Holy Angels had a good day at the state girls bowling tournament. The Angels placed second in Group 2, finishing with a three-game total of 2,441. That left them more than 300 pins behind Group champion Manchester  Township, but the margin didn’t really matter.

No North Jersey school has ever won the girls state tournament, which started in 1974. It has become a yearly chore for Sectional winners to come down to Carolier Lanes and get dominated by teams from the Central and South. Since they started crowning Group champions in 2007, only Mother Seton (Group 1) has won a Group title.

So while Holy Angels may have been a distant second, it was important for them to represent the North. They definitely did that.

The Angels shot games of 788, 797 and finished with a strong 856 to overtake Manasquan and move into second. Kelley Grippo led the way for Holy Angels with a 523 series. Morgan Buckey was one pin behind Grippo at 522.

“I’m very happy. I’m very proud of the team. We worked really hard this year,” Buckey said. “It’s pretty awesome for my senior year. I’m glad I’ve been  doing it for four years. These girls are family.”

“We accomplished our goal for today, which I’m happy about,” said Grippo, who will be back on Wednesday for the state individual tournament. “We bowled well, but we didn’t bowl outstanding.”

Ridgewood had dthe highest score of any North Jersey team, but it was good for only fourth place in Group 4. The Maroons finished with a 2,482 in three games. Kelly Skettini paced Ridgewood with a 543 series. Jen Schablik shot a 536 with a 202 high game. Brick Memorial won the Group title with the high score of the day, a 3,127.

The Maroons left the building thinking they had finished third, but a scoring error was found, moving them down to fourth.

“Each game, we got better,” Ridgewood coach Dick Bennett said. “If we stay until 10 o’clock, I don’t think anyone would beat us.”

As for the other North Jersey teams at the tournament, IHA finished sixth in Group 4 with a 2,410. In Group 3, Northern Highlands was fifth witrh a 2,173 and Hackensack was sixth with a 2,151. Dumont placed sixth  in Group 1 with a series of 1,878.

We’re here at Carolier Lanes for the state individual boys and girls tournaments. The day-long festival of bowling was made a little bit longer by a lane breakdown, which forced a significant portion of the girls field to change lanes and bowl their final two games after everyone else had finished.

But we finally know who will move into the second round of bowling. For North Jersey, that means the boys. None of the girls from Bergen or Passaic Counties had the requisite 598, which wound up being the cut-off number for the Top 18. 

On the boys side, Jake Rollins of Glen Rock — he told me on Monday how much he kills it here at Carolier — was the top North Jersey finisher after three games, firing a 708 series that left him ninth overall. (Quick tangent — “Jake’s my boy!” Name the movie this quote is from and the actor who said it.) Passaic Tech freshman Isiah Tolbert shot a 689 to place 12th. Josh Taylor of Northern Highlands and John Draney of Hackensaack both were at 684 to tie for 14th and move into the second round.

North Jersey did well at the state boys individual tournament today. Isiah Tolbert of Passaic Tech rode a 276 game into the stepladder finals and defeated Jake Rollins of Glen Rock to come away with a fourth-place finish. It’s even  more impressive when you consider Tolbert is a freshman.

Rollins, a junior, fired a 739 series in the second round to vault from ninth to fourth and qualify for the stepladder finals. Tolbert won the Bergen-Passaic showdown by getting strikes in the first three frames. Rollins, meanwhile, chopped the 2-4-5 and got a surprising 5-7 split in the seventh frame. He had to go for the conversion and missed it by a whisker.  Tolbert wound up winning the matchup, 224-202.

Tolbert was even more impressive in the second round, blasting his way to a 755 series to move from 12th place to fifth. The lefthander had games of 234 and 245 before the 276. Tolbert eventually lost to Matt Russo of Allentown, 238-222. Both bowlers had five straight strikes to open the match, but Tolbert somehow left a 7-9 split on a pocket hit and wasn’t able to recover as Russo bowled a clean  game.

Check out Thursday’s editions of The Record for more on the tournament.

Here’s a little bonus blogging from Wednesday’s boys and girls individual state finals. I didn’t leave Carolier Lanes until 8:30 and it was already snowing in North Brunswick when I departed, so I didn’t get the chance to do this Wednesday. Surprisingly, the snow actually was gone by the time I exited the Turnpike.

Anyway, I’ve posted the final results of North Jersey bowlers from the individual tournament because I consider it a huge accomplishment just to qualify and get to Carolier. Some bowlers were disappointed with how they finished Wendesday, but they should remember they all did something very special to be there in the first place.

You already know about Isiah Tolbert of Passaic Tech (fourth), Jake Rollins of Glen Rock (fifth), John Draney of Hackensack (ninth) and Josh Taylor of Northern Highlands (14th) from a previous blog. Here are the results and scores for the rest of the North Jersey bowlers who competed:

For the boys, DeAndre Powell of Clifton just missed the cut, finishing 21st with a 661 series. Jeremy Scott of West Milford was 22nd with a 654. Simon Lezaja of Bergen Catholic was 24th with a 644. Tyler Blind of Glen Rock was 30th with a 628. Andrew Wierzbicki of Indian Hills was 34th with a 619. Steven Doughty of Bergen tech was 35th with a 600. Rob Gilbert Jr. of Hackensack was 37th with a 597. Freddy Dressel of Bergen Catholic was 38th with a 588. Joseph Malyack of DePaul was 39th with a 584. Kyle Stefanic of Pompton Lakes was 42nd with a 574. Andrew Algeri of West Milford was 46th with a 559.

For the girls, Kelley Grippo of Holy Angels was the top North Jersey finisher, placing 26th with a 570. Lexus Lopez of Lyndhurst was 27th with a 562. Brittany Hovan of Paramus was 30th with a 554. Kelsey Sarro of Hackensack was 37th with a 529. Isabelle Nemeh of Wayne Hills was 44th with a 515. Kristine Verbeke of Wayne Valley was 48th with a 476. Leslie Subaldo of Holy Angels was 51st with a 432.

There were no titles. but today had to be considered a success for several North Jersey teams at Carolier Lanes.

Glen Rock was outstanding in finishing second in Group 2. The Panthers totaled 3,166 pins in three games, giving them one of the Top 20 series in tournament history. But it left them 29 pins behind Group champion Ewing. Glen Rock had a spectacular 1,151 in  its second game, but that wasn’t quite as good as the 1,161 Ewing put up in the first game. Glen Rock’s total was the fourth-best in the tournament and would have won two other Groups.

Lyndhurst also finished second in Group 1. The Golden Bears shot a 2,908, but were 221 pins behind champion Arthur L. Johnson. Lyndhurst had a 1,026 in  the second game, which  was the second-best game the team has shot all season. Even if the Golden Bears had done that three times, they wouldn’t have overtaken Johnson, which  shows how unforgiving this tournament format can be.

“It’s like that old adage in sports, `There’s always someone better,”’ Lyndhurst coach Mike Rizzo said.

Michael Jordan might not agree with that, but Passaic Tech could relate. The Bulldogs were the only North Jersey team besides Glen Rock to have more than  one game over 1,000.  Passaic Tech wound up in third place in Group 4 with a 3,033 series. The Bulldogs had no regrets. Even with the outstanding total, they were 271 pins behind Group winner Jackson Memorial. The Jaguars blasted their way to a 3,304, the third-best series in tournament history. Passaic Tech will return its entire starting lineup next season and likely will be the No. 1 team in The Record boys bowling preseason rankings.

It was a good day in general for Passaic County schools. Pompton Lakes came in third in Group 1, overcoming an 865 in the first game to finish with a 2,781. West Milford had a strong day, finishing with a 2,922 series that was good for fifth place in Group 3.

Hackensack came into the season with high hopes and expectations, and the Comets wound up fourth in Group 4 with a 2,813. The Comets got a 279 from John Draney to lead them  to a 1,043 in the first game, but couldn’t keep up with Jackson Memorial. Draney’s game left him tied for the third-high game in the tournament.

Westwood finished eighth in Group 2 with a 2,782 series. Hawthorne was two places behind the Cardinals with a 2,655. Northern Highlands came in eighth in Group 4 with a 2,766. Pascack Valley placed eighth in Group 3 with a 2,689 series. Indian Hills was right behind the Indians in ninth at 2,622. New Milford was 10^th in Group 1 with a 2,432 series.

Check out Saturday’s editions of The Record for more from the tournament.

The Record/Herald-News will be taking pictures of all first-team All-County performers from Bergen and Passaic County. Pictures will be taken at 1 Garret Mountain Plaza, Woodland Park from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. (athletes can come any time during that timeframe, there will be signs directing you where to go).
The dates are Tuesday, March 5 and Wednesday, March 13. We may add a later date for ice hockey. I am pretty sure as of now, not every All-County team has even been chosen yet, so we encourage you to come as soon as you can.
Any questions, email us at varsityaces@northjersey.com

(Darren note: even though this has my name on the byline, this is by Greg Tartaglia)

So you say you read All-North Jersey bowling today, and you’re wondering who this “Greg Tartaglia” fellow is (or not). If you’ve been to tournaments at Bowler City, Parkway Lanes or Carolier Lanes in the past decade and spotted a tall chap in a Jets overcoat toting a full-sized notepad, chances are we’ve crossed paths. If not, a brief intro:

I began covering bowling WGHT 1500AM – you know, back when they used to broadcast local sports – in 2002, when I went to Carolier and saw the Clifton boys win the state title. I did a report on Sports Overtime the day after President’s Day, and it became a yearly staple from there. Of course, the state finals eventually got spread out over three different days… and my pal Jon Fass didn’t coin the “Gutterball” nickname until 5-6 years later… and I’ve actually blogged under some other pen names in the past few years as well. The point is, once GHT waived [sic] goodbye to its sports department, R.I.P Gutterball Greg (2002-2012).

Then, this winter, The Record called on me to write the 2013 All-North Jersey bowling package. With a publication date of St. Patrick’s Day. And, did I mention my lucky number is 13? So, while it’s not the same medium, ol’ GG is lucky enough to be doing one more bowling season wrap-up. Special thanks to the Aces for calling me in from the bullpen.

