GIRLS CENTRAL JERSEY
Saturday, February 4 at Bowlero (Carolier), North Brunswick
New for 2017
Colts Neck is entered; they weren't in 2016. Middlesex, Mater Dei and Long Branch chose not to enter after competing last year. Carteret and Matawan dropped from G2 to G1. Middletown South dropped from G3 to G2.
Ranked Teams Participating:
#4 Ocean Township (G2), #10 Edison (G3), #14 Monroe (G3), #15 Howell (G4), #16 Freehold Twp (G3), #19 Woodbridge (G3), "Next 10" Manasquan (G1), "Next 10" Carteret (G1), "Next 10" South Plainfield (G2)
GROUP I
defending champ: Mater Dei
A new champion will be crowned in 2017, and the field is pretty open, but two teams look to be ahead of the pack. First up is Manasquan. To be fair, their scores the last few weeks haven't been up to their usual standards, but I still think they have the strongest 1 through 5 in Group I. Senior Sara "300" Smith leads the way with a 185 average, and Anna Foo has had a very solid season, sitting at 173. Behind them, Tara Ulbrich, Tilly Marks and Orla McBride come in between 138 & 145. That's half the battle in Girls Group I: there's fewer bodies for everyone, but you can't have a spot or two with a 95 average and be competitive. The Warriors survived a season in the very strong Shore Conference, and I'd expect them to survive this as well.
Right there with them is Carteret. The Ramblers have put up some of the top series in the GMC this season, and they've done it with exceptional balance. They're not flashy at the top: Ashley Espy's 162, Allison Russel's 150 and Nicole Zorrilla's unnaturally consistent 155 are their best. But this team competes: they went 60-12 in GMC play and shot as high as 2581. If anyone is this grouping has a chance to run away with it, it's Carteret.
Shore North A took this thing last year, so why not Matawan? They've outscored Manasquan and Carteret both at recent tournaments. They're gonna run five girls out there who average around 130-150, topped by Laura McConnon's 152, and if one of those top two teams has a rough day, the Huskies have enough firepower to take advantage.
South River's numbers are a bit back of the top three, and their tournament experience doesn't jump off the page, but the fact is that seven of the eight teams in this sectional bowled last Thursday, and South River had the best total by nearly 100 pins. And they beat Carteret 3-1 to boot. Elena Feggulis leads the Rams with a 165 average.
Finally, Keyport has a solid top two in Chrissy Snyder (164 avg) and Madison Kutschman (168) and their total numbers are only a bit behind the others, so a different surprise from Shore North A isn't out of the question.
South Hunterdon, St. John Vianney and Keansburg round out the field.
GROUP II
defending champ: South Plainfield
#4 Ocean Township is a very strong favorite here. They won the LB Wave tournament, had the best qualifying score at the Monmouth County, came in a strong 4th (behind state 1-2-3) at the CJWC, have thrown 2 sets over 2800 in the last week, and feature arguably the top 1-2 punch in New Jersey, with Jenn Ingulli (209 avg) and Dana Henry (202, won the South Jersey singles), not to mention a rapidly improving Alexa Tieto and a solid 4-5 in Emma Sylvia and Maribella Ferraina. The Spartans have seemingly been chasing a shot at a state title all season, and they're just one step away from that chance.
There are a couple of legitimate contenders for 2nd, but I think the best choice may be Colts Neck. They may not have a superstar, but Morgan Gitlitz is having an excellent Freshman season, averaging 175, Erica Dugan (165 avg) has been very solid, and the Cougars seem to be bowling the best they have all season: they made it to the Baker finals at Monmouth and fired their highest set of the season (2375) just last week.
Defending State Singles Champ Lanasia Neal has been fantastic all season for defending sectional champ South Plainfield, averaging 206 and just rolling over the GMC singles tournament, and she's gotten some help from Hallie Bisgaard and Chelsea Alers. A solid split with South Brunswick in their most recent match, and the 2302 total, tells me the Tigers are still in the mix.
Laryssa Fiore has paced Colonia this season with her 172 average, and the Patriots have reached the upper 2300s a few times this season, so they've got a puncher's chance. Ewing's numbers are a little behind the other contenders, but since mid 2300s may get somebody to Bowlero, Ewing's a solid darkhourse pick.
Wall, Middletown South and Iselin Kennedy are longshots to be in contention.
