17-18 Preview: Boys Preseason Top 20

Well, this is what we've been building up to. Boys today, girls tomorrow, then we finally get the season started for real.  By the way, thanks to whoever shared a link on Facebook: my hits went absolutely crazy the last few days and I hope you all keep checking back throughout the season.  Leave a comment or send me an email and let me know what you think.

I won't dive into the nuts and bolts of where I came up with these rankings, but this was a lot of work spread out between the end of last season and this week.  I can't pretend I'm sure I looked at every team with a legitimate argument, but I tried.  Probably made a few mistakes too. It won't take long for reality to show where I've succeeded and where I've failed, but if I've got something wrong about a bowler, please let me know.

note: I have made a couple of changes based on information I received after posting, but before the season started. That's why there's a tie at #20 as well.

THE TOP 20 BOYS BOWLING TEAMS IN NEW JERSEY (pre-season)

1. Brick Memorial
Absurd depth and talent mark the Mustangs as #1.  Look for huge years from Alec Hehir and John Boughton, with Michael Guzman, Andrew Varela and Cameron Waldheim all capable of putting up fantastic numbers in any given match. Shore South A is still a minefield- it may be even deeper than last year- but Memorial looks like an absolute powerhouse.  Again.

2. Woodbridge
Really, the Barrons are 1A.  These top two may jockey all season.  They lost some top talent from 2017, but James Stoveken is one of the very best around, and he'll be ably assisted by John Drost, Jason Bilawsky and Joseph Palmer, all of whom can average over 200.  Add in the impending arrival of transfer Giovanni Santiago in January and you have another powerhouse.  Again.

3. Toms River South
The Indians calling card last year was depth, and they still have it. Kyle Oliveri, Jimmy Breslin, Andrew Xiques and Kevin DiBernardo look like an intimidating top four, but TRS could get huge contributions from several others.

4. Brick Township
More depth. I see at least four that might average over 200: Kyle Chirichello, Nick Gross, Chris Shymanski and Steve Spirio.  If one or more jump up to the 210s, or if the seemingly endless pipeline comes up with another high average or two, the Dragons could challenge for the top spot.

5. East Brunswick
The defending TOC champs lost some quality competitors, but they return the very best top-two of any team in New Jersey in lefties Sam Bortnick and Daniel Lenk, plus a handful of very good bowlers like Jack Deruvo and Andrew Mai.

6. Jackson Liberty
Freshman Justin Bohn should have an immediate impact, and Brian Dalmar and Preston Williams look to be much improved, but the addition of transfer Gerard Chidichimo takes the Lions to an entirely new level.

7. Pascack Valley
Four Big North teams make the rankings, and the Indians look to be the strongest, returning four 190+ bowlers in Henry Tipping, Brian Biml, Scott Morris and Trevor Lauber.

8. Sussex Tech
Two-time defending Group II champs lost some talent, but the Mustangs bring back plenty, including one of the very best in Joey Steele, as well as Quinton Johnson and a rapidly-improving Pat Danielson.

9. Monroe
Last year's postseason miracle team will make another run at it behind a pair of juniors: Ryley McKiernan and budding superstar Louis Folgore, as well as one of last year's TOC heroes, Zac Waynor.

10. Ocean Township
Matt Redbord and Doug Rhoades are a pretty fearsome top two as well, and I think the kids behind them who looked good in limited action last year will develop enough to keep OT relevant statewide.

11. Fair Lawn
This could definitely be the Cutters' year: Jake & Tyler Nappi have proven ability, and Nick Greco is an emerging star. Look for a season-long battle with Wayne Hills in the Big North Independence.

12. Southern
There's more to Shore-South-A than the Bricks and TRS: Southern brings back four experienced bowlers with averages over 190: Jack Hudson, Steve Martin, Tom McCann and Jeff Wilkinson.

13. North Arlington
2017's NJIC-Meadowlands runnersup return their entire lineup: Eric McKenna, Brandon Barth, Liam Henkel and Kenny Bennett.

14. Wayne Hills
One of last year's pleasant postseason surprises, the Patriots feature 5 solid starters as well, including Tom Luchetta, Nick Kent, and a much-improved Dylan Heinold.