Now to business: as was true in radio, a lot of good stuff from interviews with our All-North Jersey honorees didn’t make it into the paper. One loyal reader also expressed to me some disappointment that there wasn’t a “Top 10 memorable things” written about bowling season. Well, guess what – the resolution to both concerns is here!

To be fair, I won’t put them in any particular order. Some may call that a copout. I prefer to think of it as a spell-out…

TEN THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THE 2012-13 BOYS/GIRLS BOWLING SEASON

G is for Girl power – Since GG can also stand for “good gentlemen,” let’s go ladies first. For the first time since I can remember, North Jersey schools left the girls state team finals with a lot to be happy about. Holy Angels finished second in Group 2 for the highest placement ever by a team from “North Jersey”… or at least the area as defined by The Record/Herald News. More incredible to me is that out of the whole North section (which also includes the entirety of Hudson, Morris, Sussex, Essex, Union and Warren counties), only two schools have ever won a state girls bowling championship in the 40-year history of the tournament (Emerson of Union City in 1976 & St. Joseph of the Palisades in 2009). And of course, both are now closed. But again, let’s try to focus on the positive… Ridgewood had the best score of any local team at States – 41 pins higher than Holy Angels, in fact – and was fourth in a loaded Group 4. Those two probably received the strongest consideration for Team of the Year: both won their leagues, both won sectional titles. The fact that the Angels won the season-opening Crusader Classic and went a bit farther in the Bergen County tournament tipped the scales in their favor. Speaking of Counties…

U is for Upsets, Underdogs & the Unexpected – Raise your hand if you foresaw the Westwood girls making a run at the Baker finals of the Bergen tournament (and if you’re a Cardinals fan, be honest). Or if you saw the Mahwah girls later knocking off the Cards for the Big North Patriot Division title. Ditto for the Northern Highlands girls winning Group 3 the North sectional tournament. For the boys, how about Pompton Lakes winning the Passaic County championship? I still have to find out if Pompton is the first Group 1 school ever to do so. These are the stories that motivate me to go watch Hoosiers again – and wish that someone would make a bowling-movie equivalent.

T is for Three Hundred – Ah, the score of a perfect game. I did manage to compile a list from The Record archives of nearly all the 300 games by North Jersey bowlers in the last 30 years, and perhaps another day I’ll have space/time to post it. Anyway, the boys list is close to 30 names, and three joined this season: Cory Heitler of Fair Lawn, Jordan Lopez of Lyndhurst and Jake Rollins of Glen Rock. Lopez’s was the third perfecto in Bergen County tournament history and part of the fourth-best series ever at said tournament (1,427), behind only Lodi’s Charley Bruno (1,481 in 1983), North Arlington’s Jonny Santiago (1,464 in 1986) and Cliffside Park’s Mark Orofino (1,434 in 1986). Lopez is also the second Bergen boys individual champ from Lyndhurst, joining M. Gingerelli from 1979 (speaking of research, can someone help us unearth the winners’ first names from the 1970s?)… Then there was the 300 by Brittany Hovan of Paramus. This, I wish I could have written more about – because in the aforementioned search of the archives, I found out that there have only been THREE girls to roll perfect games in Bergen County history. Nikki Vucak of Paramus Catholic did so last season. The only other was by IHA’s Dyanne Robles in 1999. Seriously, this may have to become a feature for next season.

T is for Tough Calls – Ok, we all know about the [hopefully civil] arguments that ensue when Athlete of the Year talk starts. As most of the other Aces will probably tell you, the final call isn’t always an easy one. For the boys, I went with Rollins based on several reasons: he finished in the top 15 at every major tournament and averaged 240 during the most important time of the season, February Fever (hey, basketball has March Madness, I can use that one for bowling). True, Isiah Tolbert of Passaic Tech did beat him at in the stepladder finals at the state singles tournament – but Tolbert didn’t have quite as a good a day at his county tournament. Rob Gilbert of Hackensack finished fourth at counties and second at sectionals, and he had a slightly higher overall average, but his run at States ended in the first round. Heck, Lopez is the Bergen champ, but then again, his postseason run ended at sectionals. Steven Doughty of Bergen Tech was second at counties and won the section, but his league average was a bit lower than the others’. Please note, these are not knocks against these guys, but when you can only pick one Bowler of the Year, there have to be some deciding factors… incidentally, girls Bowler of the Year Lexus Lopez of Lyndhurst was a slightly easier choice – though not by much, because Hovan was impressive, too. For the girls, the first team/second team calls were the biggest challenge, because there were more than seven qualified candidates. Isabelle Nemeh led the Wayne Hills girls to the Passaic County title (incidentally, she was a member of those really good DePaul girls teams a couple years ago before transferring). Morgan Buckey was the anchor bowler for Holy Angels and had one of the highest league averages on the team, just not as high in tournaments. Same goes for Vucak, who still has her senior year left, and I’d personally wager on it being a good one. And while I wasn’t afforded more than 7 spots on second team (or an “honorable mention” category) either, it should be noted that Jen Schablik of Ridgewood, Marissa Rivers of Westwood and Julieanne Kornberg of Pompton Lakes all had fine seasons and received strong consideration as well.

E is for Even Tougher Calls – This rubric deals specifically with notes & quotes that got “left on the cutting room floor,” as film editors say. Both Bowlers of the Year gave me a lot of good stuff that there just wasn’t room for in the paper, Lexus Lopez in particular. She talked about being a fan of “underestimated” players like Ray Rice (who is one of the reasons she’s a Ravens fan) and Joakim Noah (the reason she likes the Bulls) and the level on which she identifies with them. Granted, they’re not girls bowling on a mostly-boys team, and she didn’t have to sleep on anyone’s couch while trying to make the Lyndhurst varsity (she tells me Noah did when breaking into the NBA – I seem to remember Wayne Chrebet doing the same when in Jets training camp), but you get the idea… girls Coach of the Year Bob Tschinkel of Northern Highlands had another story that there just wasn’t room to tell in its entirety. I did mention his daughter Karen bowling for IHA primarily because, well, if I was a North Jersey bowling fan doing the reading instead of the writing, and I didn’t already know his story, I’d wonder, “hey, is he related to that girl from IHA?” Truth be told, he gave me a lot more names than that. Apparently, four-fifths of the Hackensack boys starting lineup came through the Maywood Youth Athletic Association during Tschinkel’s days of coaching there, including Mssrs. Draney, Garcia, Gilbert and Santoro. And trust me, the Comets warranted major boys Team of the Year consideration. However…

R is for Rollins Reliable – As was the rest of the Glen Rock boys lineup. It seemed like in every tournament that included the two, Hackensack would shoot ridiculous scores (that 3,134 at sectionals was among the best I’ve ever seen in North 1A), and then the Panthers would shoot even better (3,292 is the North 1A record, if I’m not mistaken). Both teams had two bowlers named to the All-Bergen first team – Gilbert and John Draney for Hackensack, Rollins and Tyler Blind for Glen Rock – and, frankly, if naming Co-Teams of the Year was an option, I might have gone that route. Of course, it was not, but either way, these two squads put on some of the best displays of bowling I’ve ever seen in North Jersey.

B is for Baker games – And you thought Athletes of the Year sparked debate. Bergen County has been using the Baker-style tournament to determine its girls champ for five seasons now, and for the second straight year, the fifth seed in the eight-team bracket pulled a string of upsets on its way to the finals (No. 5 Ridgewood last year, No. 5 Westwood this year). Some coaches have told me they don’t like the format because the best team, or at least the one that shoots best in qualifying, doesn’t always win. Others like the fact that more teams are in it until the end and not just going through the motions if they’re out of contention by midday. Is there a compromise? GG will throw out the idea of a stepladder. It works to reward the high scorers at the state singles tournament – heck, the same principle works in the Big East basketball tournament: give the top teams a bye to the later rounds. Just a suggestion for right now… I will state much more declaratively that I’m glad the state team tournaments went back to three traditional games for group play and left the Bakers for the Tournament of Champions. The concept of two traditional games plus five Bakers to make up a team’s “Game 3” score was novel, but that’s about all it was, at least to this observer.

A is for Audreys & April – Audrey Jantzen coached Passaic Tech to the North 1B, Group 4 boys sectional title this year. Audrey Lelyo coached Paramus Catholic to the Bergen County boys championship last year. You don’t have ladies coaching all-men’s teams in too many other sports (besides maybe volleyball), but it makes for some pretty neat storylines in bowling. Kudos also to April Millian for leading co-ed New Milford to the NJIC Patriot title and another appearance in the state finals… And no, I didn’t forget about Judy Lucia leading Pascack Valley to the North 1A, Group 3 title, it’s just that her name didn’t start with an ‘A’, so it didn’t fit the theme of the subhead. Although it does end with an ‘A’… let’s just move on.

L is for Lefties – Being one myself, I can’t help but take notice of the good ones. Andrew Wierzbicki of Indian Hills and Austin Masser Jr. of Secaucus fit the bill, and yes, these were two more tough calls when it came to choosing first and second team, because their numbers were just so close to the others’… Isiah Tolbert reminds me a little bit of another PCT southpaw, Carlos Duarte, and he was named Bowler of the Year twice as an upperclassmen, so the freshman Tolbert still has plenty of time to carve out his legacy – er, the rest of his legacy. That 769 series that won him the North 1B individual title was a pretty nice start… If there was a Lefty of the Year award for the girls, it’d have to go to Kathleen Blehl of IHA (along with our apologies for the misspelling in the All-County list we ran).

L is for Lucky ’13 – It’s been my favorite number as long as I can remember, and I’d have to imagine this season’s champions can’t be terribly superstitious about it anymore. To wrap things up, hail to the 2013 champs, in alphabetic order: the Bergen Catholic boys (Big North United Division), Glen Rock boys (NJIC Colonial, Bergen County overall, North 1A, Group 2), Hackensack boys (Big North Freedom, Bergen Groups 3-4, North 1A, Group 4), Hawthorne boys (North 1B, Group 2), Holy Angels girls (Big North United, North Group 2), Lyndhurst boys (NJIC Meadowlands, North 1A, Group 1), Mahwah girls (Big North Patriot), New Milford boys (NJIC Patriot), Northern Highlands girls (North Group 3), Paramus Catholic girls (Bergen County), Pascack Valley boys (North 1A, Group 3), Passaic Tech boys (North 1B, Group 4), Pompton Lakes boys (Passaic County, North 1B, Group 1), Ridgewood girls (Big North Freedom, North Group 4), Wayne Hills girls (Passaic County), West Milford boys (North 1B, Group 3), Westwood boys (Big North Patriot)… as soon as someone can e-mail us the Big North’s Liberty, Independence, National and American division winners, we’ll add them to this list, too.

