It took a bit of sleuthing, but the mystery of the Maltese Falcon… er, the Jefferson Falcon Frenzee bowling tournament has been solved. Only a handful of local teams made the trek up to Sparta Lanes for last Saturday’s event, but judging from the scores, the trip appears to have been worth it (especially if they got to stop into the Italian bakery located next door to the lanes).

Mahwah and Northern Highlands brought both their boys and girls teams, and Bergen Catholic sent up its JV squad. Congratulations to Mahwah senior Allison Homler for winning high game (246) and high series (629) on the girls side. The top series among North Jersey bowlers in the boys field came from her T-Bird teammate, Thomas “TJ” Hannon, who rolled a 660 series and earns the unofficial Taglines “Alliteration of the Month” award.

In a show of Bergen County solidarity, the T-Birds and Highlanders stuck close to each other in the team standings, too. It was Highlands 7th, Mahwah 8th for the boys, and Mahwah 2nd, Highlands 3rd for the girls. The Highlanders’ Shannon Rossi had the second-high girls game (225) and fifth-high series (558), Jennifer Rios had the third-high girls series (566) and Phil Hubelbank had the ninth-high boys series (586).

One of the most unusual things I noticed from looking at the standings was that the host team, Jefferson, did not appear to have competed in its own tournament. But, we’ll leave the folks in Morris County to solve that one. I do wish the Aces’ coverage area still included Montville (as it did way back when), the Mustangs won the boys title and are looking very impressive for just a second-year program. Here are the final results…

INAUGURAL JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP FALCON FRENZEE TOURNAMENT
(Jan. 4 at Sparta Lanes, Sparta)
Boys Team Results
1. Montville 920-1,008-1,069—2,997
2. Warren Hills 1,087-963-902—2,952
3. Morris Hills 1,004-934-857—2,795
4. Sussex Tech 2,758
5. Wallkill Valley 2,740
6. Morris Knolls 2,704
7. Northern Highlands 2,556
8. Mahwah 2,515
9. Bridgewater-Raritan 2,505
10. Livingston 2,501
11. Elizabeth 2,435
12. Morris Tech 2,415
13. Summit 2,358
14. Lenape Valley 2,309
15. High Point 2,277
16. Vernon 2,112

Boys High Series
1. Jack Cook (Morris Knolls), 695
2. Tommy Slate (Sussex Tech), 684
3. Justin Puchalski (Montville), 673
4. Thomas “TJ” Hannon (Mahwah), 660
5. Karl Kattermann (Montville), 641
6. Brian Duke (Warren Hills), 638
7. Ben Laws (Warren Hills), 613
8. Ryan Scholz (Wallkill Valley), 590
9. Phillp Hubelbank (Northern Highlands), 586
10. Phil Hazen (Warren Hills), 583

Boys High Game
1. Jack Cook (Morris Knolls), 279
2. Karl Kattermann (Montville), 270
3. Justin Puchalski (Montville), 266

Girls Team Results
1. Warren Hills 863-860-828—2,551
2. Mahwah 743-911-782—2,436
3. Northern Highlands 800-773-789—2,362

Girls High Series
1. Allison Homler (Mahwah), 629
2. Brianna Boze (Summit), 625
3. Jennifer Rios (Northern Highlands), 566
4. Jenna Henderson (Warren Hills), 559
5. Shannon Rossi (Northern Highlands), 558
6. Abby Laws (Warren Hills), 545
7. Sapna Gera (Mahwah), 513
8. Kat DePack (Warren Hills), 490
9. Jessica Yearance (Warren Hills), 468
10. Lauren Scholes (Warren Hills), 449

Girls High Game
1. Allison Homler (Mahwah), 246
2. Shannon Rossi (Northern Highlands), 225
3. Jenna Henderson (Warren Hills), 214

Junior Varsity Team Results
1. Montville 2,449
2. Sussex Tech 2,166
3. Morris Knolls 2,109
4. Morris Hills 2,105
5. Elizabeth 1,802
6. Bergen Catholic 1,799
7. Morris Tech 1,486

—GT

Paramus Catholic junior James Kane shot a scorching 729 series on Thursday. (Photo/Joe Camporeale)

Keep an eye on The Record and northjersey.com tomorrow for the first official boys/girls bowling notebook (and yes, rankings) of the season. One of the realities of the business is that space often is limited in the paper — that goes for stories and the daily results that appear in the boxscores — and that’s a bummer. Yet one of the many perks of the blogosphere is, to paraphrase, “we don’t need no stinkin’ space restrictions.” (Bonus Varsity Aces shout out to the first person who correctly names the *original* movie from which I borrowed/butchered that line).

Fact is, Taglines reads the paper, too, and also noticed that some impressive efforts were unwittingly omitted this week. So, here they are:

● Paramus Catholic junior James Kane fired a season-high 729 series (229-245-255) in a 7-0 win over Tenafly at Bowler City on Thursday.

● Nick Reyes (268) and Greg Khan (245) of Bergenfield both had Thursday’s high games appear, but not their series. Reyes rolled a 665, Khan a 646 to help the Bears take a game from Teaneck.

● The paper’s cutoff for high series is 600 or better, but Taglines has to recognize a rapidly-improving Cyrus Basseri of Pascack Hills. In Wednesday’s 7-0 sweep of Cliffside Park, he matched his season best with a 589 — incidentally, the first time he hit the number against Fort Lee on Dec. 20, it included a 255 game, highest by any Cowboy this season.

● Charlie Gilbride of Ramsey shot a 641 (206-213-222) in a 7-0 win over Pascack Hills on Tuesday that helped the Rams gain some ground in the Big North Patriot Division.

● For Westwood, Andrew Cirillo shot a 664 (247-215-202) and Kyle Rivers added a 650 (241-224-185) to help Westwood fend off Dumont, 4-3, on Wednesday…

…AND, in the same match, Dumont freshman Kyle Schellberg bowled a 618 (227-224-167), which wasn’t even his best outing of the week. His career high of 674 (234-223-217) came on Monday in a 7-0 victory over Ramsey. For the week, he averaged 215.

● Finally, IHA senior Kat Blehl tossed a 644 (245-191-208) in a Wednesday win over Demarest, 5-2. (I believe the score was reprinted today, although the team total read “IHA 5, Dumont 2″, which was a misprint.) That was the lefty’s third 600+ series of the season and second to the impressive 685 (257-247-181) she tallied against Paramus Catholic on Dec. 18.

Taglines goal throughout the season is to give North Jersey bowlers their due, since, hey, they put as much into their craft as athletes in other sports. And hey, try to give the Aces a break when we make a mistake, Jack (like accidentally drifting into “Uncle Si” speak)… the more polietly people point them out, the happier we’ll be to correct them quickly!

NEXT UP: The Bergen County girls bowling tournament, 9 a.m. Saturday at Bowler City in Hackensack. See you around the lanes…

—GT

Holy Angels’ first season of varsity competition in girls bowling was 1998-99. During the program’s first 15 years, the Bergen County tournament only produced three different champions: Immaculate Heart (10 times, including 7 straight), Paramus Catholic (3 times) and Ridgewood (twice). Also in that span, the Angels finished second twice, third three times, and were eliminated from the semifinals of the Baker playoffs in four of the first five years the format was in play.

Think it’s safe to say that the Angels’ 2014 title was a long time coming? They became the 10th different champion since the tournament began in 1981 and ended Paramus Catholic’s bid for a ninth county title last Saturday. The Paladins still rank second in the championship department, behind IHA (12) and well ahead of Hackensack (4).

A few other news and notes that didn’t quite fit into the recap story from the 34th Bergen County girls bowling tourney at Bowler City…

GOOD SHOW BY ALL: That was what Taglines tweeted at the event’s conclusion, and it wasn’t just for the teams and bowlers. Tournament Director Dick Bennett and his crew from the Bergen County Women’s Coaches Association did an outstanding job keeping things on schedule and posting results for spectators to see. Not only that, the new format tweaks seemed to produce the desired result (more on this shortly). Kudos as well to Bowler City, the house gave up lanes 1 through 18 for the Baker playoffs so the girls wouldn’t have to bowl on the same old oil all day. That gave the crowd a bit of elbow room, too — double prizes.

‘HOLY’ ROLE CALL: We can rage on with the Baker debate in another couple of paragraphs. But one thing you can’t deny is that the style of game requires good teamwork, and good teamwork deserves recognition. Holy Angels seniors Kelly Grippo and Leslie Subaldo certainly came through in the clutch, and if there was more space in the paper, I’d have mentioned the whole lineup. Oh look, here’s space! Senior Clarissa Hernandez bowled leadoff and struck twice in Game 1 of the title match to set the tone. Senior Dylan McLaughlin made it two consecutive strikes to begin that first finals game, and freshman Tiffany Sucero followed by picking up a 1-2-4-10 split in the third frame  to start some “this could be their day” karma. And it was… all five girls made sure of that in finals Game 3, stringing six strikes in a row (bookended by Subaldo) as part of a clean 247, which set the tournament record for high Baker game.

SUGAR, WE’RE GOIN’ DOWN SWINGIN’: Don’t let the four-game sweep in the finals fool you. Defending champ Paramus Catholic did not go down without a fight and will be a force to reckon with at sectionals. Senior Nikki Vucak looked about as determined as she has all season, and did she ever roll some big-time strikes. In qualifying, she closed her final game (a 236) with a five-bagger and nearly caught up to the high-series winner, and the Paladins overtook Holy Angels for the top seed. After PC fell behind in the Baker semifinals, 1-0, she teamed with Ameera Khan, Teresa Sandberg, Lilly Sigona and Kristen Kane on an even 200 that turned the tables and pushed the team into the finals. You could argue that only one girl had a better day than Vucak, at least from an individual standpoint…

TWO FOR LALOO: Teaneck senior Dana-Marie Laloo became the sixth repeat champ and the fifth to win in back-to-back years. She is the first girl to take high game and high series in the same tournament since IHA’s Nicole Linder in 2010. Beyond those facts, several things struck me about Laloo — by all accounts, she is very well-liked, even by opponents… she didn’t start bowling until freshman year of high school, so this has been quite a meteoric rise to the top… and some of her quotes were very insightful. One didn’t fit in the story because it needed too much context, but it was pretty deep.

When asked about coming in as defending champ (rather than ‘coming from nowhere’, as she did in 2013), she noted the following: “Pressure has always destroyed me.” That’s a serious statement; yet she said it to highlight how locked-in she was this time, and how that singular focus on winning helped her overcome something that had been a stumbling block in the past. And, of course, to point out how much sweeter that made the victory.

SCENE & HEARD: Yup, Westwood did it again. The Cardinals came oh-so-close to playing giant-slayer, pushing Holy Angels to the brink of elimination in the semifinals before dropping the last two games, both of which came down to the final frame. Tough losses, yes, but their supply of giants has not run out — the Cards should be slotted into Group 1 for the North sectional, and Mother Seton of Clark will be going for its fifth straight title in that group. Just sayin’… What a great run by Northern Highlands to reach the semifinals as the No. 7 seed. It wasn’t just that they knocked off Mahwah and Teaneck, they did it by winning seven straight Bakers (including Game 1 vs. Paramus Catholic in the semis). Senior Shannon Rossi made a number of big shots to close out victories along the way. … Fair Lawn, too, has a formidable anchor in Ellie Schuckman. She struck out in the 10th frame to clinch the Cutters’ opening-round sweep of Paramus, then did the same in their quarterfinal opener with Westwood, bringing them back for a 168-158 win. … Paramus may have made the biggest off-the-lanes news of the tournament, namely that senior standout Brittany Hovan missed the morning session due to a band commitment and arrived just after Bakers began. Coach Jonathan Morrisette couldn’t speculate if Hovan would have been ready to go had she gotten there before the playoffs started, since to paraphrase, they couldn’t cross a bridge they never arrived at. Hovan did say she anticipates being able to bowl at sectionals. … For the first time in a long time, Ridgewood did not field a full team. Instead, seniors Kelly Skettini and Zoe Singer bowled as individuals in a group with Lyndhurst junior Emily Young. The grouping was dubbed “Ridgehurst” and showed some serious potential — all three finished in the top 17, as Young had the 3rd-high series and 4th-high game, and Skettini mirrored her with the 4th-high series and 3rd-high game.

SO, THE BAKER SURVEY SAYS: Taglines seems to recall someone suggesting the idea of a stepladder format for the Baker tournament last year… I want to say somewhere under the “B is for Baker games” heading. Okay, okay, I’ll remove tongue from cheek and say that even though it was suggested here on Varsity Aces, no one seemed to know if that was the origin for implementing the new format at the Bergen girls tournament. It matters not. The important thing is the result(s): The two top teams were rewarded with byes to the later rounds and capitalized… we still got a good run from an underdog, thanks to Northern Highlands… I wasn’t sure how to feel about expanding from best-of-3 to best-of-5/7 series at first, but that decision had the desired effect, too: under last year’s format, Westwood would have knocked out Holy Angels in the semifinals, 2-1. With best-of-5, that gave the favorite one more chance to prove its championship mettle, which the Angels did.

Now, after a few years of tinkering, it seems like the BCWCA has a good, solid format for its girls bowling tournament. Will the idea carry over to the Bergen boys championships? Probably not. That tournament has been around longer and appears to be entrenched in the six-game tradition. Is that a bad thing? Again, probably not. That remains a unique format around the state and tests not only skill but also endurance. All those will be on display this Saturday at Bowler City. Until then, Statman gets the final say…

BERGEN COUNTY GIRLS BOWLING TOURNAMENT RESULTS
[Jan. 11 at Bowler City, Hackensack]
Qualifying Results (Top 8 advance):
1. Paramus Catholic 846-849-852—2,577
2. Holy Angels 860-875-815—2,550
3. Teaneck 809-793-884—2,486
4. Westwood 747-791-867—2,405
5. Fair Lawn 2,329
6. Mahwah 2,262
7. Northern Highlands 2,223
8. Paramus 2,174
9. Hackensack 2,168
10. Immaculate Heart 2,030
11. Bergen Tech 1,971
12. Tenafly 1,955
13. Old Tappan 1,863
14. Dumont 1,857
15. Demarest 1,609
16. Indian Hills 1,591
17. Cliffside Park 1,578

Stepladder First Round (Best-of-5 Baker games)
(5) Fair Lawn def. (8) Paramus, 132-114, 153-94, 220-159
(7) Northern Highlands def. (6) Mahwah, 156-149, 163-135, 139-133

Stepladder Quarterfinals (Best-of-5 Baker games)
(4) Westwood def. (5) Fair Lawn, 158-168, 147-144, 182-161, 182-154
(7) Northern Highlands def. (3) Teaneck, 166-119, 183-160, 151-125

Stepladder Semifinals (Best-of-5 Baker games)
(1) Paramus Catholic def. (7) Northern Highlands, 156-162, 200-140, 164-148, 197-139
(2) Holy Angels def. (4) Westwood, 194-158, 173-224, 160-179, 188-178, 211-190

Championship Final (Best-of-7 Baker games)
(2) Holy Angels def. (1) Paramus Catholic, 163-136, 191-116, 247-222, 178-170

Individual Results (High Game—Series)
1. Dana-Marie Laloo (Teaneck), 248—662; 2. Nikki Vucak (Paramus Catholic), 236—649; 3. Emily Young (Lyndhurst), 227—626; 4. Kelly Skettini (Ridgewood), 233—619; 5. Kelly Grippo (Holy Angels), 212—567; 6. Marissa Rivers (Westwood), 200—565; 7. Ellie Schuckman (Fair Lawn), 214—548; 8. Kat Blehl (IHA), 205—547; 9. Haley Hassan (Paramus), 188—534; 10. Allison Homler (Mahwah), 192—533; 11. Jennifer Rios (Northern Highlands), 187—528; 12. Tiffany Sucero (Holy Angels), 200—525; 13. Kiana Baham (Teaneck), 190—524; 14. Shannon Rossi (Northern Highlands), 208—522; 15. Clarissa Hernandez (Holy Angels), 203—522; 16. Ameera Khan (Paramus Catholic), 216—519; 17. Zoe Singer (Ridgewood), 194—515; 18. Yenelly Garcia (Dumont), 196—514; 19. Rachel Kohler (Fair Lawn), 182—509; 20. Aimee Balleza (Bergen Tech), 181—501.