15. Howell
Four strong starters return from a team that did very well in tournaments last season, including Brian Garofano, Robbie Wetzel, Gus Horvath and Joe Inserra.

16. South Brunswick
Major Group IV contenders in 2017 lost some depth, but still have plenty of firepower in Noah Li, Nick Delacruz and Anthony Fama.

17. Montville
Some amazing seniors are gone this year, plenty of ability remains: Adam Gelvan and Ron Gorai were great in 2017, and promising freshman Ben Sherman should help keep them atop the NJAC South.

18. Lacey
The Shore South B favorites (and defending champs) return four staters: Nick Striffler, Clayton Humcke, John Truland and Brian Huebler.

19. Hudson Catholic
Last year's HCIAL runnersup look like the favorites in 2018, featuring the league's top bowler in Geoffrey Origenes and a very strong lineup including Jivan Persaud, James Pabilonia and Steven Beck.

(tie)20. St. Rose
An excellent top four in Jarrett Toth, Carter Vanderslice, Joe Chiusano and David Schuld make them a true contender in Group I.

(tie)20. Ridgewood
Matt Myers and Brian Skettini lead one of the rare Big North teams that may go a legit 5+ deep. Very dangerous tournament squad.

SIX TO KEEP AN EYE ON

Manasquan
Group I champs lost a ton, but Dylan Wolfe & Kyle Bauter are a strong cornerstone to build from.

Manchester
Kenny Burdge and Justin Villano head a young squad that just may get there a year ahead of schedule.

Neptune
Not sure I have the returnees exactly right, but I think Sean Magauran and Jesse Kifner are the best of a solid group; when Joey Ocello joins them in January they'll be able to compete with anyone.

St. Peter's Prep
Qualified for states in 2017 and return strong top 3 in Jared Ammugauan, Zack Oswald and Lynken Lanting.

South Plainfield
Angelo Salici is a star and Michael Menkin is very good; they'll be competitive in a tough GMC.

Toms River North
James Bolish, Robert Bartley and Josh Burns (the Killer B's?) head yet another top-flight team in the Shore-South-A.

THREE MORE THAT MAY BREAK THROUGH

Edison
Jason Smith, Wyatt Buchany and Joseph Banwer form the core of another solid GMC team.

Indian Hills
May not dominate the Big North again, but with firepower like Ryan McGuire and Jack Miller coming back, I won't bet against them, either.

St. Joseph's-Metuchen
John Hoban, Justin Biancamano & John Reggio return to defend their sectional title.

17-18 Preview: Projected Sectional Favorites

Here are my irresponsibly early projections for the favorites in each of the 32 sectional tournaments that will take place in February.  The vast majority of these are based on objective analysis, but there are one or two that are basically guesses that will make me look stupid before too long.  If you really care, you can extrapolate some of my preseason rankings from this a day early, too.

Please note: this is based on my own projection of what group each team will be in come sectional season. (My full group change projections went up in the "other stuff" post.)  This, as we all know, can easily change based on what schools do or do not enter the sectional tournament.  I'll note the predicted group changes as they affect the favorites as we go.  For entertainment purposes only, as they say.

BOYS NORTH 1A

I - North Arlington
II - Ridgefield Park
III - Pascack Valley
IV - Fair Lawn

Ridgefield Park drops from Group III to Group II.  Fair Lawn vs. Ridgewood may be the marquee matchup here.

BOYS NORTH 1B

I - Hudson Catholic
II - Sussex Tech
III - Wayne Hills
IV - St. Peter's Prep

Dickinson (IV to III) and Hopatcong (III to IV) swap places and each have a chance to advance.

BOYS NORTH II

I - Jonathan Dayton
II - Montville
III - Warren Hills
IV - Livingston

Caldwell drops from II to I, Linden up from III to IV.  Graduation hit this section very hard, and I have less confidence here than in any of the other 7.  Could be wide open.

BOYS CENTRAL

I - St. Rose
II - Ocean Township
III - Woodbridge
IV - East Brunswick

This is the biggest group change I'm forecasting: defending state champs Monroe jump from III to IV and must face defending TOC champ East Brunswick at sectionals, with Howell & South Brunswick also involved.  This may be the 2018 Group of Death.

