KAMERIN PETERS' CHAPTER 2 HAS A HAPPY ENDING
Last season, Kamerin Peters took New Jersey high school bowling by storm, dominating the season as a freshmen. She won nearly everything there was to win, broke records in qualifying at the state TOC but lost in the finals to an equally accomplished competitor, Aimee Sherman of Jackson Memorial, by just two pins.
Now a sophomore, Peters wasn't going to let that happen again. Six of the seven games she bowled at Bowlero on Wednesday were 227 or higher; her last three were 257-256-279, which would have been the highest set (790) thrown all season by anyone. There was a lot of good bowling going on in the girls TOC, but very little doubt about who was the best.
GAME ONE
Only sixteen of the fifty-one qualifiers broke 200 in game one. There were some surprises at the top, Hayley D'Alessandro of Wayne Valley (251), Rachel Duncan of Indian Hills (247) and Victoria Parrinello of Freehold Township (243) led the way. Totiana Miranda of Cumberland showed her debut at sectionals was no fluke with a 237 game. Laryssa Fiore of Colonia (225), Trinity Gray of North Brunswick (222), Natalie Swindell of Toms River South (212) and Victoria Vucak of Paramus Catholic (210) were right in contention as well.
There were big changes to come. Seven bowlers outside the cut after one would make the second round. Three bowlers who shot under 175 in game one would make the next round; all three would finish in the top six. It was that kind of day. The cutline was 196 (Kaitlyn Lowey of Union Catholic and Colts Neck's Morgan Gitlitz). It would go higher.
GAME TWO
Kamerin Peters of Toms River North got her first look at the top of the leaderboard with a 258 game to give her a 492 total after two. Amelia Brunda of Holy Angels moved into the top five with a 257, and Miranda stayed hot, shooting 242 to move into third place.
A whole bunch of bowlers came back from subpar first games to score well in game two and get themselves into contention. Warren Hills' Sam Irwin and Sarah Orensky of Freehold each broke 220 but still had some work to do. Former state champ Lanasia Neal of South Plainfield made a 53-pin improvement to 226 while Union anchor Kiara Powell jumped even higher, to 239; each was right on the cusp of the cutline, which sat at 405.
Other big games, and big improvements, came from Caylin Ryan of Brick Township and Lauren Marks from Parsippany, who each put up 246 to move into the top twelve.
GAME THREE
Gut-check time in the middle, but there were plenty of interesting stories at the top. Miranda had taken the lead at 691 with Peters in third at 687. Between them at 689 was the biggest surprise and the best story in the tournament, as Warren Hills freshman Olivia Ostrander had come out of nowhere to shoot 233-214-242=689 and sit among the state's elite.
Brick Township's Julianna Forbes, who made last year's stepladder, was excellent in the opening session, carding 237-236-214=687 to tie Peters for third. D'Alessandro continued bowling well after that big opener and sat in fifth at 679.
Another independent bowler who made her HS season debut at sectionals, Brittany Lucci of Hamilton West, was bowling great again; her opening set of 678 had her sixth, followed by Brunda (666) and Marks (654). Another 2017 stepladder qualifier, Kingsway senior Katie Robb, was in ninth at 648, with Ryan right behind at 640.
Parrinello (622), Gray (614) and Neal (614) were both through to the afternoon, as was Madison Steinbeck of East Brunswick (605), who was bowling consistently well.
There were more than the usual number of game three heroes, those who throw big games to steal an advancer spot. Jaden Schaefer of Freehold posted a 226 to move up 12 spots to 14th at 614. Montville's Jamie Paddock shot a nice 245 to complete a huge comeback, from 42nd after game one to 11th at 623. But the biggest jump came from Kelcie Mannon of Warren Hills, who went from 39th place and 54 pins behind the cutline after two all the way to 16th with a huge 257 game.
Paige Peters of Toms River North made a nice jump up from 25th, but her 603 set landed her in a tie for the 18th and final spot with Colonia's Laryssa Fiore, necessitating a two-frame rolloff. Peters took the tiebreaker by just two pins and joined the other 17 advancers.
Some excellent bowlers just missed the afternoon session, including Warren Hills senior Katie Winch (596), Lacey's Liz Schreier (589), Gitlitz (588), Powell (588) and Duncan (585). Marissa Cosentini of Wayne Valley made a great game three run to shoot 234, but her 599 set was just four pins short.