ALL-TIME BERGEN COUNTY GIRLS BOWLING TEAM CHAMPIONS
Baker Tournament Era
2013: (3) Paramus Catholic def. (5) Westwood, 146-143, 228-177
2012: (5) Ridgewood def. (6) Bergenfield, 137-121, 170-169
2011: (1) IHA def. (3) Ridgewood, 180-119, 157-134
2010: (1) IHA def. (3) Hackensack, 182-97, 214-175
2009: (1) IHA def. (2) Ridgewood, 210-138, 182-223, 168-155
Six-Game Tournament Era
2008: 1. IHA (5,333), 2. Paramus Catholic (5,097)
2007: 1. IHA (5,301), 2. Dumont (4,995)
2006: 1. IHA (5,601), 2. Bergenfield (4,996)
2005: 1. IHA (5,288), 2. Paramus Catholic (5,282)
2004: 1. Ridgewood (4,949), 2. Old Tappan (4,886)
2003: 1. IHA (5,640)*, 2. Holy Angels (5,069)
2002: 1. IHA (5,276), 2. Holy Angels (4,989)
2001: 1. Paramus Catholic (5,267), 2. IHA (4,962)
2000: 1. Paramus Catholic (5,279), 2. IHA (4,985)
1999: 1. IHA (4,820), 2. Paramus Catholic (4,804)
1998: 1. Hackensack (4,963), 2. Indian Hills (4,922)
1997: 1. IHA (4,926), 2. Hackensack (4,808)
1996: 1. Hackensack (4,637), 2. IHA (4,487)
1995: 1. IHA (4,434), 2. Fair Lawn (4,428)
1994: 1. Paramus Catholic (4,618), 2. Fair Lawn (4,459)
1993: 1. Pascack Valley (4,656), 2. Paramus Catholic (4,442)
1992: 1. Paramus Catholic (4,519), 2. Pascack Valley (4,494)
1991: 1. Paramus Catholic (5,230), 2. Fair Lawn (4,774)
1990: 1. Paramus Catholic (4,623), 2. Fair Lawn (4,608)
1989: 1. Fair Lawn (4,915), 2. Bergenfield (4,517)
1988: 1. Hackensack (5,290), 2. Fair Lawn (5,069)
1987: 1. Hackensack (4,805), 2. Old Tappan (4,765)
1986: 1. Paramus Catholic (4,851), 2. Old Tappan (4,753)
1985: 1. Bergenfield (4,619), 2. Old Tappan (4,590)
1984: 1. Pascack Hills (4,782), 2. Pascack Valley (4,692)
1983: 1. Pascack Hills (4,685), 2. Fair Lawn (4,529)
1982: 1. Old Tappan (5,178), 2. Hackensack (4,675)
1981: 1. Old Tappan (4,952), 2. Hackensack (4,664)

ALL-TIME BERGEN COUNTY GIRLS BOWLING INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
Baker Tournament Era
2013: Dana-Marie Laloo, Teaneck, 627 (209.0 average)
2012: Kelly Skettini, Ridgewood, 650 (216.67)
2011: Lexus Lopez, Lyndhurst, 675 (225.0)
2010: Nicole Linder, IHA, 655 (218.33)
2009: Lauren Rhein, IHA, 670 (223.33)
Six-Game Tournament Era
2008: Joely Carrillo, Paramus Catholic, 1,435 (239.17)*
2007: Joely Carrillo, Paramus Catholic, 1,332 (222.0)
2006: Patricia Dahiroc, IHA, 1,294 (215.67)
2005: Joely Carrillo, Paramus Catholic, 1,257 (209.5)
2004: Kristyn Silleto, Becton, 1,277 (212.83)
2003: Jackie DeMerchant, IHA, 1,147 (191.17)
2002: Kristina Szalay, Paramus Catholic, 1,223 (203.83)
2001: Lucia Cipolat, Paramus Catholic, 1,183 (197.17)
2000: Dyanne Robles, IHA, 1,263 (210.5)
1999: Alecia Hefter, Ridgewood, 1,308 (218.0)
1998: Chrissy Rockett, Hackensack, 1,283 (213.83)
1997: Tricia Bower, Indian Hills, 1,203 (200.5)
1996: Tricia Bower, Indian Hills, 1,102 (183.67)
1995: Stephanie Collins, Lodi, 1,179 (196.5)
1994: Stephanie Collins, Lodi, 1,204 (200.5)
1993: Heather Spaanstra, Garfield, 1,158 (193.0)
1992: Leni Lewenstein, Pascack Valley, 1,122 (187.0)
1991: Evangeline Rosel, Paramus Catholic, 1,271 (211.83)
1990: Maria Rosel, Paramus Catholic, 1,126 (187.67)
1989: Donna Guido, Hackensack, 1,209 (201.5)
1988: Wendy Kuipers, Ramsey, 1,280 (213.33)
1987: Wendy Kuipers, Ramsey, 1,033 (172.17)
1986: Donna Guido, Paramus Catholic, 1,163 (193.83)
1985: Sue Forshee, Westwood, 1,156 (192.67)
1984: Donna O’Connell, Ridgewood, 1,210 (201.67)
1983: Estelle Simpson, Westwood, 1,021 (170.16)
1982: Donna DiTrani, Old Tappan, 1,110 (185.0)
1981: Debbie DiTrani, Old Tappan, 1,161 (193.5)
*Tournament record

See you ’round the lanes…

—GT

Competitors warm up before the 42nd Bergen County boys bowling tournament (Don Smith/Staff Photographer)

First, let’s hear it one more time for Saturday’s champions: Lyndhurst won the third overall Bergen County boys bowling title in school history (1978, 1979, 2014) and fifth if you factor in Groups 1-2 titles in 1998 and 2012. That ties the Golden Bears for second-most behind Bergen Catholic (9 overall + 3 group titles), alongside Paramus Catholic (4+1) and Don Bosco (3+2).

Now, before folks start bringing up all the “non-public dominance” hubbub, note that this was the fourth straight season that public schools swept the Bergen team titles. Indian Hills claimed its second group title, and the Braves have the distinction of winning Groups 1-2 (2009) *and* Groups 3-4 (this year).

Also note that senior Danny Bivin became the first Rutherford bowler to win high series outright. The last Bulldog individual champ, Rocco Ilaria in 1998, shared top honors with Pascack Valley’s Drew Rauchway. These are just some of the tidbits from the 42nd Bergen County boys bowling tournament that didn’t quite fit into the recap story (and among those that deserve some extra explanation)…

THE CURIOUS CASE OF ‘BENJAMIN BIVIN’: No, this doesn’t have anything to do with the Rutherford senior reverse-aging, it just seemed like an appropriate and snappy subhead. Bivin finished sixth at counties as a sophomore (shooting 1,306) and third at counties as a junior (1,314), so his progression to a first-place 1,401 this year seems rather natural. The “curious” part was that he was not around to collect his award… the Bulldogs skedaddled right away, so I wondered if any of them knew he had won.

Well, the only contact number I had for coach Dave Padilla was his home number, so I called up, and Mrs. Padilla was nice enough to take a message. She also said she’d told the coach before he left the house that morning that one of his bowlers was going to do something big. (QUICK ASIDE: In September, Mrs. Tags noted that her beloved Eli Manning won his second Super Bowl ring in “the house his brother built” and predicted that Peyton would do the same thing in SB XLVIII… and now he has a chance. How do women know these things???)

Long story short, I eventually got to speak with Mr. Bivin on the phone and was impressed with a few things, not the least of which was his ability to raise his game during big tournaments — he averages about 212 in league play and was at 233.5 on Saturday. In addition, he hit that average despite tossing a 176 in his fifth game… which he immediately followed with a 278 that featured 9 consecutive strikes after a first-frame spare. Quoth the champ:

“I was pretty worried, because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to come back in the last game. I wasn’t really able to make my mark for most of that [fifth] game. But, I guess I finally got my act together for the third game in the afternoon [chuckles].” —Rutherford senior Danny Bivin

One other note: Bivin is the 11th winner to shoot over 1,400 all-time and the fifth to do so in the last six seasons. Incidentally, the only champ not to reach the mark in that span was North Arlington’s Matt Priore in 2010, who shot “only” 1,399. So, with no due respect to the one annoying pin that refused to surrender that year, we’ll say the past six winners all essentially scored 1,400 or better… after the feat had only been accomplished six times in the first 36 tournaments. Most impressive.

CARDS DEALT A DIFFICULT HAND: Now, to runner-up Westwood. By Taglines’ count, 13 teams in the 42-year history of the tournament have shot 6,000, an average of 200 per bowler over six games. It’s not easy to do. Yet the Cardinals are the only squad to do so and not win either the overall title OR a group title. In other words, their 6,004 was the highest score ever by the second-place team in either group, but because they were in the same group as the highest-scoring team in tourney history, they were relegated to runner-up plaques.

Well, I say that deserves much more than just a couple lines tacked onto the end of a newspaper article, so here they be: Westwood shot well in the morning and was only three pins away from making an unheard-of three-way tie with Indian Hills and Pascack Valley at the break. And then, the Cards went ballistic: 1,000 in Game 4. 1,041 in Game 5. 1,028 in Game 6. They were crushing it, and their fans were into it. (The cliche question is, of course, what the heck did they eat for lunch? Answer: Didn’t ask.)

Senior anchor Andrew Cirillo fired a 257 high game and sixth-place series of 1,333 — looking back, the Top 7 all topped 1,300, so I probably should have made that the cutoff for the story, rather than the arbitrary “Top 5″. The Rivers cousins, Kyle (235—1,257) and Brandon (247—1,206) both averaged 200 on the day, and the trio of Vinny Soccodato, Sky Krokus and Nick Pellegrino each had at least one 200 game. Coach Dan Rattacasa was contemplating getting a separate award made to commemorate their efforts, and with numbers like that, can you really blame him?

SCENE & HEARD: Admittedly, there wasn’t much pre-tournament press for defending champ Glen Rock, because it was tough to get a read on the Panthers after they lost some key starters during the offseason. Then senior Dan Dooner worked it out where he could hurdle for the track team and compete at major bowling tournaments, and along with soph Evan Strassberg and returning North Jersey Bowler of the Year Jake Rollins (248—1,385), he helped the “Rock” rolled to an eighth-place finish. … The only Groups 1-2 team to overtake the Panthers was Fort Lee, which had a tremendous afternoon. The Bridgemen averaged 900 a game before the lunch break and 974 afterward (Your secret lunch formula, gents? White Manna? Five Guys? Anybody?). Anchor Ammad Quraishi had an especially enjoyable turnaround, following a 459 AM series with a solid 681 PM set, including a 261 in Game 4. Phil Plucinski followed with a 235 in Game 5, and James Han fired a 257 in Game 6. …

Dumont and Wallington both got off to strong starts. And, with relatively young casts of characters, both should be able to use this year’s county experience to finish even stronger in the future. Keep an eye on Huskies freshman Kyle Schellberg (273—1,341), he was fifth individually and may be heard from again in future tourneys. Panthers junior Mike Foote had a high game of 237 and led his team with a 1,213 series. … Only one bowler shot over 200 in every single game, and that was North Arlington’s Tyler Keefe (265—1,396). Lyndhurst’s Jordan Lopez (249—1,373) came oh-so-close, shooting a 199 in the finale. He also started the tournament with a six-bagger, evoking memories of his first-game 300 in the 2013 tournament. … Northern Highlands dropped out of The Record Top 10 before the tournament due to a winless week in league play, so naturally, the Highlanders came back with a vengeance and placed seventh, thanks in part to a lineup bookended by seniors John Wendeborn (277 high game) and Phil Hubelbank (251 high game), both of whom finished in the Top 12 individually. … Wendeborn actually ended up with the fourth-high game (not third, as reported), and that news comes with sincere apologies to Fair Lawn junior Justin Goldschmidt, who tied Bivin for second-high game when he shot 278 in Game 6 — had to scan a lot of scoresheets in little time ere Saturday night’s deadline approached, so thank goodness for blogs.

There are probably 1,000 more words that could be written, but since Statman put just about that many in list form, he will take us home. Next up: The Passaic County boys and girls championships Friday at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park. Be there, or be not-bowling-ball shaped…

BERGEN COUNTY BOYS BOWLING TOURNAMENT RESULTS
[Jan. 18 at Bowler City, Hackensack]
Groups 1-2 Team Standings:
1. Lyndhurst 1,051-1,010-1,046-1,034-1,132-947—6,220
2. Westwood 962-1,014-959-1,000-1,041-1,028—6,004
3. Fort Lee 837-903-960-1,007-968-948—5,623
4. Glen Rock 943-936-951-890-989-901—5,610
5. Ramsey 5,395
6. Wallington 5,306
7. Dumont 5,232
8. North Arlington 5,219
9. St. Joseph 4,958
10. Wood-Ridge 4,938
11. Rutherford 4,900
12. Leonia 4,893
13. Ridgefield Park 4,618
14. New Milford 4,574

Groups 3-4 Team Standings
1. Indian Hills 903-1,099-936-979-963-1,011—5,891
2. Pascack Valley 980-1,015-943-932-1,047-939—5,856
3. Paramus Catholic 921-863-967-913-1,005-984—5,653
4. Northern Highlands 835-1,072-961-920-935-892—5,615
5. Fair Lawn 5,581
6. Bergen Tech 5,299
7. Don Bosco 5,105
8. Mahwah 5,084
9. River Dell 5,049
10. Teaneck 5,014
11. Bergen Catholic 4,969
12. Demarest 4,739
13. Paramus 4,584
14. Hackensack 3,833
15. Cliffside Park 3,708

Individual Results (AM series-PM series—Total)
1. Danny Bivin (Rutherford), 716-685—1,401; 2. Tyler Keefe (North Arlington), 730-666—1,396; 3. Jake Rollins (Glen Rock), 720-665—1,385; 4. Jordan Lopez (Lyndhurst), 694-679—1,373; 5. Kyle Schellberg (Dumont), 743-598—1,341; 6. Andrew Cirillo (Westwood), 688-645—1,333; 7. Daijon Smith (Lyndhurst), 659-649—1,308; 8. Steven Doughty (Bergen Tech), 741-557—1,298; 9. Justin Goldschmidt (Fair Lawn), 663-627—1,290; 10. Rob Borrelli (Pascack Valley), 652-626—1,278; 11. Mike Dul (Lyndhurst), 637-632—1,269; 12. (TIE) Phil Hubelbank (No. Highlands), 588-678—1,266 AND Ryan Vasel (Pascack Valley), 600-666—1,266; 14. Alex McGuire (Indian Hills), 626-637—1,263; 15. Evan Strassberg (Glen Rock), 574-688—1,262; 16. Cory Heitler (Fair Lawn), 621-640—1,261; 17. Kyle Rivers (Westwood), 582-675—1,257; 18. Nick Reyes (Bergenfield), 622-630—1,252; 19. James Kane (Paramus Catholic), 640-611—1,251; 20. Ryan Donohue (Lyndhurst), 613-631—1,244; 21. Tyler Suser (Ramsey), 583-648—1,231; 22. John Wendeborn (No. Highlands), 717-514—1,231; 23. Malik Wright (Teaneck), 604-615—1,219; 24. Mike Foote (Wallington), 631-582—1,213; 25. Jared Duncan (Indian Hills), 619-588—1,207; 26. Brandon Rivers (Westwood), 614-592—1,206; 27. James Han (Fort Lee), 610-595—1,205; 28. Brian Rizzi (Paramus Catholic), 572-628—1,200; 29. Zach DiPirro (River Dell), 605-594—1,199; 30. Anthony Crismale (Bergen Tech), 618-580—1,198; 31. Anthony Rispoli (Ridgewood), 644-553—1,197; 32. Simon Lezaja (Bergen Catholic), 639-550—1,189; 33. Dan Dooner (Glen Rock), 629-558—1,187; 34. (TIE) Devin Puccio (Paramus Catholic), 577-609—1,186 AND Joe Ballesteros (Pascack Valley), 602-584—1,186 AND Craig Oriente (Indian Hills), 589-597—1,186; 37. Zachary Seegers (Wallington), 666-506—1,172; 38. (TIE) Tim Kisala (Don Bosco), 616-555—1,171 AND Mike Imperiosi (Mahwah), 673-498—1,171; 40. Mario Tartaglione (Wood-Ridge), 599-570—1,169; 41. Kohei Ito (Paramus), 555-610—1,165; 42. Dean Edwards (Bergen Tech), 619-543—1,162; 43. Phil Plucinski (Fort Lee), 565-594—1,159; 44. David Grant (Fort Lee), 611-547—1,158; 45. Trenton Perrington (Teaneck), 586-567—1,153; 46. Joseph Biondi (Leonia), 594-552—1,146; 47. Ammad Quraishi (Fort Lee), 459-681—1,140; 48. Greg Khan (Bergenfield), 663-473—1,136; 49. Graham Mulligan (Indian Hills), 536-596—1,132; 50. Ryan Sweeney (St. Joseph), 541-584—1,125 .

High Games
1. McGuire, 287; 2. (TIE) Bivin and Goldschmidt, 278; 4. Wendeborn, 277; 5. Schellberg, 273; 6. (TIE) Bivin and Vasel, 268; 8. Donohue, 266; 9. Doughty and Keefe, 265; 11. Keefe, 262; 12. Quraishi, 261.

ALL-TIME BERGEN COUNTY BOYS BOWLING TEAM CHAMPIONS
Group Division Era [Overall Champ / Group Champ]
2013: Glen Rock (6,022) / Hackensack (5,866)
2012: Northern Highlands (6,028) / Lyndhurst (5,875)
2011: Pascack Valley (5,892) / Ramsey (5,830)
2010: Paramus Catholic (5,966) / St. Mary (5,699)
2009: Bergen Catholic (6,211) / Indian Hills (5,709)
2008: Don Bosco (5,831) / New Milford (5,796)
2007: Don Bosco (6,129) / Becton (5,724)
2006: Queen of Peace (6,124) / Bergen Catholic (6,046)
2005: Bergen Catholic (4,895)^ / Queen of Peace (4,799)^
2004: Ramsey (6,064) / Teaneck (5,733)
2003: Bergen Catholic (5,898) / Ramsey (5,733)
2002: Pascack Hills (6,051) / Paramus Catholic (6,014)
2001: Pascack Hills (5,883) / Don Bosco Prep (5,841)
2000: Ridgefield Park (5,715) / Bergen Catholic (5,606)
1999: Ridgefield Park (5,901) / Bergen Catholic (5,885)
1998: Bergen Catholic (5,870) / Lyndhurst (5,660)
1997: Bergen Catholic (6,009) / Wood-Ridge (5,494)
1996: Bergen Catholic (5,479) / Dumont (5,504)
1995: Dumont (5,717) / Don Bosco (5,507)
1994: Bergen Catholic (6,033) / River Dell (5,567)
1993: Bergen Catholic (5,620) / River Dell (5,297)
1992: Don Bosco Prep (5,436) / Garfield (5,007)
1991: Paramus Catholic (5,889) / Garfield (5,526)
1990: Paramus Catholic (5,671) / Bogota (4,884)
1989: Fair Lawn (5,541) / Wallington (5,049)
Pre-Group Champion Era
1988: 1. Paramus Catholic (5,804), 2. Hackensack (5,777)
1987: 1. St. Joseph (5,395), 2. Bergen Catholic (5,320)
1986: 1. Fair Lawn (5,974), 2. Teaneck (5,686)
1985: 1. Hackensack (5,763), 2. Fair Lawn (5,632)
1984: 1. Becton (5,927), 2. Englewood (5,631)
1983: 1. Teaneck (5,613), 2. Bergen Catholic (5,437)
1982: 1. Hackensack (5,766), 2. Teaneck (5,761)
1981: 1. Teaneck (5,651), 2. Bergenfield (5,540)
1980: 1. Hackensack (5,495), 2. Midland Park (5,224)
1979: 1. Lyndhurst (5,635), 2. Paramus (5,598)
1978: 1. Lyndhurst (5,205), 2. Fair Lawn (5,195)
1977: 1. Pascack Hills (5,410), 2. Fair Lawn (5,351)
1976: 1. Bergen Catholic (5,261), 2. Hasbrouck Heights (5,241)
1975: 1. Pascack Hills (5,432), 2. Fair Lawn (5,370)
1974: 1. Westwood (5,397), 2. Northern Highlands (5,058)
1973: 1. Hasbrouck Heights (4,193)^, 2. Fair Lawn (4,141)^
# The 2005 tournament was shortened to 5 games due to snowstorm
^ For the 1973 tournament, teams used 4 bowlers each

ALL-TIME BERGEN COUNTY BOYS BOWLING INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
2013: Jordan Lopez, Lyndhurst, 1,427 (237.83 average)
2012: Bryan Kist, Pascack Hills, 1,403 (233.83)
2011: Kyle Landau, Ramsey, 1,412 (235.3)
2010: Matt Priore, North Arlington, 1,399 (233.17)
2009: Chris Hopkins, Tenafly, 1,413 (235.5)
2008: Matt Priore, North Arlington, 1,353 (225.5)
2007: Mike Slusarz, Don Bosco, 1,345 (224.17)
2006: Tim Downey, Bergen Catholic, 1,327 (221.17)
2005: James Haggerty, Queen of Peace, 1,168# (#5 games, 233.6)
2004: Rob Vergara, Ramsey, 1,417 (236.17)
2003: Joe Branda, Ramsey, 1,331 (221.83)
2002: P.J. Tortorici, Paramus Catholic, 1,370 (228.3)
2001: P.J. Tortorici, Dumont, 1,340 (223.3)
2000: Nick Labruna, Ridgefield Park, 1,325 (220.83)
1999: Rasheed Ragin, Hackensack, 1,349 (224.83)
1998: (TIE) Drew Rauchway, Pascack Valley & Rocco Ilaria, Rutherford, 1,311 (218.5)
1997: Sal Trabona, Fair Lawn, 1,413 (235.5)
1996: John Cockcroft, Don Bosco, 1,279 (213.17)
1995: Paul Cimino, Don Bosco, 1,241 (206.83)
1994: Chris Buscavage, Teaneck, 1,339 (223.17)
1993: Chris Posada, Bergen Catholic, 1,332 (222.0)
1992: Mike Mullin, Don Bosco, 1,404 (234.0)
1991: Mike Mullin, Don Bosco, 1,346 (224.3)
1990: Greg O’Donnell, St. Joseph, 1,271 (211.83)
1989: Dave Nagelhout, Fair Lawn, 1,360 (226.67)
1988: Mark Orofino, Cliffside Park, 1,434 (239.0)
1987: Tony Ament, Fair Lawn, 1,271 (211.83)
1986: Jonny Santiago, North Arlington, 1,464 (244.0)
1985: Tony Ament, Fair Lawn, 1,368 (228.0)
1984: Sean Sullivan, Bergen Catholic, 1,288 (214.67)
1983: Charley Bruno, Lodi, 1,481 (246.83)*
1982: Joe Nappi, Cliffside Park, 1,343 (223.83)
1981: Pete Fedynich, Bergenfield, 1,339 (223.17)
1980: R. LoPresti, Hackensack, 1,202 (200.3)
1979: M. Gingerelli, Lyndhurst, 1,244 (207.3)
1978: Paul Westhelle, Bogota, 1,157 (192.83)
1977: Paul Westhelle, Bogota, 1,225 (204.17)
1976: M. Hatton, Northern Highlands, 1,218 (203.0)
1975: M. Kaufman, Fair Lawn, 1,244 (207.3)
1974: M. Smith, Northern Highlands, 1,170 (195.0)
1973: M. Waldman, Fair Lawn, 1,133 (188.83)
*Tournament record

See you ’round the lanes…

—GT

Passaic Tech’s John Silvestro (left) and Pompton Lakes’ Dillon Cilento (right) helped write another chapter in their teams’ rivalry at the Passaic County bowling tournament. (Photos/Joe Camporeale)

In Audrey Jantzen’s first season as coach of the Passaic Tech bowling program, the Bulldogs overtook Pompton Lakes to win the 2002-03 B-PSL King Division title on the final day of the regular season. The following winter, those teams finished tied for first, and Tech won a one-game tiebreaker to edge the Cardinals for the King title… for the third year in a row.