BOYS SOUTH

I - Maple Shade
II - Jackson Liberty
III - Toms River South
IV - Brick Memorial

Jackson Liberty drops from Group III (TRS and Brick Twp) to Group II, which gives them a better shot at advancing, though far from a lock.

GIRLS NORTH

I - Ramsey
II - Holy Angels
III - Warren Hills
IV - Hackensack

Hackensack moves from brutal group III (WH, Teaneck, Wayne Valley) to become clear favorites at Group IV.

GIRLS CENTRAL

I - Manasquan
II - Colts Neck
III - Edison
IV - Monroe

Just like the boys, Monroe's girls jump to Group IV.  Colts Neck, Ocean Twp, Colonia & South Plainfield make Group II very competitive. Edison vs. Freehold Township is a coin flip, really.

GIRLS SOUTH

I - Collingswood
II - Manchester Township
III - Brick Township
IV - Toms River North

All four of these are very, very tight, with Brick Memorial and Washington Twp (IV), TRS and Central (III), Lacey (II) and a host of Group I schools in the mix.

17-18 Preview: Other Stars & Other Stuff

UNAFFILIATED STARS

There are a handful of high school bowlers in New Jersey that deserve a preview mention despite not having a high school team to be a part of, including our defending boys individual champion.  There are several more very good high school-age bowlers out there, but I'm limiting myself to those that have competed in NJSIAA events.  If there are any more that belong and plan to enter this year, please let me know.

Ryan Carlisi, Senior, Steinert
The 2017 champ hasn't slowed down a bit since February, putting up impressive league scores.  He's definitely a threat to return at states.

Mark Friedman, Senior, Cedar Creek
Second place in the loaded South Jersey sectional in 2017 with a huge 738.

Lauren Marks, Junior, Parsippany
Qualified for individual states in 2017 in a brutal North Jersey sectional field.

Justin Pavlik, Senior, Ridge
Scored a terrific 300/761 in the Central sectional and made the cut at states with a 695 set.

Paige Piombino, Senior, West Morris Central
Finished 2017 with a 187 league average and a runnerup finish in the Morris County tournament.

Francis Vitelli, Junior, North Hunterdon
Second in South Jersey singles, second at Skyland Conference, made the cut at Junior Gold U20 and is the points leader in the NJ JBT.

JERSEY KIDS IN COLLEGE

Figured I'd check out the college ranks and see where the seniors we covered last year ended up.  Women have a huge advantage with bowling as an NCAA sport, of course, and because of the status of nearly all men's teams as "club sports" (despite the very competitive nature of their seasons), it's hard to find rosters, so this is just the girls.  I'm pretty much 100% sure that I'm missing a handful, so help me out here.

Alabama State - Alize Stevenson, St. Mary's
Belmont Abbey - Tori Bird, Brick Memorial; Touri Holmes, Edison
Caldwell - Gabby Pangaro, Clifton; Madison Perry, Hawthorne
Chestnut Hill - Madison Gibson, Howell; Laura Oliver, Central, Kristina Scimone, Eastern
Fairleigh Dickinson - Aimee Sherman, Jackson Memorial; Jenna Henderson, Warren Hills
Felician - Jenn Ingulli, Ocean Township
Franklin Pierce - Deanne Calantoni, Woodbridge
Kutztown - Jaime Golden, Sparta; Dana Henry, Ocean Township, Dorrie-Ann Rizzo, Wallkill Valley
Long Island University - Sarah Florence, Cedar Creek
Madaille - Carla Hansen, Gloucester Tech
Mount Aloysius - Michelle Bello, Pennsauken
New Jersey City - Shea Balmann, Pinelands; Valerie Moore, Old Bridge
Pikeville - Michelle Dekowski, Linden
Sam Houston State - Haley Connelly, Raritan
Vanderbilt - Lauren Potechin, Millburn
Wilmington - Clare Chaffer, Freehold Township; Leah Henry, Cumberland

That's 25 girls from the class of '17 (plus whoever I'm missing) on rosters.  Seems like a pretty good number to me.  Best of luck to all the Jersey girl freshmen (and the 60 or so older girls, too.)

