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