No Tournament of Champions? NJSIAA boys bowling winners play one anyway
NORTH BRUNSWICK — The official championship trophies went to East Brunswick, Jackson Memorial, Burlington Township and St. Joseph (Metuchen).
The “unofficial” results at Monday’s state boys bowling team finals drew just as much attention.
Although the NJSIAA did away with Tournaments of Champions for all sports this school year, that did not stop the four group winners from renting lanes at Bowlero North Brunswick and staging their own TOC.
The idea began with St. Joseph coach Rusty Thomsen. “Going in, I said if we win, the first thing I want to do is ask the other three coaches” if they would go along with the idea, he said. “Because it’s not fair to take it away from the kids.”
In fact, “I said, even if we lose, I’m still going to try and organize it,” Thomsen said. “And all four coaches were 1,000 percent for it.”
The teams utilized the previous TOC format of best-of-5 Baker series. St. Joseph topped Jackson in the “final”, 3 games to 1.
A closer look at how each group champion prevailed:
Group 1: St. Joseph rolls
The Falcons scored a tournament-best 3,189 and earned their first state championship after placing sixth in Group 2 last year.
A pair of freshmen led the way. Left-hander Kai Strothers (726) and righty Will Cunningham (697) had the second- and third-high series – again, there were no official awards, but tournament director Mike Mitchell made an announcement to recognize all of the top shooters.
Thomsen noted that Strothers competed with a sore knee he sustained in a pickup basketball game on Saturday. He still came through with games of 236, 246 and 244.
► North 1 champ Wallkill Valley had the best game in the group, a 1,014 sparked by Joey Haas’ 256.
► In its first state-finals appearance, Eastern Christian carried the banner for Passaic County, placing fifth.
Group 2: Burlington Township's six-pin win
Another team nicknamed the Falcons garnered its first state championship, edging out Warren Hills in the final frame, 2,807-2,801.
Burlington anchor Cole Cook fired a strike and a 9-spare in the 10th frame of Game 3 to cap a 235 and provide the winning margin.
“Our guys who weren’t bowling were going back and forth to see what [Warren Hills] shot,” said Cook, a senior. “I knew I needed at least a mark in the last frame, so after that strike, I just knew to keep the ball on the lane.”
“The feeling is unmatched,” senior Logan Horne added. “Can’t ask for much more.”
Jecht Omar-Mendoza had the Falcons’ high series (669).
► Warren Hills anchor Matt Comerro bowled the second-high game (278) as part of a 695 series.
► Glen Rock turned in the best score