GROUP CHANGES

By looking at the new NJSIAA enrollment figures, I have my PROJECTED groupings for the 2018 sectionals.  These are based on last year's entries, so any change in the entry list can change the groups at the margins; this is far, far from certain.

BOYS NORTH 1A
Park Ridge/Emerson down from II to I
Ridgefield Park down from III to II
St. Joseph-Montvale up from II to III
Queen of Peace (GI) closed

BOYS NORTH IB
Hopatcong up from III to IV
Dickinson down from IV to III
Wallkill Valley down from II to I
Harrison up from I to II

BOYS NORTH II
Phillipsburg (new program) in at IV
Linden down from IV to III
Nutley down from III to II
Caldwell down from II to I

BOYS CENTRAL
Monroe up from III to IV
Watchung Hills down from IV to III
Long Branch up from II to III
Middletown North down from III to II

BOYS SOUTH
Burlington Township up from II to III
Jackson Liberty down from III to II

GIRLS NORTH
Hackensack up from III to IV
Kearny down from IV to III
Phillipsburg (new program) in at III

GIRLS CENTRAL
Monroe up from III to IV
Watchung Hills down from IV to III

GIRLS SOUTH
Burlington Township up from II to III
Jackson Liberty down from III to II

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE BLOG IN '17-'18

The rankings I hope to continue weekly, starting in late December, and all the postseason previews and all-state picks should return.  I probably won't be able to write quite as many regular season updates as last year, unless the score-reporting situation gets a lot better, but I'll do what I can.

I'm ambivalent about the high averages lists, to say the least.  On the one hand, until the all-state lists came out, the top averages posts were by far the most popular on the blog. On the other hand, those numbers are dirty.  At the risk of getting on the wrong side of a few folks, I'm going to explain why.

Using players' conference averages as a basic evaluating tool is problematic for any number of reasons.  Some bowlers get to bowl every single conference game in the same center, while others have to score in two, three, maybe six different places.  Some centers are, of course, much higher scoring than others.  It is extremely probable that there are some bowlers averaging under 210 that, if they got to bowl the same schedule as someone at the top, might average well over 220.  Then we have kids who may average high in-conference but struggle in tournaments and vice-versa.  There's really no way to resolve any of these inherent problems, so I try to acknowledge them and present the data as is.

But there's one other thing that skews the numbers and it's completely avoidable.  Without mentioning any conferences, or teams, and definitely without mentioning any bowlers, there is a practice out there to replace a bowler mid-game when he's struggling and not count the game against his average.  There may be a handful of times when this practice is done to try to win the team point: I think that's legitimate.  But done exclusively to protect a player's average, this practice is, in my opinion, dishonest and it undermines the credibility of every player average involved.  In such a short season (40-60 games), if you have a 200 average bowler and yank him a half-dozen times where he would have shot 150, you bump his average 7 pins.  That's a significant change, and I'm disturbed by both the resulting questionable rankings, and the message it sends both the bowler who got the boost and the bowlers he's now undeservedly ranked above.

To be clear, this practice is, apparently, legal.  I'd love to ask all coaches to stop, but I'm sure that's naive.  I'd ask the NJSIAA to consider stepping in and outlawing the practice; what do you think would happen if a wrestling coach were allowed to pull his star whenever he got behind in the 3rd period, so that he'd be undefeated when districts started?  But the NJSIAA will not consider anything unless the complaint comes from coaches or athletic directors.  I could stop doing the averages list altogether, but that's a baby/bathwater situation, I think, and the majority of the kids on the list aren't affected by these maneuvers. So all I can do is this: if you're reading this and you agree with me, tell your coaches and ADs.  There's no reason we can't get this changed.

Ok, off my soapbox.  A few more preview posts including preseason rankings and then Friday we'll finally get some pins flying around New Jersey.

17-18 Preview: Up & Coming Stars - Girls

As with the boys, this is an unscientific sampling of underclassmen that didn't make an all-state team or honorable mention last year, but have a chance to be a big part of this year's conversation.  The girls underclassmen, however, tend to run in packs, so there are several joint entries with recognition for a pair of bowlers from the same team.