FINALLY – For all the pitfalls of selecting our All-North Jersey honorees, I did have fun with the process. And it was nice to come in with some experience, having helped pick WGHT All-Area and Ridgewood News All-Suburban teams for other sports in the past. Most importantly, these aren’t be-all, end-all lists. They’re just what I came up with this time around from doing what I love to do: watching bowling. I plan to keep doing so as long as I’m able, so if I omitted a name of someone worthy of a mention – tell them to keep bowling. I’d be happy to tell their stories the next time Gutterball Greg rolls around…

Photo by me, Darren Cooper. You can see my reflection the glass if you look closely. That’s Josette Norris of Tenafly with her framed poster.

Another night, another dinner, another gut-wrenching decision by our staff for the Athlete of the Season award. This time, well, it was about time.

We looked at a bunch of serious candidates…Brittany Hovan from Paramus with the 300 game – only the 3rd time in Bergen County history for a female HS bowler. I loved with Katherine Haines did for Ridgefield Park, helping the Scarlets reach the county semis. Madison Holleran and Deanna Dilandro, the seasons they had for track, even my esteemed colleague Paul Schwartz couldn’t pick between them for North Jersey winter track Player of the Year.
And then, Samantha Wilkes of IHA, who is everything you would ever want in a high school basketball player, and leader, and person.
But only Norris ran 2 miles in 10:43.47. That accomplishment just gave her the edge over everyone else. It is the second fastest 2 mile time in Bergen County history and fastest by a Bergen County runner in 30 years.
I knew the announcement would come as a surprise to her. We could have picked a lot of girls. I even briefly told Samantha Wilkes at the very end what a hard choice it was between her and Josette.
You know I love it when people tell me “oh, the county is down this year.” I swear I hear it every season, every sport….I’ve already heard it for softball. What a bunch of baloney. If anything, every year the kids, teams, get better. Norris is perfect proof, putting up the best time in 30 years in that race. I hope she has a fun spring (and no, she can’t win this award in the spring).
Always a fun evening. I was at a table with fellow Ace JJ Conrad and Old Tappan basketball standout Melissa Errico. BCWCA President Melissa Landeck did indeed give me her dessert, and I am thankful.
In fact, I appreciate both Landeck and the BCWCA and BCCA President Evan Baumgarten for once again giving us a part of the stage at these dinners. We enjoy it. We are glad to give out the All-County posters and hope its something that will continue.
Wow, look at that, it’s 10:43 as I finish typing this.

Today, for all intents and purposes, marked my debut as Aces’ boys volleyball beat reporter for Spring 2013 (If you didn’t get to see all the preview features on northjersey.com, scroll down for the links). However, since the new season technically doesn’t start until Monday – and, since the subject apparently came up at last night’s Bergen County girls All-County dinner – it seems like a good time to clear a few last items out of the old bowling notebook.

I mentioned in the “Rolling a new ball” bowling season recap (thanks to Darren Cooper for posting it here) that I’d compiled a list of all the 300 games thrown by North Jersey bowlers in the last 30 years. Why is now a good time to finally post it? It was mentioned in this post by JJ Conrad that Paramus’ Brittany Hovan received a nice ovation at said All-County dinner for being the third girl in Bergen history to roll a perfect game. So perhaps you’re wondering, “Who were the first two?” The answer comes after a short disclaimer.

This list only goes back to 1985 because that is as far back at The Record’s online (read: easily searchable) archives go. Finding any varsity 300s from 1984 or earlier would require A.) going through 20 times more library microfilm than I’ve ever looked at (and trust me, I’ve reviewed quite a bit for other sports) or B.) waiting for someone to e-mail us any such info. Until either of those happen, here is the list as it stands right now…

300 GAMES BY NORTH JERSEY BOWLERS (IN VARSITY MATCHES)
GIRLS
Brittany Hovan (Paramus), Bowler City, 12/19/2012
Nicolette Vucak (Paramus Catholic), Bowler City, 1/31/2011
Dyanne Robles (Immaculate Heart), Bowler City, 1/19/1999
> To my knowledge, the next girl from Passaic County to bowl a 300 in an official varsity match will be the first.

BOYS
Jake Rollins (Glen Rock), Parkway Lanes, 2/6/2013
Jordan Lopez (Lyndhurst), Bowler City, 1/19/2013*
Cory Heitler (Fair Lawn), Bowler City, 12/6/2012
Dan Wuhrman (Park Ridge), Carolier Lanes, 2/15/2012***
Simon Lezaja (Bergen Catholic), Bowler City, 1/12/2012
Tim Frantin (Pascack Valley), Holiday Bowl, 1/3/2012
Jason Prezant (Pascack Hills), Parkway Lanes, 2/3/2011
Tim Frantin (Pascack Valley), Bowler City, 1/11/2011
Kevin Macchia (Ramapo), Carolier Lanes, 2/17/2010***
Tim Scott (West Milford), T-Bowl II, 1/28/2010
Zach Zuravner (Lakeland), T-Bowl II, 1/16/2010*
Chris Ferrara (Wallington), Wallington Lanes, 1/12/2010
Brian DiMarco (Bergenfield), Holiday Bowl, 12/9/2009
Nick Corvelli (Bergen Catholic), Bowler City, 1/26/2009
Perrin DeFreitas (Hackensack), Bowler City, 1/16/2009
Rob Grippo (Bergen Catholic), Bowler City, 1/14/2009
Lawrence Jackson Jr. (Leonia), Wallington Lanes, 1/7/2008
Jeremy Corporan (Teaneck), Bowler City, 12/20/2007
Dylan Caruso (Secaucus), Wallington Lanes, 1/8/2007
Aaron Danielson (Newton), T-Bowl II, 2/11/2006**
Vinnie Milano (West Milford), T-Bowl II, 2/11/2006**
JC Klein (Paramus Catholic), Bowler City, 1/30/2006
Carlos Duarte (Passaic Tech), T-Bowl II, 1/18/2005
Carlos Duarte (Passaic Tech), T-Bowl II, 12/16/2004
Steve Fernandez (Ridgefield Park), Bowler City, 1/18/2003*
Steve Sinko (Bergenfield), Parkway Lanes, 12/16/2002
Mike Riccardi (St. Joseph), Bowler City, 1/19/2002*
Jason Tenorio (Passaic), Bowler City, 1/17/2002
Joe Anagnos (Ridgewood), Bowler City, 2/10/1999
Joe Bonser (Garfield), Lodi Lanes, 1/31/1996
Tony Park (Demarest), Feb. 1995
Joe Pelissier (Garfield), Parkway Lanes, 3/6/1993**
Dan Blair (Teaneck), Bowler City, 2/13/1991
Dave Nagelhout (Fair Lawn), 2/26/1990
John Epps (Montclair), Bowler City, 2/6/1990
Damon DeLise (Wayne Valley), Butler Bowl, 1/3/1989
Frank Mockenhaupt (Rutherford), Feb. 1988
Jonny Santiago (North Arlington), Wallington Lanes, 2/10/1987
Ray Adam (Wood-Ridge), Wallington Lanes, 1/15/1987
Mike Russo (Bergen Catholic), 1/7/1985
Russ Van Housen (Hawthorne), 1985

* County tournament
** Sectional tournament
*** State singles finals

One last follow-up on the previous bowling blog: I was able to get a hold of the rest of the 2013 Big North division standings that I didn’t have before, so here are kudos for the champs: the Passaic Tech boys and Bergen Tech girls (Liberty Division), the Pascack Valley boys and Teaneck girls (National Division), the Fort Lee boys and Dumont girls (American Division)… and in the Independence Division, West Milford won the boys title outright, while Wayne Valley and Fair Lawn were co-champs on the girls side.

So that’s it. Time to swap strikes for spikes – here are the aforementioned links to get you ready for boys volleyball season: A look around the leagues… players to watch… the preseason North Jersey Top 5… and the important dates to remember.

See you ’round the courts…

Photo by Tyson Trish
Our McGill scholarship award winners, from left, Ashley Sudol of Fair Lawn, Charlie McGill, and Paulo Hipolito from Bergenfield

I can’t ever remember being at one of these dinners where everything pretty much came down to the, oh, final hour, but us reporters seem to work well on deadline. For me, getting the videos from Sy Schwartz and the northjersey.com video on Charlie McGill is always fun (read: headache). They just don’t play well on my laptop. But our photographer Tyson Trish to the rescue. He had his laptop which is more video compatible and they all played smooth.
This was the first time we ever had the AOW dinner at the Stony Hill Inn. It is a nice place. We were worried about the logistics though of all the kids (I’m sorry for the table to the far left of me that I know couldnt see the viewscreen, they wouldn’t let us move the table) and how did we present the plaques and the awards and all that stuff.
This was also the first time we had a sound man on the scene. His name was Dave. He did a good job and really added something to the night I thought.
But the biggest thing we talked about in the last hour was, ok, where do all of the kids go once we call their names? We had a bunch of different options.
A) Kids come up, pause for picture by viewscreen (which is showing their accomplishments). Kids sit down.
B) Kids come up. Kids go sit/stand in 2nd area for group photo.
C) Kids come up, pause for picture by viewscreen, then go sit back down.
D) Kids come up, pause for picture by viewscreen, then go to 2nd spot for group picture.

See the kind of important stuff you have to think about when you are having over 200 people over for dinner?
I really liked what happened at the BCCA boys dinner where all the kids were up on the dais and then called down, they got their award and a hug/handshake from their coach. I wanted the AOWs to do that by the viewscreen and do the group shot, and what the heck, we tried it. I’m not sure it was really ideal, but we wanted parents to have a chance to take a picture of their kid individually and in a group.

