Originally I figured I'd have to compile complete results and post them, but instead I will refer you first to nj.com's story and full results. A hearty 'thank you' to Matt Bove for taking the bowling coverage seriously here in the postseason. So all that leaves is whatever stray observations I can make about what happened.
GROUP I
No surprises at the top; Pompton Lakes and Hudson Catholic were just considerably better than everyone else here, and both have a chance to place high at the TOC. The hidden story here is Harrison, who blew way, way past their 138 season average to shoot 2254 (150 avg). Steven Rodrigues, who only recently began bowling with the team, shot a nice 504 to key the performance.
GROUP II
Sussex Tech was the unshocking winner, but the battle for 2nd was everything it could have been, with Hawthorne surviving Wallkill Valley by a single stick. Girls aren't eligible for sectional prizes, so it may have been easy to miss Madison Perry's huge 660 to lead Hawthorne to the TOC berth. Perry would have to wait for Saturday and do it all over again to earn an individual spot (spoiler alert: she was successful.)
GROUP III
Another clear winner (Wayne Hills) and another great battle for 2nd. And another co-ed team led by a huge series by a female bowler stole the TOC spot. This time it was Sparta and their anchor, Jaime Golden. Golden shot 657, the Spartans defeated West Milford by just five pins, and she also would make it stick on Saturday by advancing as an individual.
GROUP IV
Dickinson was one of the favorites in a wide open sectional, and Matt Burzynski and Ray Ramos left no doubt, firing 772 and 688. The battle for second came down to a pair of HCIAL rivals: the St. Peter's Prep team we expected to be in the mix, and a Bayonne team that was a nice surprise (though, to toot my own horn, I did label them a good darkhorse). Rashee Coe put on a great show, shooting a big 667 that dwarfed his 168 season average. They came up 34 pins short, but deserve a lot of credit here.
INDIVIDUALS
It's tough to do this without seeming to minimize really good bowling, but several of the qualifiers were just doing what they do all season. It's impressive, it deserves credit, but it's not exactly breaking news. We covered Burzynski and Ramos and Coe. Sussex Tech's Tim Zayac shot a great 712. His teammates Joey Steele and Pat Danielson, along with Michael Polanco of Passaic, Johann Gamo and Joe Paolillo of Clifton, Steven Neri of Wayne Hills, and Kevin O'Mara of St. Peter's Prep were all mentioned in the preview. That leaves Donovan Battistus of Kearny, who didn't get a mention last week, and blew the doors off his 179 average with a 693. That's a story. Well done.
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