Mia Aish & Margaux Lesser, Sophomores, Teaneck
The biggest part of Teaneck's huge team turnaround in 2017 was this pair of freshmen, who averaged 175 & 181 respectively and are among the best returning bowlers in the Big North conference.

Jasmine Brodowski, Junior, Jackson Liberty
Finished 3rd at the Brick, qualified for individual states and averaged over 200 at South Jersey Singles, and looks to still be improving.

Bridget Bolan, Junior, Monroe
Closed 2017 on a brilliant second half run, with five conference 600s.  Should be one of a handful of top bowlers in the GMC.

Gabrielle Capalad, Junior, Leonia
I don't write about the NJIC-Patriot division much, and I missed this bowler all last year: my apologies. She averaged 173 and put up a 655 set as a sophomore.

Morgan Gitlitz, Sophomore & Erica Dugan, Junior, Colts Neck
The engine behind Colts Neck's strong run at sectionals, both bowlers have been very active in off-season tournaments and have a change to be one of the stronger duos in the state.

Christina Gonzalez & Cristy Sharkey, Juniors, Brick Township
Each of these Juniors, who averaged 175 & 176 respectively in conference matches, will play a key role in trying to return the Dragons to the top spot in Group III.

Samantha Irwin & Olivia Ostrander, Freshmen, Warren Hills
Defending champs lost 3 seniors with 10 years of varsity experience, but these two talented freshmen will help replace that production, with each capable of averaging over 170.

Veronica Lewis, Junior, Brick Memorial
Posted a solid 184 conference average in 2017 on a very deep Mustangs squad; should be a key part of the 2018 team's attempt to stay at the top.

Paige Peters, Freshman, Toms River North
Her sister took the sport by storm last year; now it's Paige's turn.  She has every bit the talent, experience & resume, too, including making the national match play finals at Junior Gold.

Michaella Raab, Freshman, Mahwah
Averaging 170 in the highly competitive Stan Niemec travel league and looks to be one of the stronger Big North girls from day one.

Alexa Tieto, Junior, Ocean Township
She may have started the year in the shadow of OT's 2 fantastic seniors, but by the end of the season she had elevated her average to 180 and won the Central sectional individual title.

Arielle Wallace, Junior, Hackensack
2017's 176 average is belied by an armful of good tournament scores, and she's currently lighting up the Stan Niemec league, so watch for a very big year.

17-18 Preview: Up & Coming Stars - Boys

This is an unscientific sampling of underclassmen that didn't make an all-state team or honorable mention last year, but have a chance to be a big part of this year's conversation.  As always, if you think there's someone worthy of consideration that I missed, especially incoming freshmen, please let me know in the comments or drop me an email at jerseyorangebowling@gmail.com

Justin Bohn, Freshman, Jackson Liberty
The son of hall of famer Parker Bohn III has been terrorizing local, regional and national tournaments for several years and I wouldn't expect him to slow down any time soon.

Trevor Deliantis, Junior, Becton
Second with a 206 average in the NJIC-Meadowlands as a sophomore, he's been the top bowler on Lodi's travel league entry this season.

Kyle Chirichello, Sophmore, Brick Township
Was one of the top freshmen in New Jersey last year, with a 206 Shore-South-A average and a 2nd place finish at the Brick Tournament

Johann Gamo, Junior, Clifton
Had a pretty good argument for all-state consideration last year after averaging 208 in-conference and shooting big numbers at North Jersey Singles and the Passaic County tournament.

Michael Guzman, Junior, Brick Memorial
The Mustangs have so much talent hat sometimes a very good bowler like Guzman gets overlooked, which would be a mistake: 205 conference average in 2017 and 7 tournaments averaging over 200

Tom Luchetta, Sophomore, Wayne Hills
Joined the Patriots' starting lineup late, but made his presence felt with the best frosh average in the the Big North at 203.

Joseph Mahoney, Freshman, Park Ridge
They call him "Hammer", apparently, and he's been lighting up the Stan Niemec travel league.in advance of his first high school season.

Thomas McKeon, Junior, Keansburg
Struggled a bit in 2017, but an excellent bounce-back candidate to return to the form he showed as a freshman, when he averaged over 210.

Eric McKenna, Junior, North Arlington
Possibly Deliantis's top competition in the NJICM, he had a near-identical 206 average and heads a team with enough talent to take over as well.

