Sectional Wrapup - Boys Central

nj.com sectional story is here. I can't speak to nj.com's rankings (as I commented); would love to see them sometime.  I love rankings.  Were they in the actual newspaper but not online?  Anyone?

Full results are here, courtesy of the amazing Coach Vargas with thanks to TD Tony Bilello. Advancing teams and individuals are in bold.

GROUP I

#7 St. Rose was the favorite here, and they took complete control early with a huge 1086 game, led by Carter Vanderslice's 279 game; he would finish at 679 to take an individual TOC slot. Joey Chiusano (617) and David Schuld (609) would also card 600s to help the Roses to their first title.

#15 Manasquan and Matawan pulled away from the rest of the field and set up a great battle for the second advancer spot, and despite great days from 'Squan's Kyle Bauter (689, TOC advancer) and Dylan Wolfe (630), Matawan pulled off with a big 1062 in game three.  The Huskies were led by Aaron Reingold (615), Ryan Nesbit (653) and TOC advancer Zach Grillo (669).

Middlesex came up short, but their 2745 was a fine showing, with Noah Green (662) making the top 18. Thomas McKeon's 610 wasn't quite enough, as Keansburg finished in 5th.

GROUP II

#9 South Plainfield got off to a hot start (221 games by Angelo Salici and Chris Lacasale) and took the early lead with a 1048 in the first game, with #5 St. Joseph's, Colonia, Carteret and Ewing all breaking 900.  The St. Joe's Falcons took over in game two, however, carding a massive 1099 fueled by Conor Quigley's 244 (he would finish at 651) and Brendan Sosinski's 232 (628) to take a 99-pin lead heading into the final game.  Ewing was the big surprise of game two, firing 1048 to move into third, striking distance from an advancer spot.

St. Joe's closed with a 998 to coast into the title by a large margin, finishing at 3089, with John Hoban (636) and John Reggio (614) adding good sets.  With Collin McBride (235/630) and Stephen Cracchiola (247) going big, Colonia came up with an excellent 1015 in game three, getting up to 2900 and very nearly stealing a TOC spot (also thanks to Will Orak's 601), but South Plainfield, with a balanced effort led by Mike Menkin's 605, did just enough to hold onto second place  at 2917. Ewing's excellent run, led by Chase Springett (604), Justin Macallero (634) and late addition Jim McSweeney (223-236) put them in 4th, while #14 Ocean Township closed strong with a 993 game to finish fifth.

Gavin Rotante led Wall to sixth place with a 600 set. Joseph Abadilla of Carteret shot 684 to earn Group II's only TOC spot. Neputne finished 8th, with star Joey Ocello's 658 set just short of the very high 662 cut, and Kyle Henry managed a 603 for Middletown North.

GROUP III

#3 Woodbridge started off hot and never really slowed down, shooting a big 3170 set and taking the title. John Drost (680) and Jason Bilawsky (671) secured individual TOC slots, wihle James Stoveken (631) and Jeremy Soto (616) also broke six for the champion Barrons.  It was closer than anyone really expected though, and with a hugely surprising runnerup.

Freehold Township and #10 Edison both came out of the game breaking 1020 to sit in second and third after one, but neither could quite sustain it, and they settled for fourth and fifth in the grouping. Freehold was paced by Jeremy Geller's 624 and Tom Laskay's 622, while Joe Banwer (627) and Jose De La Barrera (650) had Edison's top scores.  #16 North Brunswick shook off a slow start to card 1048-1004 to move up to a strong third place finish, with Zachary Leinwohl (665, TOC slot) and Alex Bursac leading the way.

But the story of the grouping, and really the entire sectional, was Manalapan. The Braves shot 988-1095-1023 for 3106 and a TOC slot - miles ahead of anything they had done all season. Adam Natoli (611) and average-leader Justin Korman (633) put up good scores, but it all started and ended with James Quagliarello, who - on his 166 average - started hot, got hotter, and then broke the thermometer with a blistering 220-269-289=778 set, second overall. 280 pins over average seems impossible, but there it is.  Amazing.

Jon Tabacco led sixth-place Sayreville with a 611 set and Christian Brothers' Nick Weichel managed 604.

GROUP IV

Huge scores across the board from Sam Bortnick (733), Daniel Lenk (715), Armen Shamim (665), Jack Deruvo (643) and Andrew Mai (599) pushed #1 East Brunswick to easily the top set of the sectional (3355). The Bears are a force of nature and will be the favorites back at Bowlero next Monday.

Behind East Brunswick, I expected a battle for the second advancer spot, but instead Howell just ran away from the rest of the field, posting 1052-1054-1132 for an exceptional season-high 3238 set, with Howell leaders Brian Garofano (716) and Robbie Wetzel (759) joined by Gus Horvath (642). #17 South Brunswick kept it relatively close - within 83 pins through 2 games - but even their 3073 came up quite a bit short of the Rebels. Anthony Fama (656) had a good day for the Vikings, last year's state runnerup, while SB's Nick Delacruz (706) will continue his season at the individual TOC.

Also a surprise in Group IV was Hunterdon Central.  As I've mentioned, the Red Devils bowl an incredibly hard schedule, with nearly all of their matches in tough conditions, and the results on Saturday were more evidence for that, as they blew away their 170 GA to post a 3012 series. Thomas Mathews (636) and TOC qualifier Justin DeMartin (684) paced HC.

Defending Group III champ #6 Monroe finished fifth, followed by GMC-mates Old Bridge and JP Stevens. Cameron LaPlant led JPS at 633 and Old Bridge's Jason Young hit 600 exactly, while Louis Folgore (616) and Ryley McKiernan (612) led Monroe.  Darian LeMay, whose Franklin team also endures tough scoring conditions, had his second great day at Bowlero, shooting 647.

Derek Jevic finished at 606 for 9th-place Piscataway.

INDIVIDUALS

Steinert's Ryan Carlisi is clearly looking to repeat as state individual champion, winning the sectional title with an impressive 266-259-278=803.  Ethan Matthews, also of Steinert, fired 687 to make the cut as well. Ryan Taylor of Hamilton West (652) and North Hunterdon's Francis Vitelli (611) each cracked six, but were on the wrong side of the cut.