CREAM RISES; WOODBRIDGE BRINGS IT HOME
Sorry this took a few days; had some trouble compiling full results. Unending gratitude to tournament director Mike Mitchell for getting me copies of all the scoresheets.
This event was kind of strange in that nothing especially strange happened. Every single Group champion was either the favorite or co-favorite, every winner is probably the best team in the group, and every runnerup is probably the second-best. There were great performances and some good drama, of course, but this kind of relative chalk walk is rare in bowling compared to other sports just by the nature of the game. Anyway.
Good amount of media coverage:
nj.com
Greg Tartaglia on behalf of North Jersey
Tartaglia Part II
hs-bowling blog
My Central Jersey
GROUP I
There was a pretty clear top half after game one; favorite #7 St. Rose shot out front with a 1029 game, but Roselle (at 1007), Matawan, North Arlington and #13 Hudson Catholic were within striking distance with only 75 pins between first and fifth.
St. Rose went big again with 1061. Hudson Catholic (1047) and Matawan (1004) were bowling extremely well and still had a chance going into the final game. But the Roses wouldn't give an inch.
Alijah Fontanez fired a 681 series to help Collingswood to a set more than 200 pins over average and a surprising sixth place finish. Bishop Eustace finished in seventh place, and got a great 664 set from Zach Young.
Michael Milligan shot 624 on the way to Pompton Lakes's eighth place finish. Leonia took ninth and Johnson finished in tenth despite a 611 from Andrew Beach.
Two of Roselle's three games were very good, and the total earned them fifth with good scoring from Austin Torres (613), Luis Torres (611) and Joshua Loeb (668). With three bowlers over 600 - Eric McKenna (676), Brandon Barth (626) and Liam Henkel (617) - North Arlington cleared 1000 in the final game to post a very strong 2916 set, which was nevertheless only good enough for fourth place in this strong group.
Hudson Catholic cemented their status as one of the best teams around with a third-place 2934 set, getting big numbers from Ashook Persaud (611), Jivan Persaud (644) and Geoffrey Origenes (654). Matawan, whose top two was brilliant - Aaron Reingold at 709 and Zach Grillo at 683 - completed an absolutely outstanding tournament season with a Group-high 1062 game and a 3048 set.
But the day, and the 2017-18 season, belonged to the St. Rose Purple Roses, who finished off a spectacular, consistent performance: 1029-1061-1048=3138. They were the best team in Group I all season, and this State Championship was built one step at a time over several years, culminating in this senior-dominated group all performing exceptionally well on the biggest stage. Vinny Mastria used a big 256 in game two to lead his team at 666, followed closely by everyone else: Joey Chiusano (636), Jarrett Toth (627), Carter Vanderslice (611) and David Schuld (598). The truest team effort of the year. Well done, gentlemen.
GROUP II
Defending champs #11 Sussex Tech jumped ahead early with a big 1082 behind Joey Steele (255) and Danny McNeilly (279), but nearly the entire field started well, led by Mahwah (1023) and #5 St. Joseph's (1006). Game two, however, separated the true contenders as Sussex Tech and St. Joe's pulled 91 pins clear of the field, with Tech only 35 pins ahead.
Game three was high drama. In about the sixth frame, the top two were essentially even, and stayed that way until the tenth frame. St. Joseph's finished with a 958 game, helped tremendously by Conor Quigley's 242 (605 set), but Pat Danielson (229, 601 set) and the Mustangs never blinked, carding a 1011 game, a 3077 set, and earning their third consecutive state title, the first Group II team to ever do so.
St. Joseph's had a fantastic season and came up just short against a tough, talented group. John Reggio led the Falcons at 660, with John Hoban (608) and Quigley (605) also putting up good numbers.
Mahwah had a really brilliant day, shooting way over their average to claim third place in Group II. John Picciano (613) and Liam Barron (608) led a balanced effort. Jackson Liberty had an absolutely amazing game three, shooting 1071 behind Justin Bohn's front-nine 279 (635 set); Preston Williams (654) helped the Lions take fourth place at 2884.
#20 Seneca was right behind at 2883, with an absurdly consistent match, both game-to-game and bowler-to-bowler. Cole Ludwikowski had the only 600 (607), but all five were over 540. Jesse Kim (642) and Derek Lewandowski (600) helped Ridgefield Park to sixth.