Ryan McIntire, Junior, Toms River East
Averaged over 209 in Shore Conference matches as a sophomore.  TRE has enough firepower on paper to make some noise in Shore South A this year.

Geoffrey Origenes, Junior, Hudson Catholic
Secured both the high average (207) and high series in the HCIAL as a sophomore, and leads a team capable of dominating their league yet again.

Chris Shymanski, Junior, Brick Township
Buried a bit on a deep Dragons squad despite a 205 average, his league numbers mark him as a big threat in 2018.

Andrew Xiques, Junior, Toms River South
Showed well in limited opportunity last year, as TRS was one of the deepest teams in recent memory, and looks more than capabale of a big jump in 2018.

17-18 Preview: 20 Returning Stars - Girls

The "returning stars" list is comprised of any bowler not on the preseason all-state list who made one of the all-state teams last year, or made honorable mention, plus a few returning seniors of note.


Theresa Bedaro, Junior, Manchester
Marissa Cosentini, Sophomore, Wayne Valley
Jillian Dambres, Senior, Hunterdon Central
Laryssa Fiore, Senior, Colonia
Trinity Gray, Senior, North Brunswick
Alexa Hernandez, Senior, Holy Angels
Rachel Katz, Senior, Brick Memorial
Autumn Laird, Senior, Lacey
Kelcie Mannon, Sophomore, Warren Hills
Sarah Orensky, Sophomore, Freehold Township
Kiara Powell, Senior, Union
Caylin Ryan, Junior, Brick Township
Ciari Sanchez, Senior, Toms River South
Elizabeth Schreier, Senior, Lacey
Goldera Surles, Senior, Union Catholic
Natalie Swindell, Senior, Toms River South
Victoria Vucak, Senior, Paramus Catholic
MacKenzie Weber, Senior, Manchester
Katie Winch, Senior, Warren Hills
Kimberly Wolf, Senior, Manchester

17-18 Preview: 26 Returning Stars - Boys

The "returning stars" list is comprised of any bowler not on the preseason all-state list who made one of the all-state teams last year, or made honorable mention, plus a few returning seniors of note.

Jared Ammugauan, Senior, St. Peter's
John Boughton, Junior, Brick Memorial
Kenny Burdge, Sophomore, Manchester
Gerard Chidichimo, Senior, Jackson Liberty
John Drost, Senior, Woodbridge
Louis Folgore, Junior, Monroe
Nick Greco, Junior, Fair Lawn
Nick Gross, Senior, Brick Township
Aaron Heimall, Senior, Roselle Park
Alec Hehir, Senior, Brick Memorial
Dan Kenny, Junior, Maple Shade
Justin Korman, Senior, Manalapan
Cameron LaPlant, Junior, JP Stevens
Eric Lawson, Senior, Warren Hills
Daniel Lenk, Junior, East Brunswick
Derek Lewandowski, Senior, Ridgefield Park
Michael Liu, Sophomore, Livingston
Ryan McGuire, Senior, Indian Hills
Robert Murray, Senior, Morris Knolls
Kyle Oliveri, Senior, Toms River South
Ray Ramos, Senior, Dickinson
Matt Redbord, Senior, Ocean Township
Angelo Salici, Senior, South Plainfield
Joey Steele, Senior, Sussex Tech
Nick Striffler, Senior, Lacey
Luis Torres, Sophomore, Roselle

17-18 Preseason All-State Team

Lots of returning talent coming back; none of these names should come as much of a surprise to anyone. Just a note: I decided that freshmen shouldn't be on this list before ever throwing a shot at the high school level, even though there are 1 or 2 out there that probably merit inclusion.  We'll get to them later on the preview calendar.

PRESEASON BOYS ALL-STATE TEAM

Sam Bortnick, Senior, East Brunswick
If the only bowling I'd ever seen Bortnick do was the job he did as anchor in the TOC last year, leading his team to a championship, that might be enough for this spot.  Throw in two full seasons averaging over 220 and it's a no-brainer.

Matt Burzynski, Senior, Dickinson
After averaging 220 in the regular season, the lefty tore up the postseason, carding sets of 772-774-761 over sectionals, team states and individuals, and helping carry his team to a strong 5th place at states.