GAME FOUR
The scores in game four were incredible - sixteen of the eighteen finalists broke 200. Still, there wasn't a lot of movement - Parrinello shot 226 but remained 12th. Ryan moved up one spot to 9th off her 225. Lucci moved up into stepladder position with a 227. Schaefer's 237 pushed her up to eleventh and within 53 pins of the top five.
There were two big movers closer to the top. Marks threw a fantastic 268 to jump from eighth place all the way into second. And Ostrander fired a sizzling 277 game, the highest of the entire qualifying session, to both prove she wasn't going anywhere and to move into first with a 44-pin lead on the field.
GAME FIVE
Kind of the opposite of game four; only six bowlers broke 200 this time, and those that did were mostly able to do some damage.
Peters (257) and Lucci (266) were far ahead of the rest of the field and took control with huge games. After game five, they were tied for the overall lead at 1171 with Ostrander in third.
Miranda's 212 enabled her to stay in fourth with Marks just five pins back in the final stepladder spot.
On the chase were Ryan, 32 back after shooting 225-216, and Parrinello off 226-219.
The other 200 was shot by Lanasia Neal. The 2016 champ had thrown 226-215-218-232 after a tough opening game and had moved up to ninth place but was still 49 pins short of the last spot in the finals.
GAME SIX
High drama, as always. But not at the very top: Kamerin Peters (256-740) and Brittany Lucci (245-738) each finished off fabulous sets to sit in the top two spots, Peters earning the #1 seed for the second straight season. Marks's strong 225 finished a 684 set that moved her into third.
Ostrander's back half set was 615, giving her a very good but very vulnerable 1304 total. Miranda came up just short, her 599 in the afternoon produced a 1290 total and an impressive seventh place finish.
Jamie Paddock came up with a huge, clutch 269 game, running her afternoon set to 671 and her total to 1294, putting her between Ostrander and Miranda. That should have probably been enough to make the stepladder.
But it wasn't, because for the second straight year Lanasia Neal looked at a huge deficit after five games and calmly and methodically fired an absolute gem. Last year it was a 278 to move up a bunch of spots, this year it was an eleven-strike 267 that completed a 717 set and catapulted the senior from 9th to 4th, earning a third career trip to the finals.
Ryan (640-632) and Robb (648-618) bowled well all day and took eighth and ninth. Forbes slipped a bit from her morning excellence but still took tenth. Parrinello and D'Alessandro brought home eleventh and twelfth.
Mannon and Paige Peters each found a little something in game six, shooting 235 and 225 respectively to finish thirteenth and fourteenth. Brunda, Schaefer, Gray and Steinbeck struggled just a bit in the afternoon session and ended the event fifteenth through eighteenth.
STEPLADDER
A mismatch on paper, the opening game didn't play out that way, as the freshman upstart, Ostrander, and the senior superstar, Neal, each bowled very well, with Ostrander's career day continuing via a 228-212 win. That marked the final game of an exceptional career for Neal, who will certainly be one to watch in college competition.
Next up was a match of two relatively surprising finalists. Neither Ostrander nor Lauren Marks could really get it going, but each threw big shots when they had to, and Marks came away with a narrow 175-174 win, ending Ostander's amazing run.
Brittany Lucci didn't give Marks much of a chance to solve the lane that had been troubling her, throwing great shots and carrying them all on the way to a huge 279 game. Marks had a pretty remarkable tournament herself and took home the bronze.
Last year as the top qualifier with a record-breaking score, Peters wasn't quite as sharp after waiting around for over an hour for the finals. That was, most definitely, not a problem in 2018. At the same time Ryan Carlisi was mowing down pins en route to a 299 in his final, Peters was doing very much the same thing, burying twelve straight shots for a 279 single to take the title. Lucci struggled in the final game, but that can't detract at all from the fantastic performance she put up all day, taking home a well-earned second place.
And so Kamerin Peters ends 2018 as the state individual champion with an excellent showing from beginning to end. I don't know that we've seen someone this consistently great, especially in big spots, at such a young age. I do know that her high school career is only halfway done and she's got some more exciting chapters to write.
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