Sectional Wrapup - Girls North

Great coverage by Greg Tartaglia here.

And here.

And Vince's blog here.

And nj.com here.

Advancing teams and individuals are in bold


GROUP I
Mother Seton got out to an early lead, but one game decided very little, as there were SEVEN teams within 50 pins of an advancer spot. Hoboken had a fantastic game two, shooting 744 (by far the best Group I game score on the day) to take over the lead at 1326, with Mother Seton 49 back and Dumont and Pascack Hills another 50 back.

Mother Seton, led by Dominique Liantonio's 160-439, regained control in game three with a group-best 679, giving them a championship with a 1956 set.  Dumont rolled a 651 to give them a runnerup finish and an advancer spot; this school didn't even HAVE a girls team last year. The Huskies got a great performance by Lindsey Buchheister with a final-game 220 and a 519 set.

Hoboken held on for third place, 31 back of Dumont and just four pins ahead of Pascack Hills - who got a nice 467 from Samantha Bravo -  and 13 ahead of Mount St. Dominic.  Hudson Catholic finished 6th and DePaul Catholic 7th.

McNair, Marist and a shorthanded Lincoln team completed the standings.

GROUP II
The leader after one game was #15 Mahwah at 782, but #16 Holy Angels, Indian Hills and Demarest all started out well and this was looking like an extremely competitive race.

But then the defending state champs clicked, and Holy Angels rolled to a big lead with a 920 in game two, and then finished off a fine 2562 series and a sectional championship. Amelia Brunda led the Angels with a 630 set, 4th in the sectional, while Rebecca Sicat (504) and Alexa Hernandez (492) also scored well.

Mahwah claimed the top game three in the group and easily took second place and the spot in the TOC finals with a fine 2450 total. The top Thunderbird bowlers were Michaella Raab (529), Allie Adamski (522) and Justina Kender (490)

Sam Carabetta (482) helped Demarest have a pretty good day; they remained in contention longer than anyone else and finished third.  Ramsey, topped by Angela DiNallo's 495, moved up to fourth, followed closely by Westwood, who got a 471 from Skyla Burke, beat their average by 150 pins and will be getting back to contender status very soon. Indian Hills took sixth, and their star, Rachel Duncan, used a 242 single to score a 613 set and qualify for the TOC.

Paramus finished seventh and River Dell eighth.  Snyder, Ridgefield Park and Tenafly ended up ninth through eleventh.

GROUP III
This was over in a hurry.  Unlike last year, when Teaneck pushed Warren Hills for two full games, this time the defending TOC champs started hot (922), and got hotter (1066), putting together a 2950 set that was the highest sectional total in the state. #2 Warren Hills had the highest score in the building by nearly 400 pins, and actually had the three highest games. Four Blue Strekas qualified for the individual TOC: Samantha Irwin (628, 5th in the sectional), Kelcie Mannon (618), Olivia Ostrander (597), and senior captain Katie Winch (584), who will finish her career with four sectional championships and the highest team score in the North all four years. Jackie Nesbeth was excellent as well, shooting 523.

With first out of reach, there was a scramble for second: #8 Teaneck, #20 Wayne Valley, Paramus Catholic and surprising Fair Lawn and Phillipsburg teams were all within 51 pins after the first game. Wayne Valley pulled away a bit with an 806 game two, but Teaneck pulled away even further with an 871, and the Highwaywomen made it stick, closing with 834 to take the second TOC slot. Mia Aish earned Teaneck's only individual TOC slot, but Gianni Calzadilla (547) and Margaux Lesser (543) each bowled well and were agonizingly close to the cut. Shayna Jimenez chipped in a 511 set.

Wayne Valley placed two in the individual states in Marissa Cosentini (657, third place) and Hayley D'Alessandro (583), and the Indians took third place, 76 pins ahead of Paramus Catholic.  The Paladins got a nice set from Alisha Khan (509) and also had the tournament's top bowler, as Victoria Vucak took the title with an awesome 680 series. Phillipburg took fifth with their highest team total of the season, 2201, led by Marissa Brink (490) and Alyssa Rieger (483).

Freshman Krista Eskow (623) secured a berth in Wednesday's finals, helping Fair Lawn to sixth place, followed by Wayne Hills, led by Leah Rodgers's 472, and Nutley.

Northern Highlands, who got a strong effort from Sarah Bajaj (465), Belleville and a 4-girl team from Immaculate Heart complete the standings.

GROUP IV
Bergen Tech, Hackensack and Ridgewood broke out in game one with Kearny still in striking distance. Ridgewood tossed the best number, 797, in game two, which moved them to second-place behind Bergen Tech, with Hackensack only 57 pins out of an advancing spot.

Ridgewood was the top team again in the final game, posting a 2407 set and taking the Group IV title with an effort that soared more than 250 pins over average. Caroline Gervolino was the top performer for the Maroons, shaking off one bad game to finish 201-216 for a 542 series, and she got some help from Christina St. John (487).

Hackensack, who got numbers from Annie Quinn (523), Arielle Wallace (512) and Donna Lee Graham (545), closed with a strong 819 game, but came up 34 pins short and Bergen Tech took second place and the slot in the TOC, with nice scores from Mamiko Swanson (509) and Samantha Comes (493).

Passaic Tech easily took fourth, and also scored Group IV's only individual qualifier in Maryann Ramirez (570).  Kearny, Passaic (who bested their average by 170 pins) and Bloomfield filled spots five through seven.
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North Bergen was well over average and finished 8th and Dickinson 9th, ahead of shorthanded teams from Clifton and Bayonne.

INDIVIDUALS
A bevy of talented female bowlers entered the tournament as individuals and a half-dozen hit paydirt, earning a trip to the state finals on Wednesday.

Goldera Surles (568) and Kaitlyn Lowey (584) of Union Catholic, Kiara Powell (574) of Union and Jamie Paddock (588) of Montville will all be pulling doubles this week, bowling individual on Wednesday after competing for their boys/co-ed teams in Monday's team TOC.

Lauren Marks (592) of Parsippany, whose school doesn't have a team, makes the state finals for the second time.

And Shaelyn Shadwell of Sussex Tech shot a brilliant 671 set to take second place in the Sectional. Sussex Tech's boys team is loaded, the two-time defending state champs, but Shadwell certainly sent the message that she's ready to help out.