Anthony Mathis, Sophomore, Cherry Hill East
Just a freshman in 2016-17, Mathis burst on the scene with a huge 219 average and shot 711 to lead his team to the state finals in an impossibly tough sectional. Just missed the stepladder at individuals with a big 734-684.

Joey Ocello, Junior, Neptune
After a fantastic sophomore season that included a 300 game, a 799 series, a 226 average and a runnerup finish in the Shore Singles event, Ocello spent the offseason crushing tournaments, and beating over 1000 competitors in the National Junior Gold U-20 division despite being one of the youngest in the event.

James Stoveken, Junior, Woodbridge
The national career leader in high school 300 games is only halfway through his career, and the idea that he might get even better is more than a little scary.  Stoveken averaged 226 in conference games, won the GMC tournament and the Central Jersey Winter Classic and his four postseason series were 729-760-761-812.  These two-handers are here to stay, huh?

Evan Weinberg, Senior, Jonathan Dayton
Weinberg's been a top flight talent since before he started high school, and he keeps getting better.  In 2017, he raised his average 12 pins to 222, put up good numbers for his team in the postseason (668-671), and made the final stepladder after shooting 738-717 at individuals.

PRESEASON GIRLS ALL-STATE TEAM

Four of the five girls who made the individual stepladder in 2017 are back.  Could be quite a few big scores on the girls' side this year.

Julianna Forbes, Senior, Brick Township
Simply a fantastic tournament bowler, winning the Wheeler, firing 685 at sectionals and 661-714 at individuals as well as winning two stepladder matches.  Forbes' regular season average dipped a bit from her sophomore season, but there's no denying her talent or her presence on this team.

Lanasia Neal, Senior, South Plainfield
One of the best careers in recent memory will end with a victory tour in 2018.  After winning the individual championship in 2016, Neal shot an afternoon 734 to make it back to the stepladder in 2017.  She also had the high series at the James, came in second in North Jersey Singles, averaged 206 in the GMC and won the conference tournament.

Kamerin Peters, Sophomore, Toms River North
After as dominant a freshman season as we've ever seen, including a 215 average and a postseason of 697-722-773-730, what could Peters do for an encore?  Over the summer, she finished 18th in a field of 327 of the best U15 girls in the country, missing the match play finals by just 6 pins.

Katie Robb, Senior, Kingsway
One of the strongest performers in the state for a couple of years, averaging 198 & 201 the last two, Robb really made everyone take notice at individual states, posting 717-670 and a fourth place finish. Showed well at Junior Gold, missing the cut by just 86 pins and besting hundreds of older girls.

Rhianna Smith, Senior, Hopatcong/Mt. Olive
There's no doubt Smith is one of New Jersey's best.  A fluid lefty with strong mechanics, she's made the individual stepladder twice (2015 & 2016), and averaged 197 last season with a handful of 700s, not to mention an excellent tournament track record in non-HS events.

Amanda Shelters, Junior, Brick Memorial
Has already forged a fine career, averaging over 200 and being part of a state championship team, but Shelters really proved her tournament chops at Junior Gold, making the U20 cut after averaging over 186 over 4 days on 4 different sport patterns. Memorial lost 3 more seniors this year; don't be surprised to see Shelters take a huge leap forward.

aaaand we're back.

Today marks the beginning of tryouts and practices for the entirety of New Jersey high school bowling, and I, for one, am pretty excited.

We have 14 high school bowlers returning who made one of my all-state teams, as well as 29 who were listed as honorable mentions.  A bunch of kids were impressive in tournaments over the off-season: Junior Bowlers Tour (New Jersey and Pennsylvania), Central Jersey Junior Girls Challenge, and the national Junior Gold finals in Cleveland back in July.  There's a world of talent here.

I sent out an email blast to every coach in my address book looking to pick up some information about this year's squads, and to make some suggestions & requests for the future, and I've heard back from several (thanks!), but I'll renew the request here and include parents: new bowlers I might not know about, anyone who's made a major improvement, coaching changes, transfers - anything that can help make my rankings fair and accurate is appreciated.  Just as importantly, I want to encourage every single league, conference and division to have a public-facing standings sheet as well as reporting results to nj.com.  Many do, and they're awesome (especially those on leaguesecretary.com), but there are several major bowling conferences that don't have, for instance, player averages available. No other sport seems to conspire to hide their results quite like bowling.  Let's end that.