This was also the first time that I talked some about the history of the Athlete of the Week and the records. I had some help getting the records together. Wayne Valley has the most overall with 102, Bosco has the most in Bergen County, with 68, but it’s really, really close. We also played our Sy Schwartz video, Sy was the first Athlete of the Week, and he recorded a greeting for us a few years ago that we couldn’t have scripted any better. Next year, for the 60th anniversary of the Athlete of the Week award, maybe we can get him to come to the dinner.

Paul Schwartz got to go out in the crowd and talk to some folks. We had dinner. Northern Highlands soccer stud Brooke Holle was next to me, she guarded my salad so I could eat it (thank you Brooke). I was at a great table actually, the Otts and the Grady’s and the Holle family, I was sorry I couldn’t sit more with them and chat.

We had a special guest, former NY Giants RB Charles Way. He talked after dinner about leadership and told the kids how they were known now, that The Record had a great reach (we didn’t pay him to say that) and by being featured in the paper, they had become known, meaning people were watching them now. He challenged them to be leaders in their school and keep improving, and to know that people were watching.

Then it was on to fall, I got to present the fall athletes and I went quickly, because it was starting to get a little late, but it was fun. Reading over some of the stats and accomplishments, it’s just ridiculous. Brian Giuffra did the winter and then I took over and we had a special presentation – a surprise special presentation.

No, Jeff and Lois Jasper had no idea why they were invited, and I didn’t tell anyone. In fact, I don’t know how many of the Aces knew why. But 3 years ago, it was Mr. McGill’s idea to do an “honorary” athlete of the week for someone who has made an incredible impact in North Jersey athletics. Vito Trause was our surprise honoree in 2011, and last year it was Mickey Corcoran. This year it was Jasper. We supplied Charlie with lots of Jasper pictures and he drew a cartoon (I still love how Charlie calls them “cartoons”) of Jasper. So before we did the spring awards, I said how I felt like we had forgotten an athlete of the week from the winter, how Jeff Jasper had become just the 2nd coach in New Jersey to hit 900 wins – incredibly though, don’t forget about Bergen Catholic golf coach Jim Jacobsen, who also hit 900 wins in the spring – and how he should be an “honorary” athlete of the week. We made a show of asking Charlie if it was Ok (of course it was) and Jasper was presented with his very own McGill cartoon.

Then it was on to spring, we picked out the last few prize winners. And then we talked about Charlie McGill some more.
59 years is a long time to do anything and Charlie is so modest and kind and genuine you would barely know that he is a legend. The kids all adore him and I love seeing them flock to him after the night is done to get their “cartoons” signed. The video we made about Charlie and the process is also just right on point, down to the soft guitar music in the background. After we play the video, I call on Charlie to stand and he always gets a standing O.

Finally, it was time for the McGill scholarship winners. Howie Conklin of Bergenfield did an awesome job of introducing Paulo Hipolito and talking about how Paulo overcame his disability (a club foot) to become a key contributor to the Bears basketball team. Paulo spoke briefly, and was light-hearted, and clearly proud to be honored.
Then Sue Benjamin of Fair Lawn introduced softball player Ashley Sudol…and Ashley then brought. the. house. down.
I’m getting misty just thinking about it. Ashley had some medical complications as a baby, she had Bells Palsy for a while in high school, and then her mother passed away in March after a short fight with lung cancer. Ashley talked about all the people coming to her house to support her after her mom died, and the Cutters playing a game that helped raise almost 2000$ for lung cancer research. Ashley made it through the speech without crying, which was pretty amazing seeing how a lot of people in the room were.
“I don’t know how she wrote it,” Jasper told me afterwards, “and then, I don’t know how she stood up here and I don’t know how she read it.”

I didn’t really know what to say after she finished, other than I knew the night was getting late and we were honored to have so many people come and spend some time with us. We hoped it was a good time and we can’t wait to do it all over again next year.
Now if you have read this far down…My vote for best dressed AOW? Hands down, Corey Carlson, the Fair Lawn Lacrosse player. Not even a question.
We had our publisher, Stephen Borg at the dinner for a little while. Stephen, who was an Athlete of the Week himself many years ago asked me how many kids did we have there (72) how many schools (41) and did we have every sport (um).
I told him I thought we had all but one, golf, which was actually not true, but I wasn’t ready for the question and I didn’t know. Of the 26 sports (counting boys and girls separately) we officially had 20. No one from tennis – boys or girls – ice hockey, gymnastics, boys bowling or boys volleyball.
There were a few other cool moments. Jabrill Peppers got to talk with Charles Way for a while, which I thought was neat that they kind of gravitated to each other. We know Rob Kaminsky was thinking of us, but we also know he has big things going on in his life right now. Paul Schwartz in the crowd talking to Ben Malone was a treat (I hope you saw the pix on Instagram), I think Jasper was genuinely surprised and touched when he was given his award, and again, Ashley Sudol’s speech just was the capper.

Paramus Catholic bowler Nikki Vucak is one of The Record’s 50 seniors to watch during the 2013-14 school year.

Nikki Vucak found the beat early in her high school bowling career and has been carrying it on ever since.

The Paramus Catholic right-hander needed less than two months on the varsity to become the first Paladin girl to bowl a 300. She achieved the feat in a January 2011 Big North match against Northern Highlands and, at the time, joined Immaculate Heart’s Dyanne Robles (1999) as the only girls in Bergen County history with perfect games.

With her fourth varsity season on the horizon, Vucak still can recall the experience clearly.

“It was a lot to take in, because I was young; I was a freshman, and I hadn’t experienced high school bowling completely at that time,” the Garfield resident said recently. “Back then, I hadn’t bowled in counties or states or any big tournaments yet. But now that I’m going to be a senior, I realize how big [an achievement] that was.”

And it was hardly her last. As a sophomore, she finished 12th at sectionals to qualify for the state singles finals and help PC win the North Group 3 title. Last winter, she fired several key strikes in the Baker round of the Bergen tournament, as the Paladins captured their first Bergen title since 2001.

Vucak, 17, is using this summer to prepare not only for the upcoming season but beyond, too. She recently returned from the Turbo Tech Collegiate Expo in Sterling Heights, Mich., a showcase for high school bowlers aiming to continue their careers at the next level.

“It’s a three-day bowling tournament, and there are a whole bunch of college scouts there watching you,” said Vucak, who carried a 189 league average last season.

“I do want to bowl in college, and as of right now, I’m looking at Monmouth, Sacred Heart and LIU [Brooklyn],” she said. “I’m also interested in Valparaiso and UPike [University of Pikeville] in Kentucky” – the latter school being this year’s runner-up at the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships.

Closer to home, Vucak is competing in a Sport Shot league at Fair Lawn Lanes over the summer. “That’s all they bowl on in college,” she said, “they’re different oil patterns from regular house shots … to my knowledge, we also bowl on Sport Shots in counties and states.”

Come the fall, she will be back in her Saturday morning league at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park, where she has been a regular since age 7.

Vucak’s extracurricular interests away from the lanes center mostly on music. She is a drummer for the Paramus Catholic marching band, jazz band and concert band, as well as captain of the drum line.

And when December rolls around, she and fellow four-year varsity Paladins Ameera Khan and Teresa Sandberg will look to keep the beat going for the defending Bergen champs.

“I’m looking forward to all the big high school tournaments this year,” Vucak said. “I have a lot of fun bowling with all the girls on my team.”

Email: tartaglia@northjersey.com

Paramus bowler Brittany Hovan is one of The Record’s 50 seniors to watch during the 2013-14 school year.

Brittany Hovan enjoyed the greatest individual achievement of her high school career en route to earning a spot on the All-North Jersey girls bowling first team last winter.

The rising senior at Paramus hopes this season will bring about some added team success.

As a junior, Hovan joined the short list of Bergen County girls who have bowled a 300 game in a varsity match – Dyanne Robles of Immaculate Heart (1999) and Nikki Vucak of Paramus Catholic (2011) are the others – and scored top-10 finishes at the Bergen County and North sectional tournaments.

The 5-foot-8 right-hander averaged 192 to help the Spartans finish second in the Big North Freedom Division and third in Group 2 at sectionals, one spot shy of qualifying for the state team finals.

“I really want to see us get our league title this season, because we were so close to it this [past] season,” Hovan said. “Then I want to see how far we can get in states.”

As a team, Paramus has not advanced to the state finals since at least the turn of the millennium. Hovan’s 30th-place showing in the 2013 state singles finals made her the first Spartan (boy or girl) to earn a trip to North Brunswick in coach Jonathan Morrisette’s seven-year tenure.

“Brittany’s really worked hard, even since the season [ended], and has really improved,” Morrisette said. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure on her this coming year, but I think that she’s going to be ready for it.”

Hovan’s summer preparation has included some league bowling and plenty of practice. She competes in the Premier Junior Doubles Scratch League one night a week at Bowler City in Hackensack, “where it’s all high school students, and it’s for scholarship money,” she said.

“I go there sometimes for lessons, too, but I’m always out there bowling,” added Hovan, 16. “I try to go in for practice as many times as I can get in there.”

Looking down the road, Hovan is interested in several colleges, though not necessarily ones that would keep her competitive bowling career going.

“It really depends on where I can get into,” she said. “I’ve looked into Ohio State and UMass [which do not field women’s bowling teams], and I’ve looked into Vanderbilt [which does]… If I get in somewhere where I can bowl, I would definitely love to. But if I can’t, I always want to be in band.”

Her two favorite extracurricular activities can be tricky to balance sometimes. On the day she fired her 300 (and career-high 696 series) at Bowler City last December, the flautist/clarinetist had to make a prompt exit to perform with the school’s concert band back in Paramus that evening. This fall, she’ll be a drum major in the marching band.

“I’ve been playing flute since like fourth grade,” said Hovan, who said she’s been around the lanes a bit longer. “Probably since I was 5, when my dad had me in a league with him.”

Email: tartaglia@northjersey.com

Don’t miss your chance to own The Record’s new book Legends: The 100 Greatest Athletes of North Jersey.

The 128-page keepsake book features a rich narrative accompanied by rare photos and illustrations of high school athletes who have gone from the playing fields and classrooms of Bergen and Passaic counties to legendary status.

Legends also includes The Record’s picks of the top 25 current young athletes who are destined to become future stars. Save 20% when you order by October 5.