The teams’ league duels ended when the Bulldogs moved to the large-school Northern Hills Conference for the 2004-05 season. Of course, both the B-PSL and Northern Hills are now distant memories, but the PCT-Pompton rivalry is alive and well — the Cardinals beat Tech for their first Passaic County championship in 2013, and the Bulldogs turned the tables last Friday at Parkway Lanes, winning by just 34 points.

There are more tales to tell about the champions crowned at the 41st Passaic County tournament (even beyond what already has been written), as well as news from outside the lines— er, lanes.

THE ‘BANNED’ PERRY: (Couldn’t resist, it was too punny… darn Country music.) So Hawthorne coach John LaForge faced a tough decision. Freshman Madison Perry has been a season-long starter in the Bears’ co-ed NJIC Colonial Division lineup. However, the rule at the Passaic tournament is that girls who compete for boys/co-ed teams will have their scores counted as boys individuals. In order to be eligible for girls high series, they either must enter as individuals or compete on an all-girls team — which Hawthorne fielded solely for the county tourney. Back to that thought shortly.

For whatever it’s worth, Hawthorne frosh Madison Perry rolled the top series by a girl (508) at the Passaic tourney.

Now, another rule on the books came into play: Girls may compete on co-ed teams in the boys sectional and state tournaments, provided they did not bowl for an all-girls team at any point during the season. Given that the Bears are reigning North 1B, Group 2 champs, LaForge wanted to preserve Perry’s eligibility so she could help the team defend its title… and that left him with two options: 1.) Enter her in the Passaic County tournament as an individual, so she could be eligible for both high series *and* state-tournament competition; or, 2.) Start her on the boys team, making States a “yes” but the county high series a “no”.

Since Perry and her 170-plus average gave Hawthorne the best chance to compete for the Passaic boys title, that’s how the coach played it. And he wasn’t the only NJIC Colonial team that ran into this issue — Doug Batsch of Pompton Lakes couldn’t have fielded his strongest starting five without junior Julieanne Kornberg, so she bowled with the boys and could not contend for girls high series.

Now, here’s the real kicker: Perry’s 508 series would have been good enough to give her first place, and Kornberg’s 486 would have been good enough for third. Seems fairly unfair, right? Both coaches expressed the desire to see a rule tweak in the future, but for the time being, that’s the way it is. On the other hand, it also would be unfair to focus only on the negative of the situation and take away from what the top-three medalists accomplished: Wayne Valley’s Kristine Verbeke (505), Wayne Hills’ Catie Bombard (483) and Valley’s Claudine Rosca (459) finished with the highest girls series under the current structure, and since they didn’t write the rulebook, they still ought to be congratulated for their efforts. Which, come to think of it, they were. On we go…

BACK TO THIS THOUGHT: Yes, it is true, Hawthorne put together a girls squad just for counties and finished second. This winter also was not the first time that happened — the Bears were girls runner-up in 2001 and 2002, when the anchor of the boys team, Mandy Pezzano, helped get a separate squad going so she could be eligible to win high series (which she did both years). I do recall Pezzano going on to bowl as an independent in the girls state tournament… then again, the state boys/girls/team/singles competitions were all held on one day back then, and I can’t recall if the NJSIAA rules were any different at the time. At any rate, congrats to the “Lady Bears” Samantha Contrini, Amanda Consentino, Juliana Kimberlin, Katrina Plaszky and Jess Schoen for a fine showing in their one-night-only performance of the season.

THEY KNEW JUST HOW IT FELT: The Wayne Valley girls ought to empathize with the beginning of this blog entry. The Indians placed runner-up to crosstown rival Wayne Hills two years in a row before breaking through with the program’s first county title on Friday. Last year, the difference was eight pins, the closest finish in tournament history (to Taglines’ knowledge, anyway) — “A bit of a heartbreaker,” in the words of coach Jason Wilke — and no one had to remind the girls of that. True, there were not as many teams that had the depth to challenge for the team title this year… and, that fact matters not to the folks south of Ratzer Road in Wayne. Valley had the best team in the field, far and away, and deserved to take home the trophy.

Verbeke became the third Wayne Valley girl to claim the individual title, and all of her teammates placed in the Top 9: Rosca in third, followed by juniors Dawn Hansen (165 high game, 439 series for 4th), Marissa Luzzi (152—439 for 5th) and Jessica Whiteside (157—377 for 9th). In addition, this was the Indians’ first team championship… in fact, they’re only the fourth different school to take home the Passaic girls crown since it was first awarded in 1997. The full rundown of all-time champs is below.

OKAY, BACK TO THE BOYS: Senior Justin Floyd (703) definitely made history in one department with his boys high series gold medal, and he may have done so in another. You may notice our List of Champions only goes back to the mid-’80s, at least for now. Floyd is the first Manchester bowler to make the list as it currently exists, so there is a chance he is the first Passaic individual champion in school history. Incidentally, he also received the high game silver medal for his 275.

The right-hander is definitely the first champ in family history. His older brother, Jaylin (Manchester Class of 2010), was county runner-up as a junior, though he did have a healthy 716 series and 279 high game in doing so. As it does in the Tags clan, the battle for brotherly bragging rights may never truly end… but since he got the gold, Justin gets dibs on having his name in bold this time.

About the only bad news for the singles champs Verbeke and Floyd is that the Aces do not yet have any action photos of them… YET.

NOW FOR THE ‘HONOR ROLL’: (Get it? Roll, bowling— OK, I should have stopped with the Perry pun. Sorry…) Passaic Tech used six different bowlers in scoring its first-place 3,069, and they are six legit shooters who would start on almost any team in North Jersey. There is only one senior in the bunch, Austin Hackett, who actually won high series at counties in 2013 and only bowled two games this time around. That is how deep the Bulldogs’ lineup is. Juniors Austin Burtwell (2nd last year, 5th this year), John Silvestro (11th this year) and Michael Williams (alternated with Hackett) all contributed, and the sophomore class is strong, with Anthony Rizzo (6th place) and Isiah Tolbert (3rd place) occupying spots 3 and 5 in the rotation. In the interest of full disclosure, both Silvestro and Tolbert are southpaws, making this the most left-handed team in Passaic County… but even if they were all righties, Taglines would still have to admit, this team looks like a serious state contender.

As for Pompton Lakes, Kornberg fits nicely into the No. 3 spot, with junior Frank Magyar (2nd place) and senior Spencer Schoonmaker (4th place) in front of her, and the duo of brothers Nick and Dillon Cilento anchoring the 4-5. Nick is only a freshman and had his best game (225) in the finale, while the senior Dillon opened with a clean 277 to earn high game honors. The Cardinals may not have the “bench” depth of other teams in The Record’s Top 10, but this starting five darn near beat a Group 4 power for the county title and will be hard to dethrone in the North 1B, Group 1 tournament.

SCENE & HEARD: Unfortunately, Taglines learned that Passaic Valley dropped its bowling program this season, which is a shame because A.) the Hornets were one of the longest-running teams in North Jersey, and B.) the boys and girls squads both were fairly successful in recent years. PV’s Michelle Sadkin won girls high series two years ago, and the Hornet boys were the 2009 team champion. … DePaul and West Milford both are without girls teams this season but fortunately soldier on as programs. Junior Joe Malyack carried the co-ed Spartans with a 17th-place 566 series, and the Highlanders placed three bowlers in the Top 15: Stephen Rotella (12th, 597), Matt Goldberg (13th, 588) and Jeremy Scott (15th, 577). … So that no one gets left out (ahem) of the southpaw standings: Lakeland junior Tyler Knipping (9th, 616) finished in between Tolbert and Silvestro, while Wayne Valley junior Josh Spiegel (18th, 564) also was in the mix. … Must give some kudos to the Hawthorne boys, too. They made a push to catch third-place West Milford with a 969 third game, keyed by Rich Christensen’s 222 and Ian Bruinooge’s 245. … Tenth-place finisher Greg Vivino of Wayne Valley had a very familiar-sounding last name, and coach Wilke confirmed the fact — the senior right-hander is the son of Floyd Vivino, a.k.a. “Uncle Floyd” of local TV fame. That said, the tastefully-named Greg has made a name for himself, not only by shooting 200 or better in all three games last Friday, but also by being a much snappier dresser. (Rimshot? Anyone?)

FINALLY, ONE SERIOUS NOTE: As much as Taglines likes to focus on the fun in sports, life outside the lanes is not always that way. After the tournament ended, I was sad to receive the news that Eastern Christian had been without one of its top bowlers, as Rob Leghorn missed the event to be with his ailing mother, Linda. It was even sadder to hear on Sunday that Linda had passed away after a long battle with breast cancer. On behalf of the Aces, our condolences go out to the Leghorn family… please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, along with any families in similar situations.

Tournament action resumes 9 a.m. Saturday with the girls North sectional at Bowler City.

41st PASSAIC COUNTY BOWLING TOURNAMENT
(Jan. 24 at Parkway Lanes, Elmwood Park)
Boys Team Results
1. Passaic Tech (PT) 991-1,084-994—3,069
2. Pompton Lakes (PL) 1,084-944-1,007—3,035
3. West Milford (WM) 970-854-938—2,762
4. Hawthorne (H) 874-869-969—2,712
5. Wayne Valley (WV) 2,677
6. Lakeland (L) 2,639
7. Manchester (M) 2,297
8. Wayne Hills (WH) 2,283
9. Clifton (C) 2,254
10. Passaic (P) 2,226
11. Hawthorne Christian (HC) 1,837
12. Eastside (E) 1,817
13. DePaul (D) 1,778
14. Eastern Christian (EC) 1,607
15. Kennedy (K) 1,444

Boys Individual Results
1. Justin Floyd (M), 184-275-244—703; 2. Frank Magyar (PL), 264-191-244—699; 3. Isiah Tolbert (PT), 204-244-216—664; 4. Spencer Schoonmaker (PL), 235-235-183—653; 5. Austin Burtwell (PT), 193-244-211—648; 6. Anthony Rizzo (PT), 236-201-211—648; 7. Dillon Cilento (PL), 277-171-187—635; 8. Rich Christensen (H), 167-234-222—623; 9. Tyler Knipping (L), 193-195-228—616; 10. Greg Vivino (WV), 200-208-201—609; 11. (tie) John Silvestro (PT) and Stephen Rotella (WM), 597; 13. Matt Goldberg (WM), 588; 14. Matt Morris (WV), 578; 15. Jeremy Scott (WM), 577; 16. Robin Nunez (P), 569; 17. Joe Malyack (D), 566; 18. Josh Spiegel (WV), 564; 19. Nick Cilento (PL), 562; 20. Jose Rosado (C), 555; 21. Nick Vilardi (C), 554; 22. Steve Plaszky (H), 536; 23. Ian Bruinooge (H), 525; 24. Mike Ulrich (H), 520; 25. Mike Lindner (L), 519; 26. Ryan Strover (WH), 512; 27. (tie) Aaron Schwartz (L) and Madison Perry (H), 508; 29. Kyle Maskley (WM), 501; 30. Malcolm Ireland (WM), 499.

Boys High Game
1. Dillon Cilento (PL), 277; 2. Justin Floyd (M), 275; 3. Frank Magyar (PL), 264.

Girls Team Results
1. Wayne Valley (WV) 791-724-704—2,219
2. Hawthorne (H) 617-590-530—1,737
3. Clifton (C) 1,666
4. Wayne Hills (WH) 1,629
5. Passaic Tech (PT) 1,612
6. Passaic (P) 1,567
7. Lakeland (L) 1,428
8. Eastside (E) 1,379
9. Kennedy (K) 1,247

Girls Individual Results
1. Kristine Verbeke (WV), 225-153-127—505; 2. Catie Bombard (WH), 101-208-174—483; 3. Claudine Rosca (WV), 136-165-158—459; 4. Dawn Hansen (WV), 121-153-165—439; 5. Marissa Luzzi (WV), 152-138-149—439; 6. Katrina Plaszky (H), 393; 7. (tie) Emani Johnson (C) and Catherine Juarez (C), 379; 9. Jessica Whiteside (WV), 377; 10. Veronica Viera (C), 362; 11. Dayshia Fernandez (P), 355; 12. Jess Schoen (H), 354; 13. Isabella Parker (L), 347; 14. Luelimber Ramirez (PT), 346; 15. Juliana Kimberlin (H), 344; 16. Christina Burke (H), 340; 17. Julia Schuckman, (PT), 331; 18. Mariyah Tripp (E), 328; 19. (tie) Kimberly Rodriguez (PT) and Amanda Consentino (H), 325.

Girls Individuals from Boys Teams
Madison Perry (H), 197-167-144—508; Julieanne Kornberg (PL), 149-169-168—486; Hana Schwartz (EC), 359; Brianna Hughes (D), 343; Courtney Nilssen (D), 333.

Girls High Game
1. Kristine Verbeke (WV), 225; 2. Catie Bombard (WH), 208; 3. Claudine Rosca and Dawn Hansen (WV), 165.

ALL-TIME PASSAIC COUNTY BOYS BOWLING TEAM CHAMPIONS
2013: 1. Pompton Lakes (3,023), 2. Passaic Tech (2,895)
2012: 1. Wayne Hills (3,014), 2. Clifton (2,791)
2011: 1. Clifton (2,690), 2. Lakeland (2,598)
2010: 1. Passaic Tech (2,944), 2. Lakeland (2,696)
2009: 1. Passaic Valley (3,020), 2. Pompton Lakes (2,879)
2008: 1. Lakeland (2,823), 2. Passaic Valley (2,806)
2007: 1. Clifton (3,191), 2. Wayne Valley (3,132)
2006: 1. Clifton (3,038), 2. Passaic Tech (3,030)
2005: 1. Wayne Hills (3,035), 2. Passaic Tech (3,009)
2004: 1. Clifton (3,076), 2. Wayne Valley (3,047)
2003: 1. Clifton (2,992), 2. Passaic (2,978)
2002: 1. Clifton (2,986), 2. Passaic (2,981)
2001: 1. Passaic (2,948), 2. Wayne Valley (2,848)
2000: 1. Wayne Hills (3,255), 2. Passaic Tech (2,941)
1999: 1. Clifton (2,889), 2. Wayne Hills (2,829)
1998: 1. Manchester (2,828)
1997: 1. Passaic Tech (2,845), 2. Clifton (2,807)
1996: 1. Hawthorne (2,892), 2. Clifton (2,886)
1995: 1. Passaic (6,081), 2. Clifton (5,674)^
1994: 1. Passaic (3,132), 2. DePaul (3,024)
1993: 1. Clifton, 2. West Milford
1992: 1. Wayne Hills (2,606), 2. DePaul (2,562)
1991: 1. Hawthorne (2,500), 2. Passaic Valley (2,484)
1990: 1. Hawthorne (2,649), 2. Wayne Valley (2,619)
1989: 1. Clifton (2,863), 2. Wayne Valley (2,655)
1988: 1. Wayne Valley (2,672), 2. Passaic (2,642)
1987: 1. Clifton, 2. Passaic Tech
1974-86: INFO MISSING! If you can help find it, please email Taglines so we can update the list.