Another thing that's been hard to find is a listing of in-season tournaments.  I assume that these are communicated between coaches and ADs throughout the state, and that's fine, but a public listing would be great.  The Shore Conference affiliated tournaments are listed on their site (link), so any coaches looking for a tournament should check it out. And any tournament results sent along to me would be great, too.

Anyway, I've been trying to collect as much information as possible before the season starts for real on December 2, working on preseason all-state teams, a list of returning stars, a sampling of up & coming bowlers (including some impact freshmen) and a reasonable guess at a preseason top 20 for both boys and girls.  These will be posted over the next few weeks.

But first, I need to talk about Greg.

My original intention when starting this blog was to remain mostly anonymous, but my own technical stupidity put my name on everything from the jump.  As a result, many, if not most, of you know that my kid bowls for Warren Hills.  We at Warren Hills lost a big part of our family when longtime coach Greg Rottengen passed away in August.  He was 74.

I'd known Greg for about 25 years - first as a competitor when we bowled against each other in leagues in the 90s, then as a coach when he worked a bit with my daughter during Saturday morning leagues at Oakwood Lanes, and finally as a highly successful coach at the high school level.  I didn't know that he taught science for 35 years, or that he had been in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. It was always all about the bowling.

After the age of 50 (and a lifetime of bowling) Greg became a PBA member, competing in many regional and senior events, earned his way into the Morris County Bowling hall of fame with his on-lane performance.and he worked to become a silver-level USBC-certified coach.  Personally, I think the coaching was the high point.  

Decades of bowling experience, technical expertise and an extensive teaching background made him an ideal coach for the kids at Oakwood Lanes.  While Oakwood is the home of Warren Hills bowling, it's also a regional center, and the youth program draws kids from a huge area.  Over the years, Greg worked, at least a little, with kids from Warren Hills, Phillipsburg, Belvidere, Warren Tech, Hackettstown, North Warren, West Morris Central, Sparta, Morris Tech, Immaculata, Voorhees, North Hunterdon, Hunterdon Central and Mount Olive. Probably more.

His work as Warren Hills' head coach was extraordinary.  In a sport dominated by Shore Conference, GMC and Olympic Conference squads, we had this little oasis of excellence at the only bowling program in Warren County.  Greg did exactly what we all say we want from coaches - he was flexible enough to coach each bowler a little differently: laying back when necessary, getting very technical when it was warranted, laying down discipline if the situation demanded it, and being an absolute goofball when the team needed to loosen up.  Greg was named North Jersey or state coach of the year at least four times. In the process, he produced dozens of excellent bowlers, including future college bowlers, all-conference & all-area selections, and a smattering of all-staters. I'm hesitant to start listing names because I'll leave out a whole bunch, but Darren Flynn, Michele DeVries, John Mercurio, Ben & Abby Laws, Justin Walker, Jessica Yerance, Aaron Argondizzo, Elizabeth Hudock, Greg Ryback, Lauren Scholes, Mike Handley, Jenna Henderson, Bobby Collins, Sammie Pearson, Brian Duke, Ryan Stephany, Darryl Price and current seniors Eric Lawson, Avante Wilson and Katie Winch have all made their mark.  Anyway, it was always the team that mattered most, and Warren Hills won 9 sectional championships under Greg, including both the boys and girls teams the past two years, and he finally reached the mountaintop when the 2017 girls won the state Group 3 title and the Tournament of Champions.

The bowling program had a small memorial get-together before school started, and more than two dozen past, present and future Blue Streaks came together to remember Greg; even more attended the memorial at the funeral home.  He meant a lot to the program, and to the kids, and will be missed terribly.

During this most recent run of success for the Warren Hills program, Greg expressed several times how impressed he was with the sustained talent level on the team, that new freshmen kept entering the program ready to contribute, and that the younger kids just keep getting better.  He said more than once how lucky he was to be a part of a program like this.

We were even luckier to have had him.