GROUP III
defending champ: Edison
This is a pretty loaded field. Actually, Group III is probably the strongest field in each of the three sectionals. Anyway, we've got 4 top 20 teams competing for only 2 TOC spots, and there's talent all around. But you've got to call the defending champs, #10 Edison, the favorite. The Eagles have had a great tournament season: 2nd at the James, 7th at CJWC, winning the Romer and 2nd at the Simon Baker. Couple that with a tremendous regular season (58-2) and an amazing consistency: they seemed to shoot 2550 or so in nearly every match. Samantha Salzone has had a really brilliant senior season, averaging 189 and firing a pair of 600s in GMC individual qualifying. Touri Holmes (172), Samantha Osiadacz (154), Victoria Johnson (163) and Fabriane Jean-Denis all seem to share that day-after-day consistency. I'm really impressed with this team.
But. There's a challenger from within the GMC (different division) that has plenty of talent of its own, a star of its own, and may be just a little hotter. Monroe went 49-3 (all records unofficial) in their regular season, and is peaking at the exact right time: 2632 in a sweep of a good Carteret team last week. After a tough December, Bridget Bolan has been performing at an all-state level since New Year's, averaging over 200. Victoria Stasicky is bowling the best she has all season as well. Ashley Borsuk is much better than she was back at the beginning of the season. Shannon Glynn's been improving non-stop since her first appearance in January. Those four plus Senior Nicole Ehrmann have grown into a formidable team that all of Group III needs to watch out for.
Then again, maybe #16 Freehold Township, currently tied for the Shore Central B division lead, is the team to fear. Clare Chaffer (189 avg) and Freshman Sarah Orensky (191, plus individual gold at Monmouth) are good enough that a solid performance by the rest of the lineup, led by Victoria Parinello, could push the Patriots past the other contenders.
Finally, we reach a team that beat both Monroe and Edison at the CJWC: #19 Woodbridge. Their 2524 at CJWC seemed to come out of nowhere, but the 2427 they hung on Colonia last week and a fine performance at the Woodbridge tournament means they're a contender here. Barrons' Senior Deanna Calantoni has had an excellent career, and Samantha Sclafani and Meagan Raimondo have been bowling very well lately.
North Brunswick's got a very good bowler in Junior Trinity Gray, but their top series this season has been 2364, and I think that's likely to come up a little short against this bunch.
New Brunswick, Sayreville and Manalapan complete the list of teams.
GROUP IV
defending champ: Howell
This is probably 3 teams for 2 spots, with one more having an outside chance, but #15 Howell is the defending champ and a solid favorite. The Rebels share the Shore-South-B lead with twin sister Freehold Township, and feature a strong top 2 in Amanda Dorner and Madison Gibson, both averaging around 184, as well as a rotating group of six girls that fill in around those two with solid, series-building games with no true weak link. Howell has had a strong tournament season, including 4th at the James and 11th at both CJWC and Snowball. They've run their series up to 2559. Their T5 is 792, which is 50+ pins clear of the field in this sectional. Very solid favorites.
South Brunswick's Emily Alvarez has been nothing short of fantastic for South Brunswick in 2017, highlighted by her 300/750 back on January 3, which led the Vikings to a 2451, their season high. Kirsten Thorne is very capable of contributing sold scores herself, as is Kayla Maharaj. Running down Howell is tall order, but this group has been solid all season (10-4-2 in matches) and has enough ability to earn a trip to States.
Franklin has the ability, too. Finishing a strong second to Warren Hills in the Skyland, Franklin's Shyann Hester was the top non-WH bowler in the league at 175, and shot a huge 287 game in December. Malayah Jennings (163 average) is capable of shooting a bunch of strikes herself. The Warriors match South Brunswick's numbers across the board: it's all about who has it on Saturday.
Their numbers are a step behind that top three, but East Brunswick has to be give an outside chance here because at the CJWC, the Bears outscored South Brunswick and were only 27 pins behind Franklin, and that event was on these same lanes.
Hunterdon Central's Jillian Dambres and Old Bridge's Stephanie Sanders have the ability to make some noise as individuals, but their teams, along with Piscataway, JP Stevens and Watchung Hills, have to be considered longshots.
INDIVIDUALS
Hayley Connelly of Raritan (a Sam Houston State signee) and Brittany Lucci of Hamilton West are entered as individuals. Each made the State TOC last year, with Connelly finishing 10th.
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