Click here to order your copy of Legends now!

Don’t miss your chance to own The Record’s new book Legends: The 100 Greatest Athletes of North Jersey at the lowest price available.

Save 20% when you order online by Friday.

The 128-page keepsake book features a rich narrative accompanied by rare photos and illustrations of high school athletes who have gone from the playing fields and classrooms of Bergen and Passaic counties to legendary status.

Legends also includes The Record’s picks of the top 25 current young athletes who are destined to become future stars.

Click here to order your copy of Legends now!

Quickly, before the Aces’ domain becomes Football Central for the weekend, a few quick notes on the sports that Taglines covers:

1.) All-North Jersey gymnastics is currently scheduled to appear in The Record this Tuesday, Dec. 10. Good job by Darren and/or JJ tweeting the full schedule, except… they forgot to mention field hockey and gymnastics will BOTH run on Tuesday. And they’re both veterans of the gymnastics beat! That clearly deserves a mention on “C’mon Man” before Monday Night Football (or at least here on Varsity Aces).

2.) Got an email from Bergen Catholic boys volleyball coach Mike DeCastro that he is stepping down from the position. Still have to call and confirm/get more details, but that would leave an opening for a team that made some big strides in his four seasons on the job and has some good young talent coming back.

3.) Speaking of the Crusaders, they will host their 3rd annual season-opening bowling tournament Saturday at Bowler City in Hackensack. It is now known as the Tom Irwin Memorial Classic in honor of their late, longtime head coach and will begin a 2 p.m. due to SATs. Again, lots of football coverage filling the paper this weekend, but we’ll make every effort to get some results up here on Varsity Aces, since there are fewer space restrictions in the blogosphere.

Good luck to all the North Jersey teams going for gridiron glory at MetLife Stadium this weekend. Just try to leave some mojo in the building for the Jets on Sunday…

—GT

One of the great things about bowling as a winter sport is, you don’t have to be outside during inclement weather. The drawback, of course, is that winter weather can affect whether or not matches and tournaments get held, as it already has once this week.

The 2013 North Jersey Singles Classic is scheduled for tomorrow at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park, and the latest word from tournament director Mike LoPresti is that his crew will try to condense things to get people headed home as soon as possible — meaning no introductions, shortened lunch break, etc.

Varsity Aces will monitor the situation and provide updates on Twitter. Now to provide some overdue news and notes…

Again, apologies for not being able to attend last weekend’s 3rd annual Tom Irwin Memorial Crusader Classic. In lieu of long-winded explanations, below are the results. Again, for those just tuning in, Tom Irwin was the Bergen Catholic bowling coach from 1963 to 2005 and led the Crusaders to 10 Bergen County championships (8 overall, 2 in Groups 3-4), as well as state titles in 1998 and 1999. He passed away at age 74 almost a year to the day (Dec. 6, 2012) before this season’s tournament, which was held on Dec. 7. This is the first year that the tournament has been named in his honor.

Second-year program Montville (which probably would have gotten coverage on WGHT) held off Lyndhurst for the boys title, although the Golden Bears answered one big question. How could they make up for the scoring they lost when Lexus Lopez graduated? Why, with freshman Ryan Donohue, of course, who won high series with a 706.

Defending Bergen County champ Paramus Catholic topped league rival Holy Angels for the girls title, as seniors Ameera Khan (637) and Nikki Vucak (590) rolled the two highest series. Both the Paladins and Angels graduated their anchor bowlers, but boy, do those programs know how to reload. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to see their girls in action tomorrow (translation: SNOW, GO AWAY).

One more quick thing before we get to the numbers… yes, this used to be the weekend of the FDU Holiday Team Challenge, and the Singles Classic was typically the first Saturday of the New Year. Things have flip-flopped, meaning singles roll tomorrow at Parkway, and the team event will be there Jan. 4 (having been rebranded as the “New Year’s Team Challenge”, for obvious reasons). Taglines is looking forward to both, preferably with minimal precipitation interference.

See you ’round the lanes…

2013 TOM IRWIN MEMORIAL CRUSADER CLASSIC RESULTS
(Dec. 7 at Bowler City, Hackensack)
Boys Team Results:
1. Montville, 1,076-1,036-1,046—3,158
2. Lyndhurst, 935-1,037-1,072—3,044
3. Paramus Catholic 3,023
4. Northern Highlands 2,746
5. Pompton Lakes 2,691
6. Jefferson Twp. 2,632
7. Bergen Catholic 2,610
8. Fair Lawn 2,600
9. Mahwah 2,480
10. St Peter’s Prep 2,442
11. Teaneck 2,266
12. Leonia 2,193
13. Hackensack 2,175
14. Garfield 2,122
15. DePaul 1,998

Girls Team Results:
1. Paramus Catholic, 911-855-853—2,619
2. Holy Angels 2,359
3. Teaneck 2,240
4. IHA 2,172
5. Hackensack 2,093
6. Northern Highlands 2,016
7. Mahwah 2,002

Top Boys Individuals:
1. Ryan Donohue, Lyndhurst, 706
2. Brian Rizzi, Paramus Catholic, 704

Top Girls Individuals:
1. Ameera Khan, Paramus Catholic, 637
2. Nikki Vucak, Paramus Catholic, 590
3. Dana-Marie Laloo, Teaneck, 580

Paramus Catholic senior Nikki Vucak fired a 203 to win the girls final of Saturday’s North Jersey Singles Classic. (Photo/Joe Camporeale)

What is it with Tuesdays and snow? The same thing happened last week, and both the Big North and NJIC had bowling matches postponed. The “score ticker” is quiet again today, altough there was some (more) big news made on Monday, plus a whole lot of sights and sounds from the North Jersey Singles Classic at Parkway Lanes over the weekend, so let’s dig in (because it beats shoveling snow)…

First, a couple of notes on the Singles Classic: 1.) This was actually the second time in four years that snow shortened the tournament. I covered the event for The Ridgewood News in 2009 and noted that in the story but can’t remember exactly what time everything ended. Before Saturday’s Classic, tournament director/Fairleigh Dickinson women’s bowling coach Mike LoPresti sent out an email with a condensed schedule that optimistically projected getting everything done by 1:45 PM, so folks could get home before the snow got really heavy. And girls champion Nikki Vucak of Paramus Catholic threw the final ball of the tournament at — ready for this? — 1:45 on the button. Kudos to Mike and the FDU ladies for doing what it takes to “Git ‘R Done”.

Note 2.) The program referred the event as the “2013 North Jersey HS Singles Championships”… except there’s one small issue with that. The original 2013 Singles Classic took place in January. For the first 13 editions of the tourney, it was held on the first Saturday of January, while the FDU-sponsored Holiday Team Challenge took place on the second or third Saturday of December. For the 2013-14 season, the events have been flip-flopped, in part to position what is now the New Year’s Team Challenge (which includes traditional games in qualifying and Baker games in the playoff rounds) on the weekend before the Bergen County girls tournament (which uses a similar format). The idea makes sense, although it may give the 13-lovers in the Varsity Aces audience mixed emotions… technically speaking, there will be no 2013 Team Challenge, but there have been two 2013 Singles Classics.

At any rate, congratulations to Vucak and Glen Rock senior Jake Rollins for their victories in Elmwood Park on Saturday. Both had reached the semifinals last season (2012-13), and if research is correct, both were in the quarterfinals the season before. Seems like Vucak’s quote about moving “up the ladder” in The Record’s tournament recap was more spot-on than either of us realized at the time.

The difference in the finals: marks for the winners. Rollins rolled either a spare or strike (including a 4-bagger/hambone in Frames 4-7) in the first nine frames, then went strike-strike-7 in the 10th. Vucak opened with eight straight marks (including a 3-bagger/turkey in Frames 3-5), got the wood on a 4-7 split in the 9th and finished up strike-strike-6 in the 10th.

Both runners-up also got trophies, as well they should — it’s not easy to reach a 1-on-1 final, let alone compete in one for the first time ever, as was the case for Indian Hill sophomore Alex McGuire on the boys side and Ridgewood senior Kelly Skettini for the girls. Everyone who qualified for the semifinals (8 boys, 6 girls) was honored afterward, making the de facto All-Tournament teams as follows… BOYS: Rollins, McGuire, Lyndhurst’s Jordan Lopez, Daijon Smith and Ryan Donohue, PC’s Brian Rizzi, Bergen Tech’s Steven Doughty and DePaul’s Joe Malyack. GIRLS: Vucak, Skettini, Fair Lawn’s Ellie Schuckman, Paramus’ Haley Hassan, Bergen Tech’s Aimee Balleza and Holy Angels’ Tiffany Sucero.

Speaking of Mr. Donohue…

BABY, IT’S ICYMI OUTSIDE: The “icy” acronym stands for “In Case You Missed It”… On Friday, Dec. 6, Ridgefield Park senior Alex Vorhees bowled the Scarlets’ first 300 game in 10 years at Bowler City in Hackensack (the last had been by Steve Fernandez in the 2003 Bergen County tournament). Want a really far-out stat? Vorhees’ perfecto happened one year to the day after Fair Lawn’s Cory Heitler tossed one in the same house… not to be outdone, the aforementioned Lyndhurst freshman Ryan Donohue fired his first varsity 300 at Wallington Lanes on Monday, Dec. 16, and is the first Golden Bear to do so since his teammate, Lopez, had one in the 2013 Bergen tournament. The last prior freshman to bowl a 300 in North Jersey? Dylan Caruso of Secaucus in 2007… at Wallington Lanes.

Taglines looks forward to catching up with both gentlemen sometime soon to tell their stories in greater detail. A couple readers also have asked when the next Boys Top 10/Girls Top 5 polls will be released, and the answer is the same… very soon, I hope. In the meantime, with two new entries penned in the past 10 days, it’s time to update “The 300 List” — again, this is since 1985 only, and if you spot an omission, please notify the Aces immediately:

300 GAMES BY NORTH JERSEY BOWLERS (IN VARSITY MATCHES)
GIRLS
Brittany Hovan (Paramus), Bowler City, 12/19/2012
Nicolette Vucak (Paramus Catholic), Bowler City, 1/31/2011
Dyanne Robles (Immaculate Heart), Bowler City, 1/19/1999
> To my knowledge, the next girl from Passaic County to bowl a 300 in a varsity match will be the first.

