Sectional Wrapup - Girls South

NJ.com story is here.  Full results are here.

GROUP I
Donovan Catholic must have been happy to see a field that didn't include their Shore South B rivals, and pulled away from the competition by nearly 200 pins behind a big game 3 and Liz Schucht's 599 set (on her 162 average).  Beyond that was a different story: Collingswood survived an impossibly close battle with Bordentown and advanced by a slim 3-pin margin, with Bishop Eustace only a bit behind in fourth.

GROUP II
This was always going to be a two-team battle between SSB rivals, and it didn't disappoint.  #9 Lacey finally broke through the #5 Manchester resistance with a pair of 881 games and the fantastic performance of Liz Schreier, who shredded her 178 average with a 652, good for 5th in the sectional. Can't wait for the final round on Friday, where these two will be joined by #4 Ocean Twp and #7 Holy Angels.

GROUP III
No repeat upset for #8 Toms River South; they had to settle for a solid second behind #3 Brick Township, who put up a consistent 2725 to take the sectional title back.  Julianna Forbes huge 685 powered the Dragons.  Lots of credit to an excellent Gloucester Tech team, who finished the season with a very strong, season-high 2454 and were within 28 pins of the higher-ranked TRS squad headed into game 3. Kami Delorenzo will represent GCIT at the TOC, thanks to her 570 set.

GROUP IV
The effect is minimal since both teams will head to North Brunswick on Friday, but #6 Toms River North's win over #1 Brick Memorial to take South Jersey, Group IV is most definitely the upset of the postseason so far.  TRN got a big 697 from Kamerin Peters and, in the latest evidence of how far this team has come, a  sectional-qualifying 594 from 153-averaging Elena Pastestos.  The Mariners pulled out to a huge 108-pin lead and then held on while Memorial came charging back in game 3 behind Jill Stuart (234) and Amanda Shelters (217).  The final margin was just 16 pins.  Can't wait for the rematch.

INDIVIDUALS
Michelle Bello of Pennsauken continues to impress with big numbers in big spots.  She shot 276/731 to take both individual awards and will be a major threat at the individual TOC.  Jackson Memorial's Aimee Sherman is just a wonderful bowler; her 688 is right in line with her talent.  We covered Peters, Forbes, Schreier, Schucht, Patestos, and Delorenzo, Sarah Florence of Cedar Creek is simply a great bowler without a team; her 618 puts her comfortably in the TOC.  Laura Oliver of Central, Katie Robb of Kingsway, Jill Stuart, Caylin Ryan of Brick Township, Jasmine Brodowski and Jackson Liberty, Barnegat's Alyssa Pilovsky, Lacey's Claudia Schreier and Manchester's Kimberly Wolf all got shouts in the preview, and all scored right in range with their abilities. That leaves Toms River South's Mikayla Lane, who simply torched her 159 average with a big 585. Lots and lots of very, very good bowlers came up short in this brutal sectional.