ALL-TIME PASSAIC COUNTY BOYS BOWLING INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
2013: Austin Hackett (Passaic Tech), 645
2012: Ryan Kattine (Wayne Hills), 715
2011: Tim Scott (West Milford), 672
2010: Corey Burtwell (Passaic Tech), 741
2009: Tim Scott (West Milford), 767
2008: Greg Kratky (Wayne Hills), 710
2007: Kyle Jacobsen (Hawthorne), 736
2006: Kyle Jacobsen (Hawthorne), 694
2005: Carlos Duarte (Passaic Tech), 741
2004: Carlos Duarte (Passaic Tech), 731
2003: Hector Collado (Passaic), 689
2002: Kevin Cheuvront (Wayne Valley), 681
2001: Jared Zimmerman (Hawthorne), 714
2000: Ken Hermanny (Wayne Hills), 726
1999: Kevin Riebesell (Clifton), 644
1998: Antoine Moody (Eastside), 655
1997: Jared Blitzstein (West Milford), 646
1996: Dave Simon (Clifton), 659
1995: Matt Durham (Passaic), 1,325^
1994: Shawn Aiello (DePaul), 709
1993: Dave Simon (Clifton), 650
1992: Shawn Aiello (DePaul), 620
1991: Al Roughgarden (Hawthorne), 592
1990: Glenn Wanke (Wayne Valley), 625
1989: Emil Dudas (Clifton), 698
1988: Damon DeLise (Wayne Valley), 651
1974-87: INFO MISSING! If you can help find it, please email Taglines so we can update the list.
^ The 1995 tournament used a 6-game format

ALL-TIME PASSAIC COUNTY GIRLS BOWLING TEAM CHAMPIONS
2013: 1. Wayne Hills (2,014), 2. Wayne Valley (2,006)
2012: 1. Wayne Hills (1,946), 2. Wayne Valley (1,895)
2011: 1. Clifton (2,456), 2. Lakeland (2,094)
2010: 1. DePaul (2,589), 2. Clifton (2,305)
2009: 1. Clifton (2,281), 2. Passaic Valley (2,270)
2008: 1. Clifton (2,312), 2. Wayne Hills (2,099)
2007: 1. Clifton (2,533), 2. Wayne Hills (2,358)
2006: 1. Clifton (2,585), 2. Wayne Hills (2,169)
2005: 1. Clifton (2,517), 2. Wayne Hills (2,069)
2004: 1. Clifton (2,287), 2. Wayne Hills (1,758)
2003: 1. Clifton
2002: 1. Clifton (2,399), 2. Hawthorne (2,114)
2001: 1. Clifton, 2. Hawthorne
2000: 1. Clifton (2,113), 2. Wayne Hills (2,085)
1999: 1. Clifton (2,375), 2. Passaic (2,247)
1998: 1. Clifton (2,576), 2. Pompton Lakes
1997: 1. Clifton (2,292), 2. Wayne Hills (2,182)

ALL-TIME PASSAIC COUNTY GIRLS BOWLING INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
2013: Meagan Collins (Mary Help), 538
2012: Michelle Sadkin (Passaic Valley), 505
2011: Sonja Shirak (Clifton), 640
2010: Colette Maylack (DePaul), 680*
2009: Sonja Shirak (Clifton), 609
2008: Jackie Kurtz (Wayne Valley), 588
2007: Angela Untisz (DePaul), 660
2006: Vickie Van Riper (Clifton), 627
2005: Kristen Graham (Hawthore), 656
2004: Kari Berkman (Wayne Valley), 626
2003: Jeunelle Sanabria (Clifton), 611
2002: Mandy Pezzano (Hawthorne), 648
2001: Mandy Pezzano (Hawthorne), 642
2000: Dawn Durham (Passaic), 552
1999: Robyn Carey (Wayne Hills), 581
1998: Amy Pasternack (Clifton), 610
1997: Lauren Rybak (Passaic), 563
*Tournament record

See you ’round the lanes…

—GT

Jordan Lopez is 1 of 2 Lyndhurst bowlers to roll a 300 this season… and 1 of 2 Lopezes pictured (dad Andres is doing his best Aaron Rodgers act)

In case you missed it, junior Jordan Lopez bowled the second 300 game of his varsity career on Monday, helping Lyndhurst sweep Becton, 5-0, to move one step closer to repeating as NJIC Meadowlands Division champion. He is the third North Jersey bowler to accomplish the feat this season and the second on his own team, after freshman Ryan Donohue shot a 300 on Dec. 16. Lopez finished with a two-game series 0f 565, or a 282.5 average, which makes me wonder what would have been if his league used three-game matches.

The 2013-14 bowling season is nearing the home stretch, and all three New Jersey Interscholastic Conference division titles are still to be decided… though, like the Golden Bears, the other league leaders are very, very close to wrapping things up.

Taglines is still working on crunching all the Big North numbers — oh, for the days when every match counted in the standings and made stat-keeping easy — but we should hopefully have those soon. In the meantime, here is an overview of the most recent NJIC standings, plus a brief refresher on North Jersey perfect-game history (for bowling, anyway)…

Rather than rerunning the entire “300 list”, let’s take a look at the company Lopez joined by tossing yet another ’12-strike special’:

NORTH JERSEY BOWLERS WITH MULTIPLE 300 GAMES (Since 1985):
BOYS
Jordan Lopez, Lyndhurst: 1/19/2013 @ Bowler City (1ST); 1/27/2014 @ Wallington Lanes (2ND)
Tim Frantin, Pascack Valley: 1/11/2011 @ Bowler City (1ST); 1/3/2012 @ Holiday Bowl (2ND)
Carlos Duarte, Passaic Tech: 12/16/2004 (1ST); 1/18/2005 (2ND), both @ T-Bowl II *and* in same season

Again, this list only takes into account perfect games in varsity competition, but that’s still a pretty select group. Bravo, Mr. Lopez, for joining the club.

As for the NJIC points standings, they have been updated through the completion of Tuesday’s action. FYI, in the closest race listed below, Colonial Division front-runners Pompton Lakes and Hawthorne go head-to-head one more time on Thursday…

That’s all for this edition of Taglines. See you ’round the lanes…

—GT

Kelley Grippo shot the high game (269) and second-high series (714) to help Holy Angels win the North Group 2 sectional title.

The field for the state girls bowling tournament is set. Whether or not the team finals (Feb. 10) and singles finals (Feb. 12) happen on their scheduled dates will depend on the weather — not only on those dates, but on the days of the boys tournaments as well. Right now, snow is not likely to affect Thursday’s North 1B sectional… but if it does cause the postponement of Saturday’s North 1A sectional (highly possible at this point), that tournament would move to Monday, Feb. 10, and the state girls team tourney would be bumped to Tuesday, Feb. 11. Either way, we’re in for a busy stretch on the lanes next week.

And just who will be part of that craziness at Carolier Lanes? Hackensack, Paramus Catholic, Paramus, Holy Angels, Teaneck and Westwood will represent North Jersey during February Fever down in North Brunswick (college basketball has March Madness, Taglines decrees that the NJSIAA bowling equivalent is February Fever). Any one of them would like to become the first North Jersey girls team to win a state title — fact is, no team from the entire North section (which also includes Hudson, Morris, Sussex, Union and Warren counties) has done so since 1979… and the school that did, St. Joseph of the Palisades, is now closed. Hey, if the Seahawks can finally win a Super Bowl, perhaps the ladies from North Jersey can also answer QB Russell Wilson’s question, “Why not us?”

While the girls figure out the “why”, the Aces will detail the “how”, as in how all the qualifiers emerged from last Saturday’s North tournament at Bowler City. Flowers, Mario Kart and the Stanley Cup are all clues to the puzzle…

GROUP 1 CHAMP: WESTWOOD (2,591) — There was a time when Taglines somewhat regretted playing way too many hours of Mario Kart 64 in college. That time ended Saturday upon hearing the words of Cardinals coach Dan Rattacasa, who said, “Everything happens for a reason.” Westwood’s recent heartbreak at sectionals has been well-documented, and through it all, Rattacasa kept stressing to his bowlers that things would even out eventually. But he also conveyed the need for them to dig deep and find a little extra motivation to finish strong. Enter our Nintendo pals:

“I asked [the girls], ‘Did you ever play Mario Kart?’ And they were all like, ‘Oh, yes!’ I said, ‘You know when you have the [invincibility] star? You have to know when to use it. And this is the time when we use it.’ They related to that, and I think they turned it on because of that… I said, ‘This is the time, we have to finish. Keep pushing forward.’ And as you can see by the results, that’s what they did.” —Westwood girls bowling coach Dan Rattacasa

Westwood’s Marissa Rivers unleashes a red shell in the direction of Bowser’s kart… er, the pins.

And how. The Cards basically plowed all of their competitors off Rainbow Road, and no one could find the blue leader-seeking shell to slow them down. Their total would have been good enough to win two other groups as well, but seniors Kaitlyn Stapleton (542 series) and Sam Malnick agreed that lapping the Group 1 field was a welcome outcome after two straight near-misses at getting to states. “It feels really good to finally win something,” Stapleton said, emphasizing the “really”.

Incidentally, the Westwood girls team is only in its sixth year of operation (the program was strictly coed in the old BCSL). The Cardinals made it to Carolier as Group 1 runner-up in 2011, but this represents the first sectional bowling title in school history, boys or girls. There was just one tiny hitch: junior leadoff Marissa Rivers (557) missed qualifying for the state singles finals by — this is not even a joke — one pin. However, in keeping with her coach’s logic, she may well show up at sectionals in 2015 with an arsenal of red shells and level the competition with an 800 series. The Mario World always evens itself out…

GROUP 2 CHAMP: HOLY ANGELS (2,859) — The Angels are beginning to crowd out others in the conversation for North Jersey Team of the Year. The Big North United Division and Bergen County champions added the third jewel to their so-called triple crown at sectionals, winning their fourth straight title and sixth in seven seasons… they won Group 3 in 2008 and have ruled Group 2 in 2009-11-12-13-14. Even in 2010, they were runner-up to DePaul, so coach Pat Dunne’s crew will make its seventh straight trip to North Brunswick. “We’ll see what we can do down there,” said Dunne, “these kids have been fantastic all year.”

For the record, senior Kelley Grippo shot the high game (269) and second-high series (714) to finish in the top four for the second year in a row. She is unquestionably Holy Angels’ the vocal leader and plays with a type of passion that — well, let’s just say, “this girl is on fire” and has done with a bowling ball what Katniss Everdeen does with a bow and arrow. The right-hander is one of three Angels to qualify for the state singles finals, along with freshman Tiffany Sucero (571) and senior Leslie Subaldo (568). Except for Sucero, the entire lineup is seniors, and the experience factor can be critical at Carolier… P.S. Apologies to Dylann McLaughlin, the Misspelling Monster had been chomping off the second ‘n’ of her first name in previous editions of Taglines.

GROUP 2 RUNNER-UP: TEANECK (2,702) — The Highwaywomen got the lead to the story in The Sunday Record, so just a few things to add… A.) The bouquet of roses was not the only prop used by Malik Wright to ask high-series champ Dana-Marie Laloo (719) to the prom, he also had a T-shirt made. On the front: “Dana-Marie Annabella-Lyn Laloo” / on the back: “Will you go to prom with me?” Going all out with the full name — that’s dedication. … B.) Senior Kiana Baham (553) didn’t miss the state singles cutoff by much, either. But when you help your team get to the team finals for the first time in 25 years, that hopefully makes up for it. … C.) Teaneck was in Group 3 last year, and had the alignment stayed the same, it would have been a group champ.

As it was, the Highwaywomen held off the team that really got a raw deal, Warren Hills (2,687). The Blue Streaks had the third-highest score in the house and didn’t advance… if nothing else, they still have one of the top 10 nicknames in the state.

GROUP 3 CHAMP: PARAMUS CATHOLIC (2,548) — The Paladins are headed back to North Brunswick, and their excitement was palpable. Senior Nikki Vucak (598, fourth-high series) took the trophy for a short victory lap around the pit, Stanley Cup-style, though the Garfield resident didn’t go quite so far as to make that analogy (hence, Taglines made it for her). She, Ameera Khan and Teresa Sandberg are all four-year varsity members of the team, and according to coach Audrey Lelyo, “It’s really the first time in a long time that I’ve had three seniors, so they were excellent mentors to the girls coming up.”

Speaking of which, freshman Kristen Kane (544) and junior Lilly Sigona (508) both finished in the top 35 individually and have been major contributors down the stretch. Both of them had their high games of the day in Game 3, when PC shot a 902 to wrap things up. So the 2013-14 school year continues to be a successful one for Paladins’ athletics, and really, for the entire Borough of Paramus. All those good vibes from football season seem to have migrated indoors…

GROUP 3 RUNNER-UP: PARAMUS (2,375) — In December, the Spartans made their first-ever appearance in a state-sectional football final. Next week, they’ll send a team to Carolier Lanes for the first time. Brittany Hovan qualified as an individual last year, and while a return to the state singles finals was not in the cards, the senior still will be a part of history after shooting 531 at sectionals. Paramus placed third in Group 2 in 2013, and the move up to Group 3 made me think the hill would be a bit tougher to climb this time. It was. The second- through fourth-place finishers were separated by less than 100 points — the Spartans, though, stayed consistent and got additional strong effort from sophomore Haley Hassan (525) and senior Noel Hodgins (511). BONUS: Paramus has a chance to make more history today… a win over Hackensack in its Big North Freedom Division finale would give the program its first league title.

GROUP 4 CHAMP: HACKENSACK (2,225) — This was not a vintage Group 4 year. In fact, it was a bit ironic that the group which typically produces some of the biggest numbers ended up on the opposite end of the spectrum. That said, take nothing away from the Comets, who rode group runner-up finishes to the state finals three times in five seasons before breaking through last weekend. Coach Bob Lotz conceded, “I know in the past, things were a lot different. But this year, we just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and the girls came through” …in particular, their young 4-5 combo. Anchor Janina Santoro, a sophomore, tossed Hackensack’s high series (545), and freshman Danielle Denise Quitola added a 485 from the No. 4 spot. (And, if I’m not mistaken, I also saw Santoro’s name in some swimming results recently… how about that? “A two-sporter!” in the words of Frank Caliendo impersonating George W. Bush).

SCENE & HEARD: One of the things that jumps out right away about the six North Jersey state finalists — Immaculate Heart is not one of them. For the first time since 2000, the Blue Eagles will not have a team in North Brunswick after finishing fourth in Group 3. To be fair, seniors Mary Kate Alvarez (591) and Kat Blehl (565) will keep the tradition alive by competing in the singles finals at Carolier. Also, their team was in perhaps the most competitive group at sectionals… after Paramus, Fair Lawn (2,315) finished 60 points back, IHA (2,290) 25 behind the Cutters, and Wayne Valley (2,281) just nine behind the Eagles. Even sixth-place Northern Highlands (2,233) made a late push to get in the mix. … Mahwah (2,340) finished fourth in Group 2 for the second year in a row but shot roughly 100 points higher this time, with senior Anna Zaat firing a team-high 231 game on the way to a 543 series. The T-Birds had the seventh-best total in the house and scored better than both Group 4 runner-up Bayonne (2,168) and Group 1 runner-up Marist (2,119). … “Ridge-hurst” rode again, with Lyndhurst’s Emily Young (706) and Ridgewood’s Kelly Skettini (534) and Zoe Singer (509) grouped on the same lane, as they were for counties. Sure would make for an interesting co-op team. … Point of order, Young shot over 700 and still finished third. Third! The Aces’ records only go back to about the ’90s, but not too many girls in the history of the North sectional have reached that mark. Unless some new info comes to light, I think it’s safe to say that Laloo tied the tournament record for high series and now shares the mark with Sparta’s Nicole Chanin, who shot 719 in 2010. The other all-time highs: 2008, Lauren Rhein of IHA (718); 2011, Nicole Linder of IHA (715).

Perhaps one day soon, Taglines will be able to complete the list(s) of all-time North section champions to post. We can tell you that the group format did not start until 2007… from the 1970s through 2003, the four highest-scoring teams (regardless of school size) advanced to the finals, and from 2004-06, it was the top five.

Until next time — which, weather-permitting, will be the North 1B boys sectional tournament Thursday at T-Bowl-II in Wayne — Statman will leave you with the major numbers to know from last Saturday’s action:

NORTH JERSEY GIRLS SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS
[Feb. 1 at Bowler City, Hackensack]
Team Results (Top 2 in each group qualify for state tournament)
Group 4:
1. Hackensack 735-721-769—2,225
2. Bayonne 734-723-711—2,168
3. Bergen Tech 795-619-696—2,110
4. Bloomfield 1,981
5. Kearny 1,960
6. Passaic Tech 1,804
7. North Bergen 1,765
8. Memorial (West New York) 1,686
9. Clifton 1,661
10. Passaic 1,531

Group 3:
1. Paramus Catholic 848-798-902—2,548
2. Paramus 815-766-794—2,375
3. Fair Lawn 736-757-822—2,315
4. Immaculate Heart 2,290
5. Wayne Valley 2,281
6. Northern Highlands 2,233
7. Nutley 1,841
8. Wayne Hills 1,792
9. Belleville 1,531

Group 2:
1. Holy Angels 842-1,033-984—2,859
2. Teaneck 855-937-910—2,702
3. Warren Hills 818-904-965—2,687
4. Mahwah 2,340
5. Tenafly 2,080
6. Demarest 1,829
7. River Dell 1,782
8. Lakeland 1,672
9. Indian Hills 1,562

Group 1:
1. Westwood 810-933-848—2,591
2. Marist 729-683-707—2,119
3. Mother Seton 646-673-727—2,096
4. Mount St. Dominic 2,082
5. Ramsey 1,967
6. Dumont 1,802
7. Ridgefield Park 1,789
8. McNair Academic 1,751
9. Pascack Hills 1,738

Individual Results (Top 15 qualify for state tournament)
1. Dana-Marie Laloo (Teaneck), 244-219-256—719; 2. Kelley Grippo (Holy Angels), 199-246-269—714; 3. Emily Young, Lyndhurst, 248-213-245—706; 4. Jenna Hendersen (Warren Hills), 245-204-195—644; 5. Nikki Vucak (Paramus Catholic), 213-171-214—598; 6. Brianna Boze (Summit), 594; 7. Mary Kate Alvarez (IHA), 591; 8. (tie) Tiffany Sucero (Holy Angels) and Ashleigh Poszyler (Cranford), 571; 10. Leslie Subaldo (Holy Angels), 568; 11. Kat Blehl (IHA), 565; 12. Alycia Danielson (Newton), 562; 13. Lauren Scholes (Warren Hills), 561; 14. Alize Stepenson (Roselle), 560; 15. Teja Young (Sussex Tech), 558.
16. Marissa Rivers (Westwood), 557; 17. Kiana Baham (Teaneck), 553; 18. Shannon Rossi (Northern Highlands), 550; 19. Margaret Peretti (Bayonne), 549; 20. Lauren Pinkard (West Orange), 546; 21. Janina Santoro (Hackensack), 545; 22. Kristen Kane (Paramus Catholic), 544; 23. Anna Zaat (Mahwah), 543; 24. Kaitlyn Stapleton (Westwood), 542; 25. Kelly Skettini (Ridgewood), 534; 26. (tie) Brittany Hovan (Paramus) and Clarissa Herndandez (Holy Angels), 531; 28. (tie) Ellie Schuckman (Fair Lawn) and Haley Hassan (Paramus), 525; 30. Kristen Benavente (Westwood), 524; 31. Amanda Mamunes (Northern Highlands), 517; 32. Noel Hodgins (Paramus), 511; 33. Zoe Singer (Ridgewood), 509; 34. Lilly Sigona (Paramus Catholic), 508; 35. Aimee Balleza (Bergen Tech), 507; 36. Hanna Jeon (Tenafly), 502.

See you ’round the lanes…

—GT

Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes, a nice place to play for a state championship or come inside and get warm (looks like the ‘R’ and the ‘W’ from the sign already did).

Here’s the thing about February Fever: It spreads quick, but before you know it, the fever’s gone. Since Thursday, Taglines has covered an NJSIAA-sanctioned bowling tournament every other day. This has been great fun, but also very time-consuming, hence a lot of action to write about, but little time to do so… at least here on Varsity Aces. Naturally, coverage in The Record and on northjersey.com has appeared so far for the North 1B and North 1A boys sectional tournaments and the state girls team finals.

Today (and tomorrow), there’ll be a bit of both. A total of 23 North Jersey bowlers (15 boys, 8 girls) are here at Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick for the state individual finals. And while Twitter may be a bit quicker, these updates may require more than 140 characters, so simply refresh this page throughout the day for updates.