BOYS
Ryan Donohue (Lyndhurst), Wallington Lanes, 12/16/2013
Alex Vorhees (Ridgefield Park), Bowler City, 12/6/2013
Jake Rollins (Glen Rock), Parkway Lanes, 2/6/2013
Jordan Lopez (Lyndhurst), Bowler City, 1/19/2013*
Cory Heitler (Fair Lawn), Bowler City, 12/6/2012
Dan Wuhrman (Park Ridge), Carolier Lanes, 2/15/2012***
Simon Lezaja (Bergen Catholic), Bowler City, 1/12/2012
Tim Frantin (Pascack Valley), Holiday Bowl, 1/3/2012
Jason Prezant (Pascack Hills), Parkway Lanes, 2/3/2011
Tim Frantin (Pascack Valley), Bowler City, 1/11/2011
Kevin Macchia (Ramapo), Carolier Lanes, 2/17/2010***
Tim Scott (West Milford), T-Bowl II, 1/28/2010
Zach Zuravner (Lakeland), T-Bowl II, 1/16/2010*
Chris Ferrara (Wallington), Wallington Lanes, 1/12/2010
Brian DiMarco (Bergenfield), Holiday Bowl, 12/9/2009
Nick Corvelli (Bergen Catholic), Bowler City, 1/26/2009
Perrin DeFreitas (Hackensack), Bowler City, 1/16/2009
Rob Grippo (Bergen Catholic), Bowler City, 1/14/2009
Lawrence Jackson Jr. (Leonia), Wallington Lanes, 1/7/2008
Jeremy Corporan (Teaneck), Bowler City, 12/20/2007
Dylan Caruso (Secaucus), Wallington Lanes, 1/8/2007
Aaron Danielson (Newton), T-Bowl II, 2/11/2006**
Vinnie Milano (West Milford), T-Bowl II, 2/11/2006**
JC Klein (Paramus Catholic), Bowler City, 1/30/2006
Carlos Duarte (Passaic Tech), T-Bowl II, 1/18/2005
Carlos Duarte (Passaic Tech), T-Bowl II, 12/16/2004
Steve Fernandez (Ridgefield Park), Bowler City, 1/18/2003*
Steve Sinko (Bergenfield), Parkway Lanes, 12/16/2002
Mike Riccardi (St. Joseph), Bowler City, 1/19/2002*
Jason Tenorio (Passaic), Bowler City, 1/17/2002
Joe Anagnos (Ridgewood), Bowler City, 2/10/1999
Joe Bonser (Garfield), Lodi Lanes, 1/31/1996
Tony Park (Demarest), Feb. 1995
Joe Pelissier (Garfield), Parkway Lanes, 3/6/1993**
Dan Blair (Teaneck), Bowler City, 2/13/1991
Dave Nagelhout (Fair Lawn), 2/26/1990
John Epps (Montclair), Bowler City, 2/6/1990
Damon DeLise (Wayne Valley), Butler Bowl, 1/3/1989
Frank Mockenhaupt (Rutherford), Feb. 1988
Jonny Santiago (North Arlington), Wallington Lanes, 2/10/1987
Ray Adam (Wood-Ridge), Wallington Lanes, 1/15/1987
Mike Russo (Bergen Catholic), 1/7/1985
Russ Van Housen (Hawthorne), 1985

* County tournament
** Sectional tournament
*** State singles finals

The pre-Christmas portion of the season is almost in the books. After that, the next major tournament get-together in North Jersey will be the FDU New Year’s Team Championships at Parkway Lanes on Jan. 4… According to Coach LoPresti, the field is limited to 36 teams, and entries are open until Jan. 2.

See you ’round the lanes…

—GT

Aside from a handful of make-up matches, the first half of the 2013-14 bowling season is in the books. Yup, already. But fear not, we haven’t even gotten to the major-tournament portion of the schedule, and there are still plenty of matches left that will decide league/division titles.

Taglines dropped in for one such contest Thursday at Holiday Bowl in Oakland. The Mahwah and Westwood girls went head-to-head for first place in the Big North Patriot Division… last winter, the Thunderbirds beat Westwood late in the season to win the title by two points. In their first meeting this season, the Cardinals won, 7-0, to remain unbeaten in the division and move 11 points ahead of Mahwah in the loss column — but it was about as close as a sweep possibly could be (details and full standings after the jump).

Westwood won the first game by 34 , the second by 1, and the third by 48 to take the total pinfall, 1,913 to 1,830. That’s right, one pin separated the teams in Game Two, and the T-Birds’ undoing was a pair of splits in the 10th frame… one was the dreaded 7-10, the other a 4-6-7 that anchor Allison Homler nearly converted on her final ball. Homler had a great angle on the shot and got the 4-pin to ricochet off the back wall, but it missed the stubborn 6, and that was the potential game-tying pin. (As “vengeance”, the senior covered a 4-7-10 spare in Game Three).

Mahwah got off to a good start in the third game and led after frame No. 5. That’s when Westwood’s anchor, Kaitlyn Stapleton, reeled off three straight strikes to get the team going (plus prompt the amusing “turkey” graphic to appear on the score monitor), and the comeback was on. Junior Marissa Rivers took the comeback theme to the extreme — her first throw of Game Three was a Gutterball Greg special, but she and the Cards could have cared less after her third strike in the 10th frame helped seal the deal. Kudos, too, to T-Birds senior Anna Zaat for keeping the pressure on with a match-high 222 in the finale.

So we know where that leaves the Big North Patriot Division girls leaders, what about everyone else? Full standings for the Big North and NJIC are below, with this disclaimer: NJIC teams bowl only divisional matches, all two games apiece… Big North teams have three-game matches, but some are cross-divisional and do not count in the standings, so their division and overall records are shown:

Boys Bowling Standings
(Through Thursday, Dec. 19)

BIG NORTH CONFERENCE
UNITED DIVISION
Paramus Catholic: 19-9 (21-14 overall)
St. Joseph: 12-2 (26-2)
Bergen Catholic: 9-5 (21-28)
Don Bosco: 2-12 (21-14)
DePaul: 0-14 (7-28)
NOTES — PC has faced everyone in the division once and has the lead, but St. Joe’s beat the Paladins, 5-2, on Dec. 3. The Green Knights have to make up a snow-out with Don Bosco and must play Bergen Catholic twice in the second half.

LIBERTY DIVISION
Passaic Tech: 26-2 (33-2 overall)
Bergen Tech: 21-7 (30-12)
Clifton: 21-7 (23-12)
Passaic: 2-26 (2-33)
Kennedy: 0-14 (0-28)
Eastside: 0-14 (0-42)
NOTES — The schedule I have says that Clifton and Passaic Tech were supposed to face off on Wednesday, but we never got a score. We’re also missing Kennedy/Passaic from Dec. 11. Little help?

FREEDOM DIVISION
Northern Highlands: 28-7 (40-9 overall)
Indian Hills: 21-0 (33-2)
Hackensack: 11-10 (11-17)
Paramus: 5-9 (7-21)
Ridgewood: 3-18 (3-25)
Ramapo: 2-26 (7-35)
NOTES — You may notice a theme start to develop… Indian Hills and Northern Highlands have not played each other yet, but that happens in their first dual match of the new year on Jan. 7 at Holiday Bowl.

INDEPENDENCE DIVISION
West Milford: 17-4 (38-4 overall)
Fair Lawn: 14-7 (23-12)
Lakeland: 12-16 (19-16)
Wayne Valley: 11-10 (30-12)
Wayne Hills: 2-19 (11-31)
NOTES — Mark it down, Jan. 7 at T-Bowl in Wayne, Fair Lawn vs. West Milford for the division lead. The first-place Highlanders have won five matches by 7-0 scores and only lost to Wayne Valley, 4-3. FYI: This used to be a six-school division, but Passaic Valley is not fielding a team this year.

NATIONAL DIVISION
Pascack Valley: 26-2 (31-4 overall)
Bergenfield: 19-2 (26-9)
Teaneck: 19-16 (26-23)
Demarest: 16-12 (18-17)
Tenafly: 7-28 (7-28)
Old Tappan: 4-31 (4-31)
NOTES — The first Bergenfield/PV match of the season was scheduled for Dec. 10, but (no) thanks to snow, we’ll have to wait until Jan. 6 to see this division’s leaders go head-to-head.

PATRIOT DIVISION
Westwood: 26-2 (47-2 overall)
Mahwah: 13-8 (27-22)
Ramsey: 10-11 (17-18)
River Dell 5-16 (10-32)
Pascack Hills: 2-19 (9-26)
NOTES — Mahwah became the first team to take a game from Westwood on Thursday, but the Cardinals are still firmly in control.

AMERICAN DIVISION
Fort Lee: 12-2 (26-9 overall)
Dumont: 7-7 (24-11)
Ridgefield Park: 2-5 (6-29)
Cliffside Park: 0-7 (2-26)
NOTES — If Dumont stays on Fort Lee’s heels, this race will come down to the teams’ final-week meeting on Jan. 27.

NORTH JERSEY INTERSCHOLASTIC CONFERENCE
COLONIAL DIVISION
Hawthorne: 20-0
Pompton Lakes: 20-0
Rutherford: 15-5
Garfield: 10-10
Eastern Christian: 5-15
Glen Rock: 5-15
Manchester: 3-17
Mary Help: 2-18
NOTES — Leaders Hawthorne and Pompton Lakes will meet on Jan. 9… The score called into The Record from Dec. 9 read “Garfield 5, Glen Rock 0″, but a score I saw elsewhere indicated that Glen Rock won, 5-0. The standings reflect a Garfield win, so if that is incorrect, please email us.

MEADOWLANDS DIVISION
Secaucus: 20-5
Wallington: 20-5
Lyndhurst: 18-2
North Arlington: 12-13
Becton: 10-10
Wood-Ridge: 8-17
St. Mary: 7-18
Hasbrouck Heights: 0-25
NOTES — Leaders Secaucus and Wallington square off on the first match back from break, Jan. 6. Both dropped 5 points to Lyndhurst but are otherwise unbeaten… Lyndhurst lost 2 points to North Arlington and has played one fewer match than the leaders. The Golden Bears will make up their Dec. 17 snow-out against Becton after the holiday break.