Union Catholic was over their heads all day; Goldera Surles shot a brilliant 640 to carry them to seventh. #9 South Plainfield bounced back from a very rough start to post 984-928; Angelo Salici fired their top score at 619.
Adam Gelvan's 630 was ninth-place Montville's highlight, and Harrison finished in tenth.
At this point, I think we have to accept that Sussex Tech just knows how to do this - build momentum, get better, win matches, win tournaments, win the state title. They're incredibly good at it. Steele (707) and McNeilly (671) led the way, but if they hadn't been on fire, I'm sure Matt Grey or one of the Danielsons would have. It's always someone. And that's the mark of a phenomenal team, one who's won three in a row and whose top three bowlers are underclassmen. Get used to them.
GROUP III
#3 Woodbridge was the favorite, and the favorite started red hot, coming out with a massive 1115 game fueled by Jason Bilawsky (247) and Jeremy Soto (235). #4 Toms River South (1007) and #8 Brick Township (994) certainly bowled well, and Manalapan and #12 Wayne Hills could still imagine a big run could get them back in it, but this was in danger of being a runaway.
Runaway didn't happen, because even though the Barrons had another good game (1012), a handful of the other teams did even better. Brick Township shot 1035 to get back within 98. TRS was hot, pulling to within 69. And #19 Linden went nuts, shooting 1074 (Matt Soto 247, Darius Lewis 235) to get within a striking range with a huge finish.
But nobody could make a game three run; nobody but Toms River South. The Indians kept things tight with their third straight 1000+ game and posted a fine 3079 series. That forced Woodbridge to keep making shots, and keep making shots is exactly what they did, never slowing down with a 1058 closing game and a 3185 series, the highest in the building on the day.
TRS's tremendous season ended with a runnerup finish - four starters shot six - Kyle Oliveri (657), Nick Brescia (640), Andrew Xiques (603) and Kevin DiBernardo (603). Next was Brick Township, far ahead of the rest of the field, shooting 2969 for third place. Three Dragons shot six: Nick Gross (614), Kyle Chirichello (612) and Stephen Spirio (602).
Linden's fine season was complete with a more-than-respectable fourth place finish in a strong field. The Tigers accomplished this result despite not a single 600. I think that makes it even more impressive. Justin Peters led Linden at 583. fifth through tenth was remarkably close, with all six teams within 75 pins.
Jordan Tse put up a solid 638 set as Demarest took fifth, followed by Wayne Hills. The Patriots didn't have their best day, but Matt Klarberg managed 606.
Just a single pin back was West Milford (the final chapter of that rivalry was the closest), led by Mike Nicholas's 610 set. #18 Morris Knolls was a bit below their usual standings (despite Joey Lamont's 628) but put up a solid 2723 for eighth.
It was unfair to expect Manalapan to repeat their amazing sectional appearance (though Justin Korman did well at 630) or for Bergenfield to compete with some of the best teams in the state, but both proved them belong in high level tournaments, shooting 2709 & 2675 respectively.
Woodbridge's fantastic 3185 set only included two games over 237 - both by Jason Bilawsky, who shot 688. That's how deep and broad the talent is here: James Stoveken shot 679, John Drost 664 and Jeremy Soto 605. A 106-pin win at this level, against opponents this talented, is quite an accomplishment, one of many for this Barrons team. They've been good enough to compete for a championship pretty much every year in memory, but this is the first time it worked out for them in six years. They certainly earned it.
GROUP IV
St. Peter's Prep and #2 Brick Memorial broke 960. Howell and Union were just under 1000 and Pascack Valley just over. But Daniel Lenk shot 269, Sam Bortnick shot 245, #1 East Brunswick shot 1070, and there was a genuine risk of this becoming "East Brunswick and everybody else".
All ten teams broke 920 in game two, and SIX teams broke 1000. Group IV had it working. Union, Pascack, and St. Peter's were all over 2000 total, with Howell and Memorial just under. But it hardly mattered, because Andrew Mai shot 258, Daniel Lenk hit the front nine for 278, East Brunswick blew out a 1095, sat at 2165 total, and nobody was within 125 pins of them. It was "East Brunswick and everybody else".
And then, suddenly, it wasn't. Two hundred pins back and mired in sixth place, Brick Memorial started throwing strikes. And then some more strikes. East Brunswick was bowling well, but all of a sudden there was an enormous Mustang in the rearview mirror. Brick Memorial just kept throwing strikes. East Brunswick finished game three at 1015, carding a very impressive 3180 set, and then had to wait, because somehow, against all odds, Brick Memorial entered the tenth frame of game three still with a mathematical chance to win.