And away we go…

FIRST, a review of all the North Jersey qualifiers in action today, along with their scores and placement from the sectional tournaments:

GIRLS [From North sectional, Feb. 1] – Dana-Marie Laloo, Teaneck (1st place, 719); Kelley Grippo, Holy Angels (2nd, 714); Emily Young, Lyndhurst (3rd, 706); Nikki Vucak, Paramus Catholic (5th, 598); Mary Kate Alvarez, IHA (7th, 591); Tiffany Sucero, Holy Angels (8th, 571); Leslie Subaldo, Holy Angels (10th, 568); Kathleen Blehl, IHA (11th, 565).

BOYS [From North 1B sectional, Feb. 6] – Nick Cilento, Pompton Lakes (1st, 731); Isiah Tolbert, Passaic Tech (2nd, 697); 3. Jeremy Scott, West Milford (3rd, 693); Matt Goldberg, West Milford (6th, 667); Tyler Knipping, Lakeland and Mike Hess, Wayne Valley (tied for 8th, 656)… [From North 1A sectional, Feb. 8] – Tyler Keefe, North Arlington (1st, 776); Daijon Smith, Lyndhurst (2nd, 753); Welmer Paquay, Hackensack (3rd, 742); Zachary Seegers, Wallington (4th, 741); Dean Edwards, Bergen Tech (5th, 723); Ryan Perez, Dumont (6th, 711); Alex McGuire, Indian Hills (7th, 698); Brian Rizzi, Paramus Catholic (8th, 684); Jake Rollins, Glen Rock (9th, 681).

Two things jump out at me from that list: A.) Jake Rollins was the ninth and final qualifier from North 1A last year, and went on to finish fifth in the state — so the only thing that matters is getting in… B.) I’m still floored by the number of North 1A bowlers that missed the cut because it was an insane 681. I mean, the top 18 at that tournament all shot OVER 650: Jordan Lopez, Lyndhurst (10th, 675); Rob Borrelli, Pascack Valley (11th, 673); Cory Heitler, Fair Lawn (12th, 667); Carlo Russo, Northern Highlands and Ryan Donohue, Lyndhurst (tied for 13th, 655); Andrew Cirillo, Westwood and Mike Foote, Wallington (tied for 15th, 654); James Kane, Paramus Catholic (17th, 653); David Grant, Fort Lee (18th, 651).

It’s a shame they couldn’t take more qualifiers from that section. But alas, with under 40 teams, you only get 9 (40-49 teams in a section gets you 12, 50 or more gets you 15). Anyway, time for the action…

12:26 PM – Competitors are just finishing up the first game… some big numbers from North Jersey boys: Jake Rollins 279, Isiah Tolbert 258, Tyler Keefe 253, Tyler Knipping 224. Highest scores for the girls so are Mary Kate Alvarez 192 and Nikki Vucak 190.

12:42 PM – It’s been done twice before by Bergen County bowlers at the state singles finals, but this year a Somerset County chap has achieved the feat. Sergey Eccles of Franklin shot 300 to join Ramapo’s Kevin Macchia (in 2010) and Park Ridge’s Dan Wuhrman (2012) among those who have thrown perfect games in the individual tournament. The others: Greg Ostrander of Wall (2007) and Jason Maulbeck of Madison (also 2010)… Jay Ciszewski of Sayreville (2013) did so in the state team finals, and of course there was that one year where Washington Township and Keansburg shot BAKER 300s within 20 minutes of each other, but that’s another blog entirely…

1:18 PM – Hasn’t been the best day for North Jersey girls (again), the best 2-game scores I’ve seen so far are from Nikki Vucak (372) and Emily Young (367). Don’t think they’ve had any 200s, but there have been a few from Central and South girls…

Remember a couple paragraphs ago, when Taglines was amazed at how high the cutoff for the North 1A sectional was? People here today might laugh, the cut-down to the second round of 18 could be over 700. North Jersey’s best so far, with Game 2 score & overall series: Tyler Knipping 233-457, Isiah Tolbert 204-462, Jake Rollins 208-487, Tyler Keefe 277-530… Keefe is leaving scorch marks on the lanes and he’s not even in the lead! Mr. 300, Sergey Eccles, is at 535, and Ocean Township lefty Kenny Ryan has gone 279-268-547. Holy. Smokes.

***NOTE*** At this point, the Internet access at Carolier Lanes gave out, so Taglines spent the rest of the day “Twittering” via Blackberry. For posterity’s sake, here are the highlights:

1:39 PM – Dana-Marie Laloo finished w/248 game. Looked like she had inside track to hi game, but Alexis Policastro of Carteret just shot 258

1:45 PM – Tyler Keefe 775 series. Wow. Isiah Tolbert 688 & scores are so high he may be on the bubble. Nikki Vucak 608 for girls, Laloo 574

1:54 PM – Just saw Jake Rollins’ series, 744. If that doesn’t make the top 18, I’m calling the USBC #PinCrushers

2:19 PM – Unofficially, it looks like the girls cut will be about 618, boys around 680… Wallington’s Zach Seegers 710, finally saw his scores

2:21 PM – West Milford’s Matt Goldberg has 286 hi game, that’s 2nd overall. Hackensack Welmer Paquay 265 hi game, 656 series. All scores now in

2:44 PM – Jake Rollins gets 1/4th of the 3rd hi game trophy for his 279 [tied with 3 other bowlers]. WM Matt Goldberg’s 286 is 2nd, obvy the Franklin 300 was No. 1

2:56 PM – Top North Jersey girl was Nikki Vucak @ 608, missed by just 10 pins. The good news: she will bowl @ Franklin Pierce in N.H.

2:58 PM – North Jersey boys on to the round of 18: Tyler Keefe 775, Rollins 744, Zach Seegers 710, Isiah Tolbert 688 (made it!)

3:26 PM – Round 2, game 1: Isiah Tolbert 246, running total of 934. He needs to go from 16th to 5th to make stepladder again

3:28 PM – Wallington’s Zach Seegers w/235 in 4th game, he was 9th after game 3 & only needs to pick up 4 spots

3:33 PM – Jake Rollins was 6th after first round & starts the 2nd rd w/225. Tyler Keefe was in 2nd place & just shot 200 in Game 4

3:41 PM – FYI Passaic Tech’s Isiah Tolbert is 1 of 6 lefties in the round of 18. That’s 33%, or 3 times the nat’l average #JustSaying

4:08 PM – Only the top 6 boys are still going in round 2. Zach Seegers has 1415 series, best among the 12 who’ve completed all 6 games

4:11 PM – Isiah Tolbert finished with 691 2nd-rd series (3 pins higher than 1st round), final total 1379. Great set, may not be enough

4:25 PM – The North Jersey boys scores: Rollins 744 1st rd 710 2nd, 1454; Seegers 710-705-1415; Tolbert 688-691-1379; Keefe 775-601-1376

4:28 PM – Boys stepladder finals: 5-Dan Buchman of Maple Shade bowls 4-Zach Seegers of Wallington, winner vs. 3-Kenny Ryan of Ocean Twp … 2-seed Jake Rollins of Glen Rock has bye to semis, Allentown’s Matt Russo (1535 series) has 1-seed & bye to finals

4:58 PM – Dan Buchman def. Zach Seegers, 232-228. Buchman left 7-10 split in 7th frame then closed w/5-bagger … Seegers needed X-X-5 in 10th to win & got X-9-/

5:15 PM – Maple Shade does it again, Dan Buchman def. fellow lefty, Ocean Twp’s Kenny Ryan, 254-233, to earn match w/2-seed Jake Rollins

5:22 PM – Thru 5 frames, Rollins leads Buchman, 83-77, both working off marks after each throwing an early open … [5:29] Rollins moves into stepladder final, 221-169, over Buchman thanks to a late 4-bagger.

5:32 PM – The boys final is 2-seed Jake Rollins vs. 1-seed Matthew Russo of Allentown, who averaged 255 in qualifying #BuckleUp … again, Rollins a righty… Russo a 2-handed lefty. Jason Belmonte meets Parker Bohn III, all in 1 bowler

5:42 PM – Boys final- thru 5 frames, Rollins has 5-bagger & Russo has 2 spares, 3 strikes mixed in

5:44 PM – Russo just made 3-5-7-9 split, but Rollins is perfect thru *8*

5:46 PM – Match no longer in doubt. The question now is, how high can Rollins go? *9 STRAIGHT STRIKES*

5:47 PM – 11 STRAIGHT

5:48 PM – Jake Rollins shoots 300 to win state bowling title. Excuse me a moment… !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #HolySmokes [Incidentally, this tweet got 33 retweets and 55 favorites as of 10:15 PM]

5:59 PM – You know, it used to bug me that for the 1st 10 years on this beat, I never saw an indiv. 300 in person. I’m cool now -GT

(P.S. Yes, those were 25 straight exclamation points. It was that or risk accidentally writing something that gets Taglines banned from Twitter.)

(P.P.S. Mrs. Tags’ reaction when I got home: “Let the good times Rollins.” I love that woman.)

Decent camera phone, subpar photographer, award-winning subject: State boys bowling champion Jake Rollins of Glen Rock with trophy.

Now that snow has extended the bowling season — again — this “bye week” before the boys state team finals on Feb. 27 becomes the perfect time to blog the boundless bunch of notes overflowing from Taglines’ coverage of state-tournament action to date.

There is a running gag on the Mike and Mike in the Morning program on ESPN Radio, whereby they replay an exciting highlight for the listener, then say something like, “This is what it would sound like if *we* were announcing” said event. The same clip is then played back with random bleeps inserted, implying that Greeny and/or Golic would be so hyped up in the moment that neither/nor would be able to control his language in describing the play.

That is what it was like watching Glen Rock senior Jake Rollins roll the final strike of his 300 game in the state individual championship match and then trying to tweet about it. Yup, 25 exclamation points.

As Wednesday’s state individual tournament at Carolier Lanes progressed, Taglines chatted with a number of bowlers and coaches about how the day went, how their seasons went, etc. Not knowing how things are going to end, it always pays to have plenty of storylines in reserve when it comes time to write the final article.

And then, Rollins simply seized the headline. And the title. And a unique place in state finals history…

During the “live blog,” I mentioned the five previous individual 300s thrown in state tournament action — four in the singles finals and one in the team finals — but none had ever occurred during the stepladder playoffs, which include the top five bowlers from qualifying. The stepladder format (4 vs. 5, winner vs. 3, winner vs. 2, winner vs. 1) began in 2002, when the individual and team finals were all held on the same day. The team and singles tournaments were moved to separate days in 2007, when group play began and necessitated the Tournament of Champions.

So, taking all this into account, Rollins became both A.) the first North Jersey champion since the stepladder was instituted and B.) the first New Jersey bowler to roll a 300 in stepladder play. There were 15 boys and 3 girls from North Jersey that won high series at the state finals before the current format came along, but the Glen Rock Roller is the first to earn the official title of State Individual Champion. For those curious: the last high series winner from North Jersey was Wayne Valley’s Kevin Cheuvront in 2000, he shot a 767 series, and his 299 game stood as a state tournament record for seven years.

Now, for the rewind of the 2014 state singles tourney:

THE PERFECT ENDING — Of the 12 strikes Jake Rollins threw in the stepladder title match, the only nail-biter came in the third frame. The 10-pin got tripped late, but it happened because Rollins got great pin action, as he did all day. There was nothing that Allentown left-hander Matt Russo could do. He picked up all of his spares and tossed a clean 214, but from about the 4th frame on, Rollins just looked like he was in the zone.

After the final ball, Rollins pumped his fist and walked off to the right of the lane, seemingly to let the moment sink in. Russo was the first to congratulate him. There were not many other North Jersey bowlers, coaches or fans left at Carolier by that time, but everyone else got behind the Glen Rock senior because, well, how could you not in that situation? His parents were there, and he got a few extra tips from Immaculata coach Fran Vitelli, whom he credited for helping him at Junior Bowling Tour events.

Then, of course, there was Bonnie Zimmermann, who has coached tennis at Glen Rock for a number of years but just finished her first season as the Panthers’ bowling coach. In a moment that sports talkies might call “unbelievable” by rote, she put things in perspective when speaking of Rollins: “It’s believable. He’s always been believable… that’s the way he is, he’s amazing.”

GETTING THERE — In the semifinals, Rollins defeated another southpaw, Dan Buchman of Maple Shade. (Heyyy, wait a minute…) This one was much closer, particularly after each had an early open frame. Rollins’ came after he was left with a 1-2-4-10 spare to convert in the 4th and only got two of them. Then came a strike in the 5th. THEN came another product of the Panther’s pin action in the 6th, when a messenger crossed the lane to knock out the 10-pin and prevent the dreaded 7-10 split. He covered the 7-pin, followed with four strikes in a row (hambone!), and that was that.

For the record, Rollins was sixth after the first round of qualifying with a 744 series (yes, fourth, 279-208-257 were the games) and moved up to second with his 710 (225-218-267) in Round 2, compiling a grand total of 1,454.

EARLIER IN THE LADDER CLIMB — Junior Zachary Seegers gave North Jersey a pair of Panthers in the stepladder, as he continued one of the best seasons ever by a Wallington bowler (his team will be back at Carolier on Feb. 27). He actually started the day with a 206 in his first qualifying game… and never dipped below 230 again: 206-268-236 put him ninth after the first round with a 710 series. In Round 2, his 237-237-233—705 moved him up to fourth place with a total of 1,415. Quoth Seegers: “You can’t let that [first] score put you down, because you never know how everybody else is going to do. You just keep fighting.”

As the 4-seed, Seegers bowled the first stepladder match against Buchman, the 5-seed. Both kept it clean through the first six frames, and the door appeared to open for Seegers in the 7th, when Buchman was saddled with a 7-10 split. Of course, after that, the Maple Shade standout closed with a 5-bagger, putting the pressure on. Seegers had 9-spares in the 6th, 7th and 9th frames, sandwiched around a strike in the 8th. He went into the 10th needing two strikes and 5 pins to win, and after strike one, a 2-pin of all things was left standing on his second roll.

Still, it was fun to watch Seegers’ two-handed style and hear the cries of “Belmo” (alluding to PBA two-hander Jason Belmonte) coming from his teammates. Hey, Egg Harbor Township’s Tim Wolchko won the 2011 state individual title using the same delivery… and Taglines just happens to know of a bowler who was knocked out of the stepladder as the 4-seed one year, then came back to win the whole thing the following winter. Now what was that fellow’s name again?

SECOND-ROUND SELECTIONS — Sophomore southpaw Isiah Tolbert of Passaic Tech made the stepladder in 2013 as the 5-seed, knocked out the 4-seed Rollins (that’s the name) and fell to Allentown’s Russo in the fourth-place match. He was 16th after the first round this year despite a very strong 688 series (258-204-226), and he put together a 691 (246-209-236) in his second-round set for a healthy 1,379 overall. And with so many ridiculous numbers put up by other bowlers, that got him 10th.

Sophomore right-hander Tyler Keefe of North Arlington basically picked up where he left off at the North 1A sectional. There, a 776 got him to North Brunswick. A first-round 775 (253-277-245) got him to the Round of 18. And then… well, tough to say exactly what happened. His second-round set was 601 (200-177-224), which brought his grand total to an 11th-place 1,376. Was it fatigue? I mean, the NJIC Meadowlands Division bowls 2-game matches instead of three, which is a drawback — on the other hand, he fared just fine at the six-game Bergen County tournament and was second with a 1,396.

We do know one thing: with both Tolbert and Keefe being sophomores, there will be opportunities for them to improve upon their 2014 finishes in the future.

STRIKING GOLDBERG AND SPLITTING TROPHIES — Very quietly, West Milford always produces some outstanding bowlers. Junior Jeremy Scott and sophomore Matt Goldberg both qualified for the state singles finals, and the latter got to take home some hardware. Not long after Franklin’s Sergey Eccles shot his opening-game 300, Goldberg started working on one just a few lanes over. He got the first 10 strikes but left an ugly 4-count on his 11th ball, and yes, this was the type of spare that gets classified as “Grandma’s teeth”.

“I got the first strike [in the 10th], and then on the next one, I dropped it,” Goldberg said. “It slipped out of my hand. Probably nerves, you know.”

On roll No. 12, he missed the spare to end with a 286. Still, since high game honors are announced after the first round of qualifying, the right-hander got to take home the award for second-high game. Which is more than the third-place winners could claim, because FOUR of them tied at 279, including Rollins, Russo, Shawnee righty Tony Duca and Ocean Township lefty Kenny Ryan. Taglines supposed they might saw the award into quarters, but the NJSIAA went with the less-messy solution of ordering duplicates.

LADIES, WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU — Although the gentlemen sort of stole the spotlight this season, the girls qualifiers from North Jersey did some good things at the state singles finals, too. We’ll start with senior Leslie Subaldo of Holy Angels, since I missed her 211 when tweeting out Game 1 scores. That started her on the road to a 527 series, which ranked 47th but, more importantly, was a nearly 100-point improvement from her appearance in last year’s finals.

North sectional champ Dana-Marie Laloo of Teaneck started slowly but finished strong with a 248 in Game 3. The high game through two was 257, so it looked like she might be in line for a medal. And then four other girls shot 255 or better in Game 3, including eventual champ Raychel Waltz of Nottingham.

[QUICK ASIDE: Waltz averaged 235.7 in the first round, 208 in the second round, and 258.7 in her three stepladder victories. Talk about coming through in the clutch...]

PIONEERING PALADIN — Every once in a while, Taglines makes a relatively accurate prediction — probably less often than a blind squirrel finding an acorn, but more often than a stopped clock being right. Anyway, in a long-ago blog entry (filed under “T for tough calls”), I forecast Nikki Vucak of Paramus Catholic having a strong senior season. Thanks to the Garfield resident for making it come true.

Vucak finished in the top 5 at every major tournament through sectionals, including a win at the North Jersey Singles classic. She fired games of 190, 182 and 236 at the state singles finals for a 22nd-place 608 series, just 10 pins away from the second-round qualifying cutoff. And yet, there was good news at the end of the day, when Vucak shared that she would be one of the founding members of the Franklin Pierce University women’s bowling team next winter. “I signed back in November,” she said. “They’ve got a good education program, they’ve got everything I need – not too big, not too small… it’s not too close, and not too far.”

Franklin Pierce is located in Rindge, N.H., on the New Hampshire/Massachusetts border. Ravens coach Kim Berit, herself a North Jersey gal and former Old Tappan bowler, was in attendance to watch her recruit finish with the highest score among the eight Bergen County bowlers in the girls field.

FLY, BLUE EAGLES, FLY — In 12 years of covering the NJSIAA finals, I have never failed to see Immaculate Heart coach Lynn Gansley there at Carolier Lanes. This winter, for the first time since 2000, IHA did not qualify for the state tournament as a team. Why is this noteworthy? Because even when they have undergone “rebuilding” seasons in the past, the Blue Eagles still found a way to get to North Brunswick.

Well, this winter, there were only two seniors in the program, and they just happened to be the only two bowlers with significant experience. That’s why left-hander Kat Blehl and right-hander Mary Kate Alvarez were glad to have reached the state singles finals and keep the team tradition alive. So even though it was not a “vintage” IHA season, according to Gansley, “My seniors are as good as any of the seniors I’ve ever had. And they qualified, as usual, so I’m proud of them.”

