linder, 265; Taylor Strothman (IHA) was 2nd with a 244
High series: Linder, 689; Strothman 2nd with a 633
High average: 1. Linder, 212.72; 2. Strothman, 171.28; 3. Blake (165.0); 4. Adriana Stapelman (FL), 162.59.
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Looks like it's going to be a busy week ahead — at the moment, The Messenger is planning on being at the NJTCC-Passaic finale tomorrow; he will definitely be at the North Jersey girls sectional tournament at its new, snow-postponed time of 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 9) at Bowler City. Which, if we were better at bumping this site's Twitter account, you may have already known about.
That said, be sure to check out the NJBB's Twitter page at http://twitter.com/NJBRG for game-by-game updates of the North Jersey girls sectional finals on Tuesday! See you on the other side...
–TM
To help fill the gap between the end of County tournament time and the start of Sectional tournament time in North Jersey, The Messenger has begun to make a habit of checking out a number of league finales in the area — and this season, some leagues are ending quite literally.
Congratulations to King Division champion Garfield and Carpenter Division champ Pompton Lakes for winning the final titles in Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League history. Lots of nostalgic feelings at Fair Lawn Lanes on Tuesday — well, at least for TM, since this was the first league on which he ever reported — although its descendant that begins play next season, the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, will take over Fair Lawn as its home alley.
For Pompton, the Carpenter title was its fourth straight and fifth in the last five years, and once again the Cardinals got it done in impressive fashion: they went 15-1 in matches (75-5 in the points standings) and lost only two games all year. Anchor Jason Scott had himself a day with a 225-243–468, solidifying his 206 average, which ranked first in the division and second in the B-PSL. He also recorded the league's high game (277) of the season.
Garfield, meanwhile, entered the position round already assured of its King title, but I'm sure the Boilermakers were happy to dish out a bit of poetic justice to Manchester, which beat them out for the division championship on the last day of last season. Lefty Raphael Sanchez (Parker Bohn III All-Star alert!) had the high series for Garfield, going 181-218–399 to lead a 5-0 victory over the Falcons. Manchester senior Jaylin Floyd, who has enjoyed a brilliant four-year career, ended with an uncharacteristic 352 series, but may find consolation thusly: he took home league awards for high average (210) and high series (516) and still has the North 1-B sectional tournament to look forward to on Feb. 13.
And now, because The Messenger is an equal-opportunity blogger (and because he just got a sweet idea for another NJBB meme), we'll close the book on the B-PSL by taking a dip in:
The Stream of Consciousness... After starting off the season 4-6, Hawthorne put together a strong finish, winning 5-of-6 and sweeping its last three opponents. Peter Bruinooge (203-182–385) led the way on Position Day, and in beating the same opponent twice in the last two matches, three different Bears rolled deuces, including Michael Young (202) and Kevin Grudzinski (200) on Feb. 1. Who was their victim in those two matches?... Elmwood Park, which came within 16 points of winning its last game against the Bears in the finale but fell short. Still, one could use the old "goes-around-comes-around" chestnut, since in the first Position Day meeting between these two teams on Jan. 12, EP anchor Alex Cheski tossed his best game (256) and series (448) of the season... Midland Park enjoyed a bit of a resurgence this winter, winning six matches and finishing second in the Carpenter Division. Of course, that also meant the Panthers had to bowl Pompton four times (including Position Rounds), but in Tuesday's finale, senior Shaun Cairns stepped it up with a 190-200–390, throwing two strikes and an 8 in the 10th frame to reach the coveted double-century mark. Has The Messenger mentioned that the next 200 game he shoots will be his first?... After Immaculate Conception dropped its bowling team in 2008, Mary Help of Christians stepped in to assume the mantle of the B-PSL's "girl power" team. The Blue Jays won their first Position Day game against Eastern Christian before falling, 3-2. Anchor Lauren Sedeyn had a sweet 2-6-10 split pickup in the 10th frame of Game Two, while MHCA's Paula Redmon was one of the more enjoyably expressive bowlers to watch on the day (TM loves players that remind him of, well, himself)... however, it is the Eagles of Eastern Christian who get the last word, and for the following reason: sophomore anchor Elizabeth Mulcock had the honor of rolling the last ball in B-PSL history — it was a strike. THAT is how you write a final entry in the history books!
FINAL B-PSL STANDINGS (Points Won-Points Lost-Team Average)
King Division
| PW | PL | Avg. |
| Garfield | 68 | 12 | 855 |
| Manchester | 51 | 29 | 770 |
| Hawthorne | 39 | 41 | 730 |
| Elmwood Park | 31 | 49 | 662 |
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Carpenter Div.
| PW | PL | Avg. |
| Pompton Lakes | 75 | 5 | 902 |
| Midland Park | 26 | 54 | 661 |
| Eastern Christian | 24 | 56 | 652 |
| Mary Help | 6 | 74 | 632 |
One final note: Tuesday not only marked the end of the B-PSL, it also brought to a close the commissionership (if that's a word) of Andy Antista, who served the league for many years and got a well-deserved round of applause at the conclusion of the awards ceremony. Incidentally, he was also the first coach The Messenger ever interviewed in his bowling-reporting career — in essence, if you want to trace back to the roots of the NJBB's creation, he is the one to blame! And by "blame," I mean "thank"; rarely have I had as much fun covering a sport as I have with bowling. Thanks, Coach...
–TM
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