It didn't quite happen, that comeback for all time - miracles rarely do - but Brick Memorial proved why it's such a phenomenal tournament team, posting an amazing final-game 1173 to end up in second place by only 40 pins at 3140. Everybody contributed to that big final game: Cameron Waldheim (235), Michael Guzman (244), John Boughton (224), Alec Hehir (239) and Brandon Byrnes (231). I know they would've preferred the win, but it was a special way to conclude the season. Boughton finished at 646 for the day, Guzman at 669 and Waldheim with a sizzling 724.
Clifton and Livingston both bowled well - Clifton had Sean Cruz shoot 600 and Joe Paolillo put up a huge 715, while Livingston's Michael Liu fired 671 - but neither is quite deep enough for this level. Lenape (Amar Patel 622 and Brendan Kelly 603) and Ridgewood (Jayden Fraiman) were both right around their averages and finished at seventh and eighth, respectively.
All three girls on the best co-ed team in the state were over 600, as Kiara Powell (629), Samantha Valle (620) and Lacey Beall (606) led Union to a 3015 set, which, incredibly, was only good enough for sixth. Second year in a row the Group IV field has really put up tremendous numbers. St. Peter's Prep carried the Hudson County banner just as proudly as Hudson Catholic did in Group I and took sixth place at 3019, getting good scores from Maverick Lindo (630) and Nick Cocciadieferro (627) and an outstanding effort from Jared Ammugauan, who shot 726.
Pascack Valley had one of those performances that is utterly fantastic in a totally hidden way. Despite missing one of their four horsemen, 205-averaging Scott Morris, due to injury, and despite bowling in a four-bowler league that doesn't lend itself to developing much depth to begin with, the Indians came through in a huge way, shooting 3023 to take fourth place.
Howell finished a wonderful postseason run with a huge 1099 in the final game, posting a 3071 set to take third place. Gus Horvath shot a nice 679 while Brian Garofano continued his own personal assault on the postseason with a 705 set, Many other days, that 3071 would've been right in contention.
Some season for the East Brunswick Bears, huh? The dominant force in high school bowling all year had a bit of a sweat at the end, to be sure, but they earned the hardware with some outstanding bowling. Andrew Mai finished at 651 and Sam Bortnick posted the same score. And the best bowler all season, for the best team all season, had the best day in the tournament. Daniel Lenk finished with a 269-278-238=785, more than 50 pins clear of any other individual. The entire Bears lineup, which also includes Matt Mai, Armen Shamim and Jack Deruvo, has contributed to the impossibly big scores they've been accruing in 2017-18, but it's sure nice to have an historic season like Lenk's to rely on. I think the best team won, in all four groups.
INDIVIDUALS
Official awards for high series aren't given out, so I'll list the top 10 here
785 Daniel Lenk, East Brunswick
729 Henry Tipping, Pascack Valley
726 Jared Ammugauan, St. Peter's Prep
724 Cameron Waldheim, Brick Memorial
715 Joe Paolillo, Clifton
709 Aaron Reingold, Matawan
707 Joey Steele, Sussex Tech
705 Brian Garofano, Howell
688 Jason Bilawsky, Woodbridge
683 Zach Grillo, Matawan
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
I'm never really sure how to write up these Baker rounds; you can get the scores from the paper, and I'm not going to go frame by frame, so I usually just speed through it.
East Brunswick was a little short of their usual total dominance for about fifteen minutes. That's all it takes for a team as talented as St. Rose to take advantage and the Roses had moved on almost before anyone really realized what was happening.
And that's because, for anyone trying to watch both matches, the Woodbridge/Sussex Tech matchup was incredibly compelling. They went back and forth a dozen times, each squad trading mistakes and brilliant shots. It's not often that a best of five match needs a sixth game.
The final wasn't especially close; I think there may be something to the theory that the sitting and waiting hurt St. Rose's chances a bit. I also believe that if these four teams did this Baker mini-tournament 20 times, it's entirely possible that each team would be the champ five times. They're all really, really good.
But Woodbridge got it done in the moment, they take the trophy home, and they absolutely deserved it. Congratulations to the Barrons, Coach Small, and the parents and friends who've been making dozens of trips to bowling alleys for the past few months.
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