And the best part? They shot the exact same series, 550. Blehl had games of 171, 170 and 209, ending on a high note. “When I was throwing my last ball, I thought, ‘You’d better make this a strike, because it’s the last ball you’ll ever throw wearing this uniform’,” the Oradell resident said. “But I did, so I’m happy.”

Alvarez, who lives in Waldwick, went strike-9-spare in her final career frame. Her three-game set was 192-175-183, and of course, “this was the first time I ever qualified [for the singles tournament], so it was a good experience,” she said.

NOW, THE ONLY WAY TO FINISH AN EPIC BLOG — And that, of course, is to leave Statman in his epic list-making glory. First, the list of all-time North Jersey high series winners/individual champs from the state tournament:

GIRLS (3) — 1983: Donna O’Connell (Ridgewood), 571; 1985: Kris Butler (Old Tappan), 608; 1990: Janine Cauwells (Pascack Hills), 653.

BOYS (16) — 1960: B. Croce (Eastside), 611; 1962: G. Hagen (Pope Pius XII-Passaic), 650; 1965: G. Hansen (Hackensack), 618; 1973: G. Guggiari (Hawthorne), 612; 1974: Koskinen (North Bergen), 646; 1975: Lamatina (North Bergen), 616; 1978: Dave Neilly (Garfield), 618); 1985: John Legere (Fair Lawn), 605; 1989: Damon Delise (Wayne Valley), 636; 1991: George Shelley (River Dell), 633; 1992: Mike Mullin (Don Bosco), 648; 1996: Joe Scarlato (Don Bosco), 693; 1997: John Asbaty (DePaul), 700; 1999: Tad Jones (Bergen Catholic), 803; 2000: Kevin Cheuvront (Wayne Valley), 767; STEPLADDER ERA — 2014: Jake Rollins (Glen Rock).

And last, numbers galore from this year’s state singles finals. North Jersey qualifiers are highlighted in orange, since it was the most neutral color that stood out…

NJSIAA BOYS/GIRLS INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS
[Feb. 12 at Carolier Lanes, North Brunswick]
BOYS QUALIFYING (Round 1-Round 2—Total)
1. Matt Russo, Allentown, 771-764—1,530
2. Jake Rollins, Glen Rock, 744-710—1,454
3. Kenny Ryan, Ocean Township, 787-658—1,445
4. Zachary Seegers, Wallington, 710-705—1,415
5. Dan Buchman, Maple Shade, 698-709—1,407
6. Tony Duca, Shawnee, 697-706—1,403
7. Sergey Eccles, Franklin, 766-634—1,400
8. Thomas Leone, Edison, 697-696—1,393
9. Andrew Abbonizio, Shawnee, 739-642—1,381
10. Isiah Tolbert, Passaic Tech, 688-691—1,381
11. Tyler Keefe, North Arlington, 775-601—1,376
12. Nick Chirichello, Brick Township, 697-648—1,345
13. Dan Piskowski, Manchester Township, 680-647—1,327
14. Nick Scelfo, St. John Vianney, 755-548—1,303
15. Karl Katterman, Montville, 742-546—1,288
16. Matt Yucht, Howell, 701-584—1,285
17. Alex Vargas, Hudson Catholic, 705-567—1,272
18. Joe Iandoli, Middletown North, 684-578—1,262
[*Second-round cutoff = 680*]
19. Alex Sorge, South Brunswick, 663
20. Jack Cook, Morris Knolls, 658
21. Welmer Paquay, Hackensack, 656
22. John Schellenger, Washington Township, 651
23. (tie) Andrew Dekowski, Linden, 649
23. (tie) Gabe Leff, Cherry Hill East, 649
25. Tyler Knipping, Lakeland, 643
26. Justin Sauers, Toms River East, 640
27. Alex McGuire, Indian Hills, 638
28. Christopher DiPaola, Immaculata, 637
29. Nick Cilento, Pompton Lakes, 627
30. Ben Laws, Warren Hills, 621
31. Tommy Slate, Sussex Tech, 616
32. Mike Griffin, Johnson Regional, 615
33. Matt Goldberg, West Milford, 610
34. (tie) Brian Rizzi, Paramus Catholic, 599
34. (tie) Dan Barracato, Old Bridge, 599
36. Osaze Morris, Rahway, 595
37. Sebastian Rojas, Westfield, 592
38. Ryan Meyer, Sparta, 590
39. Luis Rivera, Central Regional, 582
40. Patrick Teshima, Montville, 576
41. Ben Kelley, Kingsway, 556
42. Nicholas Chow, Franklin, 543
43. Jason Stern, Freehold Township, 538
44. Esdras Guzman, Elizabeth, 534
45. Jeremy Scott, West Milford, 527
46. Dean Edwards, Bergen Tech, 518
47. Daijon Smith, Lyndhurst, 513
48. Mike Hess, Wayne Valley, 511
49. George Gareis, Bordentown, 497
50. Ryan Perez, Dumont, 492
51. Tyler Marks, Lacey, 488

BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP (Stepladder format)
5-Buchman def. 4-Seegers, 232-228
5-Buchman def. 3-Ryan, 254-233
2-Rollins def. 5-Buchman, 221-169
2-Rollins def. 1-Russo, 300-214

BOYS HIGH FIRST-ROUND GAME
1. Eccles, Franklin, 300
2. Goldberg, West Milford, 286
3. (tie) Rollins, Glen Rock & Ryan, Ocean Township & Russo, Allentown & Duca, Shawnee, 279

GIRLS QUALIFYING (Round 1-Round 2—Total)
1. Alize Stevenson, Roselle, 673-672—1,345
2. Alexis Policastro, Carteret, 710-623—1,333
3. Raychel Waltz, Nottingham, 707-624—1,331
4. Larissa Eak, Woodbridge, 649-663—1,312
5. Jenna Henderson, Warren Hills, 648-657—1,305
6. Tyler Karpinecz, Woodbridge, 652-651—1,303
7. McKenna Collier, Brick Memorial, 632-670—1,302
8. Bryce Petraccoro, Manasquan, 641-646—1,287
9. Amy Caruso, South Brunswick, 659-615—1,274
10. Alexa Asta, Jackson Memorial, 618-649—1,267
11. Stephanie Shockley, Holy Cross, 704-557—1,261
12. Demetria Bethel, Piscataway, 652-593—1,245
13. Kaity Lash, Brick Memorial, 660-579—1,239
14. Amanda Nardiello, Brick Township, 642-585—1,227
15. Corinne Winters, Allentown, 649-571—1,220
16. Teja Young, Sussex Tech, 621-574—1,195
17. Heather Androvich, Carteret, 622-566—1,188
18. Brianne Font, South Brunswick, 623-541—1,164
[*Second-round cutoff = 618*]
19. Carla Hansen, Gloucester Tech, 616
20. Jen Sisti, Colts Neck, 613
21. Brianna Boze, Summit, 609
22. Nikki Vucak, Paramus Catholic, 608
23. Tori Boughton, Brick Memorial, 607
24. Kayla Johnson, Edison, 601
25. (tie) Julia Ott, Manchester Township, 600
25. (tie) Tori Campbell, Brick Memorial, 600
27. Amber MacLeod, Brick Township, 590
28. Lauren Scholes, Warren Hills, 589
29. Dana-Marie Laloo, Teaneck, 574
30. Karsyn Lukosius, Brick Township, 572
31. Aimee Sherman, Jackson Memorial, 566
32. Emily Young, Lyndhurst, 564
33. Brianna MacLeod, Brick Township, 563
34. Ashleigh Poszyler, Cranford, 561
35. (tie) Deanna Calantoni, Woodbridge, 551
35. (tie) Alycia Danielson, Newton, 551
37. (tie) Kat Blehl, Immaculate Heart, 550
37. (tie) Mary Kate Alvarez, Immaculate Heart, 550
39. Tiffany Sucero, Holy Angels, 541
40. (tie) Stephanie Tremper, Manchester Township, 537
40. (tie) Christine Jones, Point Pleasant Boro, 537
42. Rebecca Armand, South Plainfield, 536
43. Jessica Dandola, South Plainfield, 535
44. Kristin Natoli, Howell, 533
45. Annie Smith, Southern Regional, 531
46. Megan Aucone, Sayreville, 528
47. Leslie Subaldo, Holy Angels, 527
48. Kelley Grippo, Holy Angels, 479
49. Angela Kozma, Toms River South, 476
50. Rebecca Abelowitz, Ewing, 446
51. Colleen Kraus, Gloucester City, 436

GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP (Stepladder format)
4-Eak def. 5-Henderson, 191-190
3-Waltz def. 4-Eak, 257-254
3-Waltz def. 2-Policastro, 255-250
3-Waltz def. 1-Stevenson, 264-213

GIRLS HIGH FIRST-ROUND GAME
1. Collier, Brick Memorial, 268
2. Policastro, Carteret, 258
3. (tie) Henderson, Warren Hills & Shockley, Holy Cross, 257

See you ’round the lanes…

—GT

The main reason the state team finals for boys bowling were postponed for two weeks — first from Feb. 14 to 15, then to this Thursday, Feb. 27 — was that Carolier Lanes was booked from Feb. 18-23 by the PBA. The pro tour held the annual USBC Masters tournament there for the second year in a row, meaning high school bowlers had to wait an extra week for their next major competition.

Or did they? …

I was emailing back and forth with Glen Rock coach Bonnie Zimmermann about Jake Rollins’ state-championship 300 early last week, when she sent the following comment: “Jake been inundated with well-wishers and congrats from his bowling people. Now he’s focusing on the Masters tournament this week at Carolier.”

My initial reaction: Wait, is Rollins going to the Masters to compete, or just to watch? But the answer dawned on me before Zimmermann even responded to confirm it — he was there to bowl.

The bad news is that Taglines couldn’t make it to Carolier last week. The good news is that the PBA had a sweet online setup that allowed “viewers at home” to track the event. (The link is at carolier.meriq.com, although there’s not much to see now that the tournament is over.)

So here is a by-the-numbers breakdown of some USBC Masters fun facts, observed from afar:

3 — The number of NJSIAA individual champions in the field of 468: Rollins (Glen Rock, 2014), Diante Fields (Kingsway, 2012) and Greg Ostrander (Wall, 2008). Ostrander finished 44th in qualifying, which consisted of three days of five-game series held Tuesday to Thursday, for a total of 15 games. That put him into the match play Round of 64 (Friday-Saturday), where he went 1-2 in the double-elimination bracket.

Rollins, meanwhile, shot a 954 in Tuesday’s five-game session, a 980 on Wednesday (with a 233 high game) and an 889 on Sunday for a total of 2,823. If you think about it, the format is comparable to a standard three-game high school tournament, except it’s one bowler shooting 15 games instead of five. And you thought the Bergen County boys tournament was a marathon… ooh, speaking of which:

4 — The number of Bergen/Passaic County individual titles won by 2014 Masters competitors. Rocco Ilaria of Rutherford shared high series at the 1998 Bergen tourney, Emil Dudas won the 1989 Passaic County title at Clifton, and Tony Ament was a two-time Bergen champ at Fair Lawn (1985 & 1987).

That’s what the Aces’ all-time Bergen and Passaic County champion lists say, anyway… per PBA.com, Dudas now lives in Toms River and Ament in Monroe Township. In the event we’ve made a mistake, please email Taglines to help correct it.

4/5ths — The percentage of this year’s NJSIAA stepladder finalists in the field: Rollins, runner-up Matt Russo of Allentown, third-place Dan Buchman of Maple Shade and fourth-place Kenny Ryan of Ocean Township. Russo had the best 15-game qualifying series (3,108) of the quartet and finished 95th.

18 — The sum of digits in the qualifying scores of both Will Vidulich (2,871) and Alex Prell (2,790). Both were NJSIAA singles tournament qualifiers as high school seniors — Vidulich at West Milford in 2008 and Prell at Wood-Ridge in 2010, when he finished third in the state stepladder finals.

116 — The finishing place of Fairleigh Dickinson alum Danielle McEwan, second-highest among the dozen women in the event behind Union’s Kelly Kulick. McEwan, who earned Most Outstanding Bowler honors in helping FDU to the 2010 NCAA women’s championship, had a 247 high game and 205 average for the Masters.

133 — Amount of career 300 games thrown by Wayne’s Jim Hosier, at least when Record bowling columnist Chuck Pezzano last checked in with him in 2012. Hosier’s best game last week was 247 in Thursday’s five-game qualifying set, when he shot 1,051 (210 average) to finish with an overall average of 199.

2 x 300 — Frank Mockenhaupt and Dan Wurhman are two of the many bowlers on the all-time North Jersey 300 List… but their brothers were the ones in the spotlight at the Masters. Robert Mockenhaupt, a 1988 Rutherford grad, had a high game of 241 and averaged 182.7 for the tournament. Mike Wuhrman, Park Ridge Class of 2011, had a high game of 210 and a 173.4 average.

$1,038 — Amount of prize money won by 2010 North 1A sectional champ and Queen of Peace alum Andrew Suscreba for being the highest-finishing North Jersey entrant. He averaged 209 in qualifying and finished 80th, just 24 pins away from the top-64 cutoff.

3,169 — Qualifying score of 66-year-old Jackson resident (and regular spectator at NJSIAA tournaments) Johnny Petraglia, who advanced as the No. 58 seed and went 3-2 in Masters match play. He came up a few rounds short of the televised stepladder finals but made a guest appearance in the announcer’s booth for Sunday’s ESPN telecast.

1965 — The last time a bowler had successfully defended his USBC Masters title, before Australian two-hander Jason Belmonte did so on Sunday. The 2013 PBA Player of the Year went in as the No. 5 seed and climbed the entire stepladder, defeating reigning Rookie of the Year E.J. Tackett in the final, 221-177.

Taglines suspects that Belmonte’s success may have something to do with the rise in the amount of two-handers among North Jersey varsity bowlers, but that is a topic to explore another time. We’ll leave you with a look at some notable Masters results, including the finishes of all the North Jersey entrants (highlighted in green). All results courtesy of PBA.com:

2014 UNITED STATES BOWLING CONGRESS MASTERS
[Feb. 17-23 at Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes, North Brunswick]
STEPLADDER FINALS (Sunday)
Match One: 5-Jason Belmonte def. 4-Ryan Ciminelli, 227-214
Match Two: Belmonte def. 3-Tom Smallwood, 202-173
Match Three: Belmonte def. 2-Michael Haugen Jr., 235-234
Championship: Belmonte def. 1-E.J. Tackett, 221-177

N.J. MATCH PLAY QUALIFIERS (Double-elimination matches on Friday-Saturday)
25. Matthew O’Grady, South Amboy, 3,235 in 15-game qualifying series (215.7 average); 2-2 in match play
32. John Furey, Freehold, 3,217 (214.5); 1-2 in match play
44. Greg Ostrander, Freehold, 3,191 (212.7); 1-2 in match play
55. Stephen Pavlinko Jr., Sewell, 3,174 (211.6); 2-2 in match play
58. John Petraglia, Jackson, 3,169 (211.3); 3-2 in match play

QUALIFYING ROUND RESULTS (15 games; Cutoff to advance to Round of 64 = 3,159)
80. Andrew Suscreba, Clifton, 3,135 (209.0 average)
86. Kelly Kulick, Union, 3,129 (208.7)
95. Matt Russo, Millstone Twp./Allentown H.S., 3,108 (207.2)
101. Parker Bohn III, Jackson, 3,099 (206.6)
116. Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 3,078 (205.2)
187. Jim Hosier, Wayne, 2,985 (199.0)
209. Justin Puchalski, Towaco/Montville H.S., 2,962 (197.5)
230. Kenny Ryan, Ocean Township, 2,936 (195.7)
236. Diante Fields, Middletown, Del., 2,926 (195.1)
263. Rocco Ilaria, Rutherford, 2,890 (192.7)
285. Will Vidulich, Hawthorne, 2,871 (191.4)
313. Jake Rollins, Glen Rock H.S., 2,823 (188.2)
333. Emil Dudas, Toms River, 2,805 (187.0)
341. Alex Prell, Wood-Ridge, 2,790 (186.0)
371. Robert Mockenhaupt, Rutherford, 2,741 (182.7)
385. Danny Buchman, Maple Shade H.S., 2,723 (181.5)
404. Tony Ament, Monroe, 2,676 (178.4)
424. Mike Wuhrman, Park Ridge, 2,601 (173.4)

300 Games – ROUND 1: None. ROUND 2: Kyle King. ROUND 3: Josh Blanchard, Jason Belmonte.

See you ’round the lanes…

—GT

Tonight (Wednesday) we are taking photos of all first-team All-County performers in Passaic and Bergen County.
Where? 1 Garret Mountain Plaza in Woodland Park. (It’s the PNC building)
When? Athletes can come any time between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m.
They don’t have to wear anything special (but no hats please). Once you get there, there should be signs directing you where you have to go. They usually take the pictures in our studio on the 8th floor.
If you are unable to make it tonight, please contact us at localsports@northjersey.com to make other arrangements. We can re-run an old photo if we have permission, or come up with something else.

Senior Ellie Schuckman led Fair Lawn to the Big North Independence Division title with a 182 average. (Photo/Joe Camporeale)

Happy All-North Jersey Week to all. If you missed the girls bowling features in The Record on Saturday (March 15 edition), know that you can always find them online at northjersey.com — here are the links for All-North Jersey 1st and 2nd teams … Bowler of the Year Dana-Marie Laloo of Teaneck … Team of the Year Holy Angels … Coach of the Year Dan Rattacasa from Westwood … and the final Top 5 rankings.

If you’re wondering whether or not you missed the final league standings… nope, this is the place to find them. At last, Big North coaches found a way to keep all their standings in one centralized location (thank you Google Docs), something that had been an issue since all the divisions began rolling in different houses. Things still can be a bit tricky to organize, since crossover matches don’t count toward divisional records, but the lists below hopefully should make the numbers fairly easy to follow.

NOTE: One of the reasons that team records don’t appear with the weekly bowling rankings (as they do for other sports) is because they’re not always uniform. For example, the Big North bowls 7-point matches, the NJIC uses 5-point matches. Some teams keep track of match win-loss records, other go by points. For the Aces’ purposes, we’ve tried to incorporate both… you’ll see match play W-L records *and* points records for each division in Column 2, with overall points records in Column 3 as a bonus:

FINAL 2013-14 BIG NORTH GIRLS BOWLING STANDINGS

UNITED                      Div.W-L/Pts        Overall Pts
Holy Angels                   3-1, 24-4               96-9
Paramus Catholic       2-2, 13-15              72-19
Immaculate Heart      1-3, 5-23                49-49
Analysis: The Holy Angels’ Team of the Year story noted the team had an overall record of 89-9. Upon further review, Taglines was missing the result of the Angels’ Feb. 7 win over Passaic (7-0). But it evened out, because the coaches’ Google Doc was missing their Jan. 30 win over Old Tappan (7-0), so at least everybody was off — hate for someone to feel left out.

LIBERTY            Div.W-L/Pts        Overall Pts
Bergen Tech       10-0, 70-0              79-19
Passaic Tech       6-4, 41-29             45-81
Clifton                   4-6, 35-35              47-51
Eastside                4-6, 26-44             26-72
Passaic                  5-4, 25-38*           27-57
Kennedy               0-9, 6-57*                6-71
Analysis: There were actually two girls teams with perfect points records in their division. Teaneck got a mention in the paper, but how about Bergen Tech? Junior Aimee Balleza led the way with a 167 average, and freshman Olivia Wank had a huge finale with her best game (199) and series (555) of the season versus Passaic Tech on Feb. 7. [*Missing results of Jan. 28 Kennedy-Passaic match.]

FREEDOM              Div.W-L/Pts         Overall Pts
Paramus                    10-0, 64-6               85-13
Ridgewood                6-4, 44-26              65-33
Hackensack              6-4, 44-26              53-45
No. Highlands         6-4, 42-28               68-37
Indian Hills               1-9, 11-59                20-78
Ramapo                      1-9, 5-65                   11-87
Analysis: This was the first league championship for any Paramus bowling team, boys or girls, in school history (the weekly Town News confirms it here). The Spartans did not have to sweat things out as they did last year, but Ridgewood once again was involved in a close race and tied Hackensack for second, with Northern Highlands just two points back.

INDEPENDENCE    Div.W-L/Pts       Overall Pts
Fair Lawn                     5-1, 37-5                  75-9
Wayne Valley            5-1, 31-11                 73-11
Lakeland                      1-5, 10-32                22-62
Wayne Hills                1-5, 6-36                  46-59
Analysis: No girls squad for West Milford this season, so it was a four-team race. Fair Lawn and Wayne Valley actually tied for the 2012-13 title, and although they split the ’13-14 head-to-head series, the Cutters finished 6 points ahead to win outright. Kudos to senior Ellie Schuckman for leading Fair Lawn with a 182 average — if the powers that be had allowed for one more spot on the All-North Jersey first team, it would have been hers.

NATIONAL            Div.W-L/Pts          Overall Pts
Teaneck                   10-0, 70-0                93-5
Tenafly                       8-2, 48-22              62-29
Old Tappan               5-5, 32-38              37-54
Demarest                   4-6, 28-42              46-52
Pascack Valley        3-7, 22-48              22-76
Bergenfield              0-10, 10-60            22-97
Analysis: What more can be said about the Highwaywomen? Well, a little bit… I didn’t get to mention all the seniors besides Ms. Laloo in the All-North Jersey edition, but Kiana Baham (178 average) gave a great interview after the state team finals, and Sulay Duarte (160) bowled in every division game for the champs. Nnenne Ogbonnaya was the team’s fourth senior and made the trip to the state finals as well.

PATRIOT            Div.W-L/Pts         Overall Pts
Westwood              8-0, 52-4                 99-6
Mahwah                  5-3, 40-16            103-37
Ramsey                   5-3, 28-28              49-42
River Dell               2-6, 18-38              39-59
Pascack Hills        0-8, 2-54                20-85
Analysis: The North Group 1 sectional title was not the only reason Westwood’s Dan Rattacasa was our Coach of the Year. The Cardinals dropped only two games in division play all winter, and senior Kaitlyn Stapleton had a season-best 225 game in the finale against Mahwah on Feb. 6. Meanwhile, Mahwah senior Allison Homler had a season-high 651 series in the T-Birds’ finale on Feb. 10, a 7-0 win over Ramsey that helped them hold off the Rams for second.

AMERICAN          Div. W-L/Pts          Overall Pts
Dumont                     6-0, 40-2                   61-37
Ridgefield Park      3-3, 23-19                 32-66
Fort Lee                     2-4, 13-29                 15-83
Cliffside Park           1-5, 8-34                     8-83
Analysis: How about a little love for Dumont, too? Didn’t get a chance to write much about them during the season, but the Huskies have only one senior in Marion Fullon. The rest of the team should be back next winter led by junior Yenelly Garcia, who bowled 16 pins over her average at sectionals (161.0) and 26 pins over her average at counties (171.3). Don’t forget, freshman Kendra Chaiken also had the fifth-high game at the Bergen tournament, a 222.

So that’s all for the girls. Check back Wednesday for the Big North boys standings, followed by the co-ed NJIC standings to round out the week.

—GT

Senior Ammad Quraishi was one of four Fort Lee bowlers who averaged 175 or better in division play to lead the Bridgemen to the Big North American title. (Don Smith/Staff Photographer)

Today, the Aces bring you the a look at the final Big North boys bowling standings for 2013-14. I’m tempted to call this Part One of the boys recap, but technically speaking (which happens quite often on Taglines), of the two major conferences in North Jersey, only the Big North has all-boys divisions. The small-school NJIC includes co-ed squads, although for competition purposes, they are classified as boys teams.

Nonetheless, simplicity is the goal here: girls standings were posted Tuesday, boys standings today, co-ed standings tomorrow. Let’s just leave it at that.

If you missed any of the All-North Jersey boys bowling features in The Record on Sunday (March 16 edition), here are the northjersey.com links for your viewing enjoyment — the All-North Jersey 1st and 2nd teams … Bowler of the Year Jake Rollins of Glen Rock … Team of the Year Lyndhurst … Coach of the Year Audrey Jantzen of Passaic Tech … and the season’s final Top 10 rankings. (FYI, the video links with the boys and girls Bowler of the Year stories are now active, thanks to Tyson Trish for putting those together once again.)

NOTE: Same deal as yesterday, you’ll see match play W-L records *and* points records for each division in Column 2, with overall points records in Column 3 as a bonus…

FINAL 2013-14 BIG NORTH BOYS BOWLING STANDINGS

UNITED                      Div.W-L/Pts        Overall Pts
Paramus Catholic       6-2, 42-14            70-21
Don Bosco                     5-3, 35-21             58-40
Bergen Catholic          4-4, 32-24            63-49
St. Joseph                      5-3, 31-25             56½-34½
DePaul                            0-8, 0-56               9-103
Analysis: This is exactly why points standings can be so tricky sometimes. St. Joseph finished with a better win-loss than Bergen Catholic, but the Crusaders scored one more point and thus finish third in the United. This was a great race, the difference was that Paramus Catholic swept three straight 7-0 matches from DePaul, St. Joe’s and BC in mid-January to open up some breathing room. The Paladins got huge series from James Kane (730) and Brian Rizzi (667) against Joe’s and from Devin Puccio (673) and Vincent Santana (652) versus Bergen. Don Bosco finished second by blanking St. Joe’s in the finale, 7-0, behind Tim Kisala’s season-best 259 game.

LIBERTY            Div.W-L/Pts        Overall Pts
Passaic Tech        10-0, 68-2              113-6
Bergen Tech           8-2, 54-16              72-33
Clifton                      6-4, 42-28              48-50
Eastside                   3-7, 21-49               21-77
Passaic                     2-7, 18-45*            20-64
Kennedy                  0-9, 0-63*                0-91
Analysis: You read it in The Record first, Passaic Tech coach Audrey Jantzen managed to get her entire lineup involved, and the Bulldogs ended up with a 787 four-man average per game, second-best in the conference. Bergen Tech deserves some kudos as well, seniors Steven Doughty (197 league average) and Dean Edwards (190) both had over 20 games of 200-plus and averaged even higher in the county and sectional tournaments.

FREEDOM              Div.W-L/Pts         Overall Pts
Indian Hills              10-0, 70-0                96-2
No. Highlands            7-3, 49-21             75-30
Ridgewood                  6-4, 45-25             59-32
Hackensack                4-6, 25-45             34-64
Paramus                       3-7, 17-53              26-65
Ramapo                     0-10, 4-66                  9-89
Analysis: The highest four-man per-game average in the conference (800) came from Freedom champ Indian Hills. Six Braves averaged 180 or better in the league, and 4 were at 200-plus (yes, I’m rounding up senior Graham Mulligan’s 199.5, so there). They join the Teaneck and Bergen Tech girls as the only Big North teams to finish unbeaten in both win-loss AND points records. I’d mention more names, but some chap from the Franklin Lakes/Oakland Suburban News had IH pretty well-covered. Runner-up Northern Highlands also got some postseason ink in the weekly Town Journal — nice season for seniors Phil Hubelbank (188 division average), Carlo Russo (179), Sean Verillo (702 high series) and John Wendeborn (277 high game, 717 high series).

INDEPENDENCE    Div.W-L/Pts       Overall Pts
West Milford*             6-2, 40-16             96-16
Fair Lawn*                    6-2, 40-16              78-34
Wayne Valley              5-3, 32-24             61-37
Lakeland                        3-5, 24-32             57-41
Wayne Hills                  0-8, 4-52               25-80
Analysis: How’s this for drama? West Milford needed to take all 7 points from Wayne Hills in its final Independence match on Jan. 29 in order to earn a share of the title with Fair Lawn (which had finished its division slate a full two weeks earlier). Sophomore Matt Goldberg had a 258 game as part of a 631 series that day, Highlanders win 7-0, hail to not one but two division champs. Goldberg and junior Jeremy Scott both averaged around 196 in the league for West Milford. Juniors Cory Heitler (200) and Justin Goldschmidt (192) led the way for Fair Lawn, and if the Cutters need more bragging rights, they advanced further in the state team tournament. Although the Highlanders had more bowlers in the state individual tournament. No settling this draw, it seems…

NATIONAL            Div.W-L/Pts          Overall Pts
Pascack Valley        10-0, 62-8              81-10
Bergenfield                  7-3, 53-17            75-37
Teaneck                        7-3, 43-27           58-54
Demarest                     4-6, 34-36           43½-54½
Old Tappan                 2-8, 9-61                 9-82
Tenafly                      0-10, 9-61                 9-82
Analysis: Pascack Valley led this division pretty much wire-to-wire, winning every match either 7-0 or 5-2. All five Indian regulars averaged 180-plus in league play — Ryan Vasel (211), Rob Borrelli (196), Joe Ballesteros (193), Eric Robinson (189) and Josh Kasper (180) — but boy, Bergenfield did not make it easy on them. The Bears have three real-deal shooters in righties Greg Khan (208) and Nick Reyes (204) and lefty Nick Wolanski (188), and if the National used a three-man format, they may well have won the thing. The good news for Bergenfield is, all three will return. As will Vasel, Ballesteros and Kasper for PV. Oh, rivalries…

PATRIOT            Div.W-L/Pts         Overall Pts
Westwood             8-0, 54-2                86-19
Mahwah                  5-3, 31-25              58-68
Ramsey                   3-5, 24-32             42-56
River Dell              4-4, 23-33              33-65
Pascack Hills        0-8, 8-48                28-77
Analysis: Did we mention that 2013-14 was perhaps the best season in the history of Westwood bowling for boys and girls? No… Cardinals senior Andrew Cirillo did that for us (fourth-to-last paragraph in that link). Ok, Taglines said it, too, but that was the first link I found. Plus, Cirillo’s 213 league average led the Big North, making him a reputable source. I also had similar discussions on Westwood’s success this winter with several [dozen?] members of the Rivers clan, including Kyle (202) and Brandon (194). Runner-up Mahwah deserves a mention as well, the T-Birds are not normally a bowling power but had five guys average in the 160s-170s, including sophomore Chris Salerno (174).

AMERICAN          Div. W-L/Pts          Overall Pts
Fort Lee                      6-0, 32-10             77-28
Dumont                      4-2, 31-11              79-19
Ridgefield Park       2-4, 21-21             33-65
Cliffside Park           0-6, 0-42                4-87
Analysis: Saving the best for last, it would appear. Fort Lee and Dumont entered their snow-delayed season finales separated by just 4 points. The Huskies swept Cliffside Park, 7-0, on Feb. 6 behind a monster 712 series from frosh phenom Kyle Schellberg (who ended up in the same boat that Fair Lawn’s Ellie Schuckman did on the girls side — if one more spot was allowed on the All-North Jersey boys first team, it would’ve gone to him). Anyway, that meant Fort Lee had to defeat Ridgefield Park on Feb. 7, and do so with anchor Ammad Quraishi across the pond on a college visit, in order to win the division.

The bad news for the Bridgemen: Ridgefield Park won total wood, 2,014-2,001. The good news: They only needed to take 2-of-3 games regardless of total pinfall to earn the 4 points necessary to hold on to first place. They did. Fort Lee’s 4-3 victory gave it the American title by one point, and you know the rest of the story… Quraishi (179 overall average) returned to help the Bridgemen finish second in Group 3 at the state finals, he and fellow senior James Han (176) rode off into the sunset after captaining arguably the best season in program history, and Fort Lee coach Phil Bello earned the unofficial Chuck Johnson award for referring to Taglines as “coach” every time we spoke. (P.S. Johnson, the Ridgewood football coach, is believed to have started the fad, and I dig it — you’ll never be accused of forgetting names again!)

Don’t let us forget… final 2013-14 NJIC standings will be up on Varsity Aces by week’s end.

—GT

Freshman Nick Cilento averaged 202 to help unbeaten Pompton Lakes to the NJIC Colonial Division championship (Photo/Joe Camporeale)

To wrap up the Aces’ three-part series of final bowling standings, today Taglines brings you the results of all three New Jersey Interscholastic Conference (NJIC) divisions. In case you missed it, the Big North girls recap appeared on Tuesday, and the Big North boys recap was here Wednesday. Just follow those links if you wish to backtrack.

A few minor differences when it comes to the NJIC: First, all teams are co-ed, with select exceptions (noted below). Second, teams bowl two games instead of three, so matches are worth 5 points instead of 7… 2 for each game and 1 for total pinfall. Thankfully, there were no ties that necessitated the copy-and-paste of fractions into this blog entry (St. Joseph, Demarest, I’m looking in your direction). Finally, and perhaps most maddeningly, the NJIC Colonial features five-player starting rotations, but the Patriot and Meadowlands divisions use four-bowler lineups. Fortunately, the points system remains uniform.

Since Taglines did note in a previous entry that bowling standings are based on the points and not on match win-loss records, we’ve moved those over to Column 2 for easier reading. Match records remain in Column 3 as a bonus. Finally, BIG-TIME thanks to Sports Reporter Vince and Dennis from Parkway Lanes for keeping the Aces supplied with stats this season.

And away we go…

COLONIAL              Points         Match W-L
Pompton Lakes      80-0           16-0
Hawthorne               61-19          13-3
Glen Rock                 52-28         10-6
Rutherford               43-37          9-7
Manchester              37-43          7-9
Garfield                      30-50        6-10
Eastern Christian   12-68         3-13
Mary Help                  5-75          0-16
Analysis: What a season by Pompton Lakes. That the Cardinals swept every match 5-0 en route to repeating as Colonial champs is amazing… but it was not easy. Hawthorne was right there all year, in fact all three of its losses came against Pompton, and the one on Jan. 30 may have been the most agonizing. Madison Perry shot a personal season-high 278 in the first game, Mike Ulrich had a league season-best 289 in the second game, and Hawthorne still lost by a handful of pins according to coach John LaForge. Could have had something to do with the fact that junior Frank Magyar had a 500 series that day (remember, two games only in the NJIC) with a 257-243.

At any rate, Magyar (206), freshman Nick Cilento (202), and seniors Dillon Cilento (199) and Spencer Schoonmaker (193) all compiled top-10 averages in the division, and junior Julieanne Kornberg (170) had the second-leading girls average behind Perry (177). Seniors Justin Floyd of Manchester (212), Danny Bivin of Rutherford (209) and Dan Dooner of Glen Rock (201) also averaged over 200, and Hawthorne frosh Steve Plaszky (196) came darn close. The top Colonial average (232) and high series (547) came from some fellow named Rollins… perhaps you’ve heard of him.

One more quick aside: Taglines pays very little mind to Mary Help’s final record, since the playing field is not exactly level. They’re an all-girls team competing in a co-ed league, which is really a mostly-boys league. The only other team in the Blue Jays’ boat is Patriot Division entrant Midland Park, and that’s due to the fact that no boys turned out to join the Panthers this year (again). But kudos to Mary Help for not giving up the fight — Emily Homler had the third-best girls high game (172) and average (125) this winter, and Stephanie Gunby was not far behind.

PATRIOT                   Points         Match W-L
Leonia                         76-9             16-1
Park Ridge                69-21           13-5
New Milford             63-27          13-5
Harrison                    56-34           12-6
Hawth. Christian    42-48          8-10
Queen of Peace       31-59           7-11
Palisades Park         30-60          6-12
Bogota                         19-71           3-15
Midland Park           14-71           2-15
Analysis: Leonia had four of the top eight averages in the division: Joseph Biondi (181), Jason Hwang (177), William Jeong (174) and Kevin Do (170). FYI, Biondi is just a sophomore, so the Lions’ anchor isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. They were clearly the best team from start to finish, losing only to Park Ridge — however, if you’re wondering why they bowled one fewer match than everyone else, we’ll explain. With an uneven number of teams in the division, Leonia ended up with a bye for the final position round on Feb. 10 (Midland Park got the bye for the Feb. 6 position round, so it also had just 17 head-to-head matches).

Queen of Peace’s Juan Ortiz had the league’s high average at 186, and at one point in the season, he strung together 4 or 5 straight 400 series — or so the QPHS Griffin Den told the Aces on Twitter. Park Ridge senior Kyle Ladewig had the third-high average (180.7, just behind Biondi) and high game for the season at 264. New Milford senior Mike Schlesinger averaged 177.6 and had the high boys series at 461. Bogota left-hander Megan Pulido had the high girls average at 131, and Midland Park right-hander Katie Lelinho had girls high game (188) and series (337) for the season, and yes, those are your pitching probables for when the two schools next meet on the softball diamond.

MEADOWLANDS     Points        Match W-L
Lyndhurst                     78-2           16-0
Wallington                    59-21        13-3
Secaucus                        55-25        11-5
North Arlington         38-42        6-10
Wood-Ridge                35-45        9-7
St. Mary                        33-47        5-11
Becton                            16-64        3-13
Hasbrouck Heights    6-74         1-15
Analysis: The story is true, Lyndhurst earned its Team of the Year honor thanks in part to a dominating run through the Meadowlands Division. The points not covered elsewhere  on northjersey.com: Golden Bears junior Daijon Smith led the division with a 221.5 average, followed closely by Wallington junior Zachary Seegers (215) and North Arlington sophomore Tyler Keefe (212). Lyndhurst junior Jordan Lopez (207) set the Meadowlands all-time high series record with his 300-265—565 on Jan. 27, and obviously his 300 was high game for the season, a feat first turned in by freshman teammate Ryan Donohue on Dec. 16. (Quick, who was the only team to take a game from Lyndhurst this season?)

Taglines can tell you that two of runner-up Wallington’s three losses came against the Golden Bears, the other was against Secaucus, which had a very nice season in its own right — or should I say “left”? — with southpaws Bobby Wolf (192) and Adam Nelson (173) anchoring the rotation. Wallington’s Connor Sheldrick (193) and St. Mary’s Antoni Grebowiec (187) also had to-eight averages in the division… and Secaucus’ Alex Consulmagno (180) edged out teammate Liz Mewengkang (160 high game, No. 2 among Meadowlands girls) for the coveted Alphabet Soup Surname Award by one letter (when you’re a Tartaglia, you get to confer these types of honors).

Speaking of the girls, Lyndhurst junior Emily Young had the division’s high game (236), series (404) and average (179), ahead of Wood-Ridge’s Kim Emanuele (148) in the latter category. You may notice that Emanuele and the Blue Devils had a winning match record and a losing points-standings record… well, the won a lot of 3-2 matches and lost a bunch of 5-0 decisions. Should mention Wood-Ridge lefty Ryan Macri (178) and Becton’s Bobby Deleasa (179), too, both were among the boys average leaders.

SO… what else is left to say about the 2013-14 bowling season in North Jersey? A few things, actually, but those will have to wait for another blog entirely.

—GT

You know, I took a picture of Myers with her poster, but this is a lot better. This is a copy of the actual poster created by our marketing department that Corinne won. Then I got to meet her parents. Always a fun time.

Friday night was the Bergen County Women Coaches Association All-County dinner, and it was honor to be on hand to present the award to the Athlete of the Season. That award recognizes (to us) the one student-athlete who defined the winter season with his or her actions. It always helps to have had individual and team success, throw in maybe some history-making stuff, and an awesome moment or two, and needless to say, you got a shot.
Myers, a senior at Westwood, certainly hit all the marks….individual and team success, All-American, and history winning 4 golds at a sectional track meet. That had never been done before.

Still, as always it was not an easy choice, although Corinne was kind of the leader in the clubhouse. We had a list of 10 nominees chosen from the All-County lists and also from my own observations and a few conversations with members of the HS sports staff.
Who was next in line? Well, gee, thats a tough question. Probably Lindsey Rogers from IHA, especially with the Blue Eagles reaching the TOC…and if they had won Wednesday night, I’m not quite sure what we would have done. But also, it was hard not to acknowledge what Madison Dunbar did this year for Highlands in basketball…coconut water and all. And Cheyenne Bellerand of Emerson would not have been a bad choice. Cheyenne had the biggest smile of any athlete who came up to the dais.
We had history too as the BCWCA recognized an All-County girls fencing team for the first time. Just three girls, and Holy Angels AD Patti Gorsuch gave a nice speech about fencing in Bergen County and how special it was for them to be there.
I wonder some times, no, a lot of times, if the parents of the basketball players, or the actual basketball players in the room, are paying attention to what is being said about the athletes in other sports, because it’s pretty remarkable. This year, the program got shuffled a little bit, and BCWCA President Melissa Landeck was not able to be there, so Diane Furusawa was the Master of Ceremonies. We started around 7:10, which is pretty common. It was a long evening, but enjoyable. Dan Rattacasa of Westwood called me out. I actually had in my notes to say something back to him when Corinne won the award – like, ‘Ok, since Rattacasa wanted more publicity, I will give the award to a Westwood kid.’ But that wasnt true.
I actually walked in with Horohonich from IC and ended up at his table. We were talking about the Morris Catholic game and softball stuff. It was just H and the Fuehring family, so we all got extra food – seriously, there were 5 of us at the table of 10. I was perfectly well-hidden in the corner, texting various athletic directors and coaches throughout the night, and tweeting just a bit. It was a good time. The rumors are true though, I did not eat my ice cream. I have been on a diet for a couple of weeks and already seeing some progress, so I want to keep it going.
But my half-full table was the anomaly. The place was as full as ever, although the boys dinner tonight is the biggest All-County gathering of the year, since the boys honor 6 sports.
They did track last, Mr. Zaccone gutted through his speech with pink eye, and he was smart, they saved Corinne until last (well, 2nd to last, as Catherine Rozalski was honored last, but she came late) and I was almost like, ‘great, they are going to ruin my big moment,’ but it was nice. Corinne came up and I told her that now she and Westwood junior Nolan Borgersen each have an award like this (I think they know each other). She got a standing ovation, which was fantastic.
And then afterwards I took her picture and we talked some more about running. It was 10:20 before I got to my car.
And that’s probably a little late, but I don’t think many people mind. I know some people leave early, which bugs me because I have the award at the end, but I understand. I like what the BCCA has done with their dinners starting at 6, because they don’t really start at 6, but you can start at 6:15, 6:20, and then 2/3 hours later its all done.
And that is what we will get tonight, again back at The Fiesta, again I will probably get the salmon, again I get to present an award at the end – this time it’s the Ron Fox Award – and it should be fun.

Here are the posters I passed out last night to Jake Rollins and Johnny Sebastian as co-winners of the Ron Fox Award.

I kept saying we would do something historical last night at the Bergen County Coaches Association All-County dinner, and I guess we did. For the first time, and maybe the last, we split the Ron Fox Award for two winners, because, really, how could you not? (in fact, it was almost 3) The winners were Johnny Sebastian of Bergen Catholic and Jake Rollins of Glen Rock.
When/how was the decision made?

First thing you have to know is….I, personally, am not a fan of giving out more awards. Make your decision and stick with it. And I am one of those who doesn’t approve of the everyone-gets-a-trophy-culture that exists in youth sports. I mean, I understand it, I really do, well, I think I do, but I don’t really like it.
When we started this award process 3 years ago (again, much thanks to the people at the BCCA and the BCWCA for allowing us to be a part of their program) I remember talking to the boss and saying, one award…always, one kid.
But as the honor has evolved, and yes, it’s still new, but as it has evolved, we have begun to focus in on the type of student-athlete we want to honor, what kind of achievements he/she has done. I know I talk about whenever I give my speech, I think last night I said, you know, you just know it when you see it. Jabrill Peppers, Ben Malone, Josette Norris….Nia Reed. They were all past winners and were all definitely deserving. Was it possible someone else should have been up there? Yes, but make a decision and stick with it.
And I must say the feedback on the award has always been pretty positive, although I don’t think many people still know about it. But that’s Ok, like I said, it has only been three years. (In the spring, by the way, the boys get the Bob Kurland Award and the girls – still – get the Athlete of the Season award).
One thing we are also looking for is an athlete who has the defining moment of the season, set a state record at the Meet of Champs in swimming/track…well, you go up pretty high on the list. Star for a team that wins a county and/or state title, well, you go up high too. Do all of the above…winner, winner.
When Rollins rolled the 300 in the state final, I think I talked to my boss later in that day, and we were already saying, well, this is it. He wins the Fox Award. Bowling is such a precise sport, full of pressure….to do what he did, in the situation he was in. It’s just mind-blowing. That is exactly the type of moment and athlete we want to honor.
But…I added a caveat that the season still had about 3 weeks to go. And I remember saying to the boss, if Sebastian becomes the 6th person to win three state championships from Bergen County, it would be impossible to choose between the 2. I also remember saying if Nick Suriano does his thing, he should be up there as well.
We agreed to let it all play out, because, really what else could we do, but I already had in mind, we would have to split the award if Sebastian won, because he would have hit on all the criteria, state champ, nationally ranked, team success, and oh, by the way, he had a messed up shoulder.
And then Ramsey ice hockey happened. The Rams had a great season, a record-setting season….they didn’t win the county, which hurt them, slightly, but they had a bonafide superstar in Alex Whelan. He had a season for the ages and again, is one of those athletes in this category.
So….I was driving up from AC and the state wrestling finals and refreshing my Twitter feed like everyone else. It was scoreless and Ramsey was in the state finals with Morristown at 4074 (the Ramsey people will get my reference). I am clicking and clicking, and all of the sudden it hits me…if Whelan scores the game-winner to win the state title, or even if he doesn’t and Ramsey wins…we might need to make it three Fox winners. Then Morristown scored at the end. You can ask JJ, I texted him directly right after the goal, something like “NOOOOOOO.” It was disappointing. But seriously, thats how close it was to being 3 winners….and then even Ceasar DeJesus of Teaneck had a strong case, because no one had ever won 4 Jambo titles before. We considered him, we really did.
I had it all planned. I was going to say at the start of my speech that I was going to get back after making the first presentation because I had another announcement to make. For the first time, I never even told anyone from Bergen that Johnny was going to win, because, well, I knew he would be there, and he was, arm in a sling after surgery on Wednesday.
I had though told Bonnie Zimmerman at Glen Rock, since I didn’t want Jake to leave….because a lot of people do leave the dinner. I told her my plans, and honestly, she was the only person to know.
Until Howie Conklin kept asking me at the table, but I didn’t mind sharing it with him. Ron Fox also cast his vote for Sebastian, but when I told him the plan for 2 winners, he emailed me that he was 100 percent on board. I was so sorry he was unable to come again. Maybe next year.
It was a crowded, crowded affair. I was sorry Chris Moseley from Fair Lawn was so bored (he said so in a tweet). The crowd never really did get quiet as the teams were presented, at least not for long, and that is hard. The coaches announcing the teams just kind of plowed through it. I must say it did make for a fast evening. We started around 6:10 and ended at 8:30 with me, and The Messenger, Greg Tartaglia, up there.
So, does this set a precedent for multiple athlete of the season winners? Gee, I hope not. But in certain cases, special consideration has to be made. This was a special winter in a lot of different ways (I am glad that it’s over though). Jake Rollins and Johnny Sebastian were the best. We made the decision and we stuck with it.

From the organization that brought you (and me) the famous neon green shoelaces, the Go4TheGoal Foundation, will have one of its biggest fundraisers of the year Sunday at Montvale Lanes from 5 to 8 p.m. 20 bucks gets you food, bowling and shoes for the duration.
Cleverly called “Bowl 4 The Goal” all proceeds from the event will benefit the Kart 4 Kids program run at the Hackensack University Medical Center.
So, you want to be reminded again, who/what is Go4TheGoal?

I’ll let the press release pick it up from here. But this was an organization I have written about in years past which helps kids with pediatric cancer.

“The Go4theGoal Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families affected by cancer. It is a personal mission for us having two children in our family, Richard Stefanacci and Blake Buffa diagnosed with rare pediatric cancers. Unfortunately, Richard lost his battle in 2007 at the very young age of 14. We are thrilled that Blake, now 12, is three years cancer free!”

Bowl4The Goal is being dedicated to Michael Feeney, a 10-year old boy from Ridgewood who died last November from Ewing Sarcoma. He is the example of someone the Go4TheGoal foundation has helped.

There will be a ton of raffle baskets, including Yankee tickets, jewelry, a flat screen TV and electronics, plus a “prom basket” – no, I don’t know what that is either.

For more information, you can check out the web site go4thegoal.org or you can email Donna Stefanacci at dstefanacci@verizon.net

Ridgefield Park senior Alex Vorhees was one of four North Jersey bowlers to roll a 300 during the 2013-14 season. (Photo/Joe Camporeale)

Maybe it’s taken Taglines some extra time to post the final bowling blog of the season since, well, this was a really good and memorable season, the kind to which it’s tough to say goodbye. North Jersey bowlers gave the Aces so much good stuff to write about in 2013-14, it’d take forever to post the links to all their stories. (Fortunately, northjersey.com has it covered with whole category pages for both boys bowling and girls bowling.)

Think about it — the season started with a 300 by Ridgefield Park’s Alex Vorhees in the very first week and ended with Glen Rock’s Jake Rollins tossing the most talked-about 300 in my 12 years of covering bowling at the state individual finals. I was honored to be a guest at the Bergen County Coaches Association Winter All-County dinner last Monday, along with the Aces’ own Darren Cooper, and to help present Mr. Rollins with the Ron Fox Award for sharing The Record Male Athlete of the Season honors with Bergen Catholic wrestler Johnny Sebastian. (Here’s the link to Coop’s recap.) As a quick aside, I’m also extremely privileged to work with Ron Fox for the northjersey.com Weekly Division… truly, he is the best storyteller in the biz and just an all-around mensch.

But now, on the eve of Opening Day for boys volleyball (and, incidentally, the Yankees), the time is here once again for Taglines’ annual bowling season sendoff in the form of The North Jersey 300 List…

Kudos to Bergen Catholic senior Simon Lezaja on a stellar four-year career.

First, a couple last points of order bear mentioning. Two names on said list, Simon Lezaja of Bergen Catholic and Cory Heitler of Fair Lawn, had their perfect games back in 2012 and were still going strong this winter, though I’m not sure Taglines got to mention them too often. Heitler had the highest average in the Big North Independence Division at 200.1 and has one more season to go. Lezaja was third-best in the Big North United at 202.7, and after a solid four-year career with the Crusaders, the right-hander deserves a proper sendoff. I mean, 33 games of 200-plus this season (with a high of 278) and a high series of 707… that’s worth of a picture in the paper. Or on the blog. Which can also be printed into paper form.

Speaking of series, the best 3-gamers thrown in North Jersey this season, ladies first:

*2013-14 TOP 5 GIRLS HIGH SERIES: 760, Kelly Skettini (Ridgewood)… 721, Nikki Vucak (Paramus Catholic)… 719, Dana-Marie Laloo (Teaneck)… 714, Kelley Grippo (Holy Angels)… 706, Emily Young (Lyndhurst).

*2013-14 TOP 10 BOYS HIGH SERIES: 776, Tyler Keefe (North Arlington)… 775, Keefe^… 764, Tyler Knipping (Lakeland)… 753, Daijon Smith (Lyndhurst)… 744, Jake Rollins (Glen Rock)^… 743, Kyle Schellberg (Dumont)^ & Andrew Cirillo (Westwood)… 742, Welmer Paquay (Hackensack) & Isiah Tolbert (Passaic Tech)… 741, Steven Doughty (Bergen Tech)^ & Zachary Seegers (Wallington)… 730, James Kane (Paramus Catholic)… 723, Dean Edwards (Bergen Tech) & Ryan Vasel (Pascack Valley).
^Part of 6-game series at Bergen County or state individual tournament

Next, and before these points start running long — at last Monday’s dinner, the BCCA announced two Teams of the Year for boys bowling, one small school (Groups 1-2) and one large school (Groups 3-4). Pascack Valley took home the latter award, as the Indians finished second in Groups 3-4 at the Bergen Tournament and won the North 1A, Group 3 sectional title. Lyndhurst earned the Groups 1-2 honor, and since The Record Boys Bowling Team of the Year didn’t get a formal picture in the paper (and since I decided to give the Blackberry camera-phone one last chance), here are the Golden Bears with their award:

The Lyndhurst Golden Bears co-ed bowling team, BCCA Groups 1-2 Team of the Year

(P.S. Taglines is asking Santa for a new camera phone next Christmas. If that one doesn’t work, I’ll request a new photographer for Christmas 2015.)

Okay, time for the big finish…

REMINDER: This list only goes back to 1985, because that is as far back as 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 scanned — and trust me, I’ve reviewed quite a bit — or B.) waiting for someone to e-mail us any such info. If you do have such info, or you spot another addition/correction that needs to be made, please notify the Aces immediately:

300 GAMES BY NORTH JERSEY BOWLERS (IN VARSITY MATCHES)
^New entries from 2013-14 season highlighted in green

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 Taglines’ knowledge, the next girl from Passaic County to bowl a 300 in a varsity match will be the first.

BOYS
Jake Rollins (Glen Rock), Carolier Lanes, 2/12/2014***
Jordan Lopez (Lyndhurst), Wallington Lanes, 1/27/2014
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
Vinnie Milano (West Milford) AND Aaron Danielson (Newton), 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 individual finals

So that’s it. Time once again to swap strikes for spikes – in case you’re wondering, northjersey.com has a whole page for boys volleyball, too. Early far-out predictions: Fair Lawn will regroup from the graduation of Chris Nugent better than the Yankees will regroup from the retirement of Mariano Rivera, and there will be neither snow nor a 300 game at the state finals in June. Well, there won’t be a 300, anyway.

See you ’round the courts…

—GT

Lyndhurst rising senior Jordan Lopez has bowled two 300 games in his varsity career and been a part of three sectional-championship teams. (JOE CAMPOREALE/SPECIAL TO THE RECORD)

Today, the Aces shine our Senior Spotlight on Jordan Lopez from Lyndhurst. I watched him bowl in every major tournament last winter but didn’t get a chance to see him play first base or pitch for the Golden Bears baseball team. Yet a good chunk of our conversation centered on his spring sport of choice, for reasons you’ll read below.
Of course, that doesn’t detract from his bowling prowess. Lopez has thrown more perfect games on the lanes (two) than on the varsity diamond (none… yet), and his one telling quote that didn’t quite fit into today’s story was about the state bowling tournament. Lyndhurst has been to the team finals three straight years, but after reaching the singles finals as a frosh, he has endured two near-misses. “Last year, when I missed by six pins, that hurt,” he said.
The good news for Lopez? He’ll have one more shot at it in 2015. TEASER: Later this summer, we’ll spotlight a North Jersey girls bowler who shares the feeling. Stay tuned…

Jordan Lopez has been playing baseball for a long time.

“Since I was 3 or 4,” the rising senior at Lyndhurst estimated.

But when asked how long he has been a bowler, the right-hander replied, “Basically since I was born.”

Although Lopez enjoys both sports, bowling seems to be in his blood. His father, Andres, has been part of the Golden Bears’ coaching staff throughout his three years on varsity.

Older sister Lexus starred for Lyndhurst before graduating in 2013 and now competes at Fairleigh Dickinson.

Jordan was named to the All-Bergen County third team as a freshman and really began to make his mark on the lanes over the past two seasons.

He’s tossed a pair of 300 games (one that helped him win the 2013 Bergen individual championship) and averaged 215 to earn back-to-back berths on the All-North Jersey first team.

“Freshman year, I bowled every now and then,” he said. “And somewhere through that season, I realized I was actually good at it. Since then, I’ve taken it more seriously.”

Lopez, 17, practices year-round and participates in Junior Bowlers Tour events. He anchored Lyndhurst, The Record Boys Bowling Team of the Year, to its third straight North 1A, Group 1 title and a berth in the state finals.

With the Golden Bears set to return four of their top five shooters – Lopez, Ryan Donohue, Daijon Smith and Emily Young – they’ll have a legitimate chance to make it four in a row in 2014-15.

“The big thing is to advance further in states,” he said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to doing most, because we came in second for our group [last season]. We want to make it to the Tournament of Champions next year.”

That would indeed be a big accomplishment. Only one North Jersey team has captured a state group title in the TOC era (2007-present), and that was 2007 Group 1 champ Becton.

Beyond high school, however, Lopez’s options are somewhat limited because the NCAA does not sanction men’s bowling. Numerous schools at the next level field club teams but cannot offer athletic scholarships.

That’s why his skills on the diamond may come in handy. The 6-foot-1 first baseman/pitcher led the 20-8 Lyndhurst baseball team with 24 runs batted in and was chosen to the All-NJIC Meadowlands Division first team.

“I’ll be trying to play baseball in college,” Lopez said. “Next year, when our team goes down to Florida [for spring training], I’m going to look for some schools down there.”

And, he added, “If they have men’s bowling, that’s even better.”

Lopez began his summer vacation by volunteering at this week’s Golden Bears Baseball Camp for K-8 players. He is on the Lyndhurst American Legion team and plans to play in a number of travel tournaments.

“Those are my vacations,” he said.

Email: tartaglia@northjersey.com