PATRIOT DIVISION
Leonia: 20-0
Park Ridge: 15-0
Palisades Park: 15-5
New Milford: 10-5
Harrison: 10-15
Midland Park: 8-7
Hawthorne Christian: 3-17
Bogota: 2-18
Queen of Peace: 2-18
NOTES — A couple of snow-outs still to be made up here, but you haven’t missed the big one: Leonia vs. Park Ridge on Jan. 9 at Parkway Lanes. If the standings remain as they are, those teams might actually play two in a row, with a position round set for Jan. 13.

*****
Girls Bowling Standings
(Through Thursday, Dec. 19)

BIG NORTH CONFERENCE
UNITED DIVISION
Holy Angels: 14-0 (35-0 overall)
Immaculate Heart: 5-9 (35-14)
Paramus Catholic: 2-12 (23-12)
NOTES — Holy Angels is halfway home to repeating as United champ. The race will come down to the second full week of January: Angels/IHA on the 14th, Angels/PC on the 16th. The second IHA/PC match is Jan. 29.

LIBERTY DIVISION
Bergen Tech: 28-0 (30-5 overall)
Clifton: 14-7 (26-16)
Passaic Tech: 12-16 (12-30)
Passaic: 5-16 (7-21)
Eastside: 4-10 (4-31)
Kennedy: 0-14 (0-21)
NOTES — Bergen Tech swept through the first half of its divisional slate, including a 7-0 win over Clifton on Dec. 6. The rematch is set for Jan. 13… In the meantime, if someone could kindly pass along results from Passaic/Kennedy on Dec. 11 and Passaic/Clifton on Thursday, it’d be much appreciated.

FREEDOM DIVISION
Northern Highlands: 24-11 (29-20 overall)
Paramus: 14-0 (28-7)
Hackensack: 14-7 (14-14)
Ridgewood: 11-10 (18-17)
Indian Hills: 7-14 (9-26)
Ramapo: 0-28 (1-41)
NOTES — Talk about your unbalanced schedules… Northern Highlands already has faced everybody in the Freedom once, while Paramus has played only two division matches. However, the Spartans swept NH, 7-0, and their only loss came against Holy Angels in a cross-divisional showdown.

INDEPENDENCE DIVISION
Fair Lawn: 21-0 (35-0 overall)
Lakeland: 7-14 (12-23)
Wayne Valley: 5-9 (26-9)
Wayne Hills: 2-12 (11-31)
NOTES — For the girls, the Independence is a lot smaller since neither Passaic Valley *nor* West Milford field teams this season. Fair Lawn swept Wayne Valley, 7-0, on Dec. 5, but the Indians will get another shot at the leader on Jan. 13.

NATIONAL DIVISION
Teaneck: 35-0 (42-0 overall)
Tenafly: 24-11 (24-11)
Old Tappan: 21-14 (21-14)
Demarest: 9-19 (15-20)
Pascack Valley: 2-26 (2-33)
Bergenfield: 0-21 (5-37)
NOTES — Yeah, about Teaneck… they’ll be ranked the next time The Record Top 5 comes out. They have the second-best team average in the entire conference behind fellow unbeaten Holy Angels, and the rest of this division may have trouble catching up.

PATRIOT DIVISION
Westwood: 28-0 (47-2 overall)
Mahwah: 10-11 (38-18)
Ramsey: 9-12 (23-12)
River Dell: 7-14 (21-21)
Pascack Hills: 2-19 (6-29)
NOTES — See above. This one might not come down to the end of the season again.

AMERICAN DIVISION
Dumont: 12-2 (22-13 overall)
Fort Lee: 5-9 (5-30)
Ridgefield Park: 2-5 (9-26)
Cliffside Park: 2-5 (2-26)
NOTES — No one has bowled more than two matches against division opponents yet, so we’ll see how things shake out after the sun sets on 2013.

Speaking of which, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Hey, no matter which holidays you celebrate, those two give you a good reason to take off on a Wednesday (this year, at least), so why not enjoy them? See you ’round the lanes…

—GT

It’s mandatory for all journalists not to do any work at the end of the holidays and produce any original content. Just in case you were wondering.
Last year, 2012, I did 3 separate “Lists” at the end of the year showing the most read stories on our humble little blog, listing the Top 40 Power Players in North Jersey athletics, and making predictions for 2013. I even got one right.
Anyway, incredibly, the Power Players list was such a success (well, the boss liked it) that they wanted it in the paper for 2013, same thing for the predictions.
But I still have lots of things to say.
First, we start with the Top 10 most viewed posts on Varsity Aces in 2013.

10. The Aceys: Best Breakthrough Athlete and Best Breakthrough team

The Story Now: One night in July, rock star JJ Conrad texted me an idea for an awards show we could do on Twitter and on Varsity Aces as an end of the year thing. I liked it right away, the only thing I didn’t like was it was July, and the season ended in early June for everybody. But, his idea was on the money. We came up with categories, put it out to a vote, and we even filmed an awards show. It was such a success, that we are thinking of more and better in 2014. Can you say live awards show?
Anyway, this was one of the categories, and I hate to say it, but right now, I have no memory at all of who won.

9. The Aceys: Best Student Section and Best Coach

The Story Now: This one, I do remember, because The Black Hole from Hasbrouck Heights won the Best Student Section in a vote that was somewhat controversial, but I swear was on the level. Dave Bell from Bergen Catholic was the winner, and all we had was a stock headshot of him, we need to do better than that.

8. Splash Talk: Who is this year’s Girls Swimmer of the Year

The Story Now: The winner of the vote was Katie Murphy from Ramapo, and in his post JJ talked about how hard it is to pick anyone. This story was actually one of the biggest reason for the creation of the Aceys award. Why? Because we love knowing everyone’s opinion and getting people to vote, but in the end, the decision really belongs to us, the writers. That’s why the Aceys awards were so cool because it was strictly a vote by the people. Christina Paspalas of Demarest was the North Jersey Swimmer of the Year, she was 3rd in the vote. 2nd in the vote was Caitlin Grady from Northern Highlands, but I don’t think Caitlin was too mad, her family sent me a Christmas card this year (and I didn’t send one back). I also want to point out though that back in the day, this blog had and still has a huge swimming community following.

7. Wrestling: BCCA Tournament first day results

The Story Now: Well, gee, this post is only like 3 days old, so obviously it is pretty relevant. I will say this though, I was talking to someone earlier this month about the whole Football Vote thing, and I said to this person (a prominent football coach), you know, I’m not so sure that New Jersey isn’t a wrestling state, meaning, wrestling is the most popular sport in New Jersey.

6. Football: St. Joes 27, Paramus Catholic 14, final

The Story Now: Well, this was the Football Game of the Year….except, well, it wasn’t that good of a game. It was supposed to be the battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 team in New Jersey, but PC got beat by Bosco the week before which took away some of the luster. Then, the game itself wasn’t that close as Joes got an early turnover and led 17-0. The Bosco/Bergen game, and the Joes/Bosco game, and PC/Bosco II ended up being much closer. But this was a game that had national poll repercussions, and basically, since PC went on to win Group 4, and Joes went on to win Group 3, this is the game that sewed up the No. 1 ranking for St. Joes in NJ.

5. Aces Poll: Who had a lucky ’13?

The Story Now: This one is all Greg Tartaglia, who I’m so glad is a Varsity Ace. I’ve known Greg for years, and, well, I don’t quite know how to describe it, but he’s got some real interesting interests. Like the Jets, and like high school bowling, and VW Bugs, and left-handers. But one of them is the number 13, and it was all his idea to put together a fun ranking/poll of HS players who wear 13. Because let’s face it, when you wear 13, you’re obviously either superstitious, or not superstitious, but you know the significance of the number.

4. Hockey: Who is the Player of the Year?

The Story Now: The winner of the popular vote was Alex Linquito of Indian Hills, the actual winner of the award was Ramsey sophomore (now a junior) Alex Whalen, who only got 111 votes out of 2600 cast. Come on Alex! You have to rally the troops next time.

3. In Memory of Megan Macaluso

The Story Now: The first thing I see when I look back at this post is what time I wrote it, 7:14 a.m. it says, which is pretty early, even for me. But I had gotten a text from Mondo maybe overnight telling me about former St. Mary softball player Megan Macaluso passing away. Without much time (I actually liked the story I wrote for her in the paper much better) I cobbled together a few notes and then re-posted the story I wrote on Megan from 2011.
And listen, I don’t want to get all preachy, but as 2013 ends, just remember that life is short and you should be thankful for all the days we have here because it can all be taken away so quickly.
I do hope we get the Ricker/Macaluso softball tournament in the spring.

2. Wrestling: BCCA Finals recap

The Story Now: Remember what I said about New Jersey being a wrestling state? The guys live blog from the Jockish finals is only 2 days old, but the 2nd most viewed story we printed all year. There are probably a few reasons for this, first, the weather Sunday was abysmal, so people probably stayed home. Two, I know the Rockland CC gym is nice and suitable and big enough, but the place has no juice whatsoever. I’m not saying it’s bad in any way. It serves its purpose, and there really is no other place to have the event in North Jersey, but the stands are far away from the mats, and it’s almost like Giants Stadium, bring 10,000 people in there and it feels empty. You watch all this great wrestling and the atmosphere is kinda blah. I also think that you lose some crowd who just doesn’t want to go all the way up Route 17. Anyway, we hope our coverage kind of fills in the gap. The BCCA people can’t be any more helpful and I think the organizers like it there.

1. Football Live: Mission Viejo 28, Don Bosco 25

The Story Now: I think I realized how popular this particular blog was when I had multiple people ask me about getting kicked out of the press box…and sneaking back in. It’s totally a true story. Real nice folks out there in California (sarcasm). I also read this blog though and think how I totally botched the ending. Basically I wrote this:

Its 4th down and 1 at the 16. This could be the game. MV tries to draw Bosco offsides. No luck. MV calls TO.
They try a FG, bad snap!! But kicker throws the ball to the wingback for 5 yards. He almost scored. Bosco coaches begging for flag.
1st and 10 at 13, power left. gain of 2.
2nd down…TOSS LEFT…TOUCHDOWN…11 Yard gain.

FINAL MV 28, Bosco 25.

–
And that was it. I never got the name of the kicker, or the wingback, at the time, I didn’t know why the Bosco coaches wanted a flag. Of course, now….well, I still don’t know the name of the kicker or the wingback, but I did see the film on the bus of the last play and the men downfield for Mission Viejo (should have been a flag). Because it was a total botched play, field goal….bad snap…I mean, Bosco had the game won, then, just like that they didn’t. You know what else gets lost in this game? Bosco K Cameron Baels made the big FG in OT to put his team ahead. I know people remember the kick he missed against PC, I will remember the kick he made out in California and the one against Bergen Catholic in OT.
But it goes in the books as a Bosco loss. The game started at 11:30 p.m. eastern time and ended around 2 a.m. The other kicker, I sat down to write my story next to the fan bus the sprinklers went off and soaked me.

A popular question around North Jersey bowling houses recently has been, “When is The Record coming out with its rankings?” The answer comes on Saturday… well, actually, it comes today, since this entry is meant to inform you that Saturday’s edition will be the first to carry rankings in the paper.

However, if you can’t wait that long, here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect to see in the Boys Top 10 and Girls Top 5, as well as some extended breakdown of last weekend’s tournament action…

In the interest of chivalry, ladies first… At the Fairleigh Dickinson-sponsored New Year’s Team Challenge at Parkway Lanes, the five North Jersey girls teams with the highest league averages advanced to the six-team Baker playoffs, along with Shore Conference standout Howell. (Quick aside — FDU assistant coach/tournament stat master Lisa Friscioni bowled for Howell in the early 2000s before going on to star with the Knights, so the Rebels have been venturing north for the Team Challenge every year since. And have won the last seven girls titles.)

Anyway, the quintet of Holy Angels, Teaneck, Paramus Catholic, Westwood and Fair Lawn have the inside track to filling out the North Jersey Top 5. We’ll end the suspense now by saying that, barring any wacky upsets between now and Saturday, the Angels will be No. 1. Right now, they have the best four-bowler league average (705), are unbeaten in Big North-United play and took Howell to five games in the Team Challenge Baker semifinals… Of course, Westwood has a strong case, having knocked off Teaneck and PC to reach the Baker finals last weekend, and let us not forget their run to the 2013 Bergen County Baker finals. The Cardinals have plenty of crunch-time experience… PC also can make a strong argument for the top spot, since the Paladins beat Holy Angels in the season-opening Tom Irwin Crusader Classic and finished ahead of the Angels in qualifying at the Team Challenge, though the Angels won the teams’ first league match-up, 7-0. I didn’t have space to mention it in the paper (thank goodness for Twitter), but it bears mentioning that PC had the high team game in qualifying with a 1,038 that featured Nikki Vucak’s 278 and Lilly Sigona’s 227.

The bottom line? To use 2013 NFL Playoff parallels, the Angels are like the Carolina Panthers — solid, consistent, and they make the necessary plays to win… The Paladins right now are the New Orleans Saints — sure, they’ve had some ups and downs, but they can score with anybody, so if they get on a hot streak, watch out… Westwood is the San Diego Chargers — underestimate/take them for granted at your own risk.

Seems like the perfect time for the Bergen County tournament to roll around and give these teams a forum to settle things on the lanes… and what do you know? That happens on Saturday.

As for the boys… The top four seeds for the Team Challenge Baker playoffs were (in order) Passaic Tech, Lyndhurst, Indian Hills and Pompton Lakes. That seems like a pretty solid North Jersey top four, especially with Indian Hills averaging an outrageous four-man 801 (yup, 200 per bowler), Passaic Tech posting the best tournament score (3,077) among locals to date, and Lyndhurst winning the whole thing by averaging 221 in its final seven Baker games. Pompton and Hawthorne are the only two Top 10 candidates for which I don’t have team averages, and oddly enough, they bowl in the only five-man league in the area, the NJIC Colonial. Other than those five, expect to see Westwood, Pascack Valley and Paramus Catholic in the rankings mix — all three made the Team Challenge Baker playoffs — along with West Milford and Northern Highlands.

Incidentally, Lyndhurst got its championship due in the recap story, but the team that had the next-best Baker round on Saturday may have been Paramus Catholic. Yes, fine, the Paladins are getting lots of “ink” this entry, but they leave me no choice because they keep doing stuff like this… Senior anchor Brian Rizzi was the 10th-frame man for PC in Baker games. With the first-round series on the line, he went strike-strike-9 in the final frame against North Bergen to punctuate a 6-point win… In the first game of the quarterfinals, he went strike-strike-9 in the 10th to seal a 4-point win over Passaic Tech… And in the quarterfinal clincher, he struck out in the last frame to cap a 2-point win over the No. 1 seed. What do those intentionally-badly-drawn ESPN commercials always say? CLUTCH.

Quick note on Northern Highlands: their boys and girls teams took part in last Saturday’s Jefferson Falcon Frenzee Tournament up at Sparta Lanes (near where some of the Taglines Clan dwells), as did Mahwah. According to Highlanders coach Bob Tschinkel, his boys squad shot in the mid-2,500s despite missing some varsity regulars and finished 7th. The girls shot around 2,390 and finished 3rd behind champ Warren Hills and Mahwah. Those are the only tournament results I’ve gotten from anywhere, and apparently, the Jefferson scorekeepers still haven’t emailed the official final results out to all participating coaches. Next time, I’ll have to enlist some of the Lake Mohawks Tags to scope out the Frenzee as reporters by proxy.

In the event any Jefferson tourney scores come across the Varsity Aces desk, we’ll try to post them here, so check back later if you’re statistically inclined. For those such individuals, we are happy to share the complete results from the New Year’s Team Challenge, including some numbers that didn’t make the paper:

FDU NEW YEAR’S TEAM CHALLENGE RESULTS
[Jan. 4 at Parkway Lanes, Elmwood Park]
Boys Qualifying Results (Top 12 advance):
1. Passaic Tech 1,039-1,014-1,024—3,077
2. Lyndhurst 952-1,076-1,025—3,053
3. Pompton Lakes 965-918-1,079—2,962
4. Indian Hills 1,044-982-878—2,904
5. Howell 2,785
6. Union City 2,752
7. Westwood 2,683
8. Paramus Catholic 2,669
9. North Bergen 2,663
10. St. Peter’s Prep 2,662
11. Pascack Valley 2,644
12. Fair Lawn 2,643
13. Fort Lee 2,608
14. Ridgewood 2,578
15. Dumont 2,535
16. Bergen Tech 2,485
17. Bergen Catholic 2,480
18. Ramsey 2,479
19. Demarest 2,356
20. Lenoia 2,339
21. Clifton 2,220
22. Secaucus 2,218
23. Ridgefield Park 2,117
24. Hackensack 2,051
25. DePaul 1,790

Boys First Round (Best-of-3 Baker games)
(1) Passaic Tech, (2) Lyndhurst, (3) Pompton Lakes and (4) Indian Hills had byes
(5) Howell def. (12) Fair Lawn, 151-142, 216-212
(6) Union City def. (11) Pascack Valley, 186-158, 172-146
(7) Westwood def. (10) St. Peter’s Prep, 211-177, 175-157
(8) Paramus Catholic def. (9) North Bergen, 193-201, 234-161, 176-170

Boys Quarterfinals (Best-of-3 Baker games)
(8) Paramus Catholic def. (1) Passaic Tech, 215-211, 211-209
(2) Lyndhurst def. (7) Westwood, 141-213, 160-146, 204-169
(6) Union City def. (3) Pompton Lakes, 206-188, 255-184
(5) Howell def. (4) Indian Hills, 144-211, 187-179, 172-163

Boys Semifinals (Best-of-5 Baker games)
(2) Lyndhurst def. (6) Union City, 256-222, 204-172, 233-182
(5) Howell def. (8) Paramus Catholic, 133-236, 184-158, 199-168, 211-192

Boys Final (Best-of-5 Baker games)
(2) Lyndhurst def. (5) Howell, 231-137, 214-173, 210-159

Boys All-Star Team
1. Daijon Smith (Lyndhurst), 708; 2. Isiah Tolbert (Passaic Tech), 689; 3. James Kane (Paramus Catholic), 682; 4. Dean Edwards (Bergen Tech), 673*; 5. Frank Magyar (Pompton Lakes), 673*.
*NOTE: Edwards, Magyar and Lyndhurst’s Ryan Donohue finished in a three-way tie for fourth, so a high-game tiebreaker was used. Edwards’ high was 257, followed by Magyar (254) and Donohue (235).

Girls Qualifying Results (Top 6 advance):
1. Howell 962-894-1,010—2,866
2. Paramus Catholic 7676-834-1,038—2,639
3. Westwood 2,575
4. Holy Angels 2,486
5. Fair Lawn 2,193
6. Teaneck 2,143
7. Immaculate Heart 2,138
8. Hackensack 2,057
9. North Bergen 1,900
10. Bergen Tech 1,727
11. Dumont 1,597

Girls Quarterfinals (Best-of-3 Baker games)
(1) Howell and (2) Paramus Catholic had byes
(3) Westwood def. (6) Teaneck, 154-130, 194-180
(4) Holy Angels def. (5) Fair Lawn, 170-114, 192-133

Girls Semifinals (Best-of-5 Baker games)
(1) Howell def. (4) Holy Angels, 140-162, 187-165, 129-149, 210-190, 182-136
(3) Westwood def. (2) Paramus Catholic, 193-142, 182-152, 172-136

Girls Final (Best-of-5 Baker games)
(1) Howell def. (3) Westwood, 171-125, 165-212, 211-182, 140-215, 166-166, 108-69 (5-frame tiebreaker)

Girls All-Star Team
1. Nikki Vucak (Paramus Catholic), 657; 2. Kristen Natoli (Howell), 619; 3. Michelle Gulino (Howell), 594; 4. Clarissa Hernandez (Holy Angels), 585; 5. Kim Klein (Howell), 583.

See you ’round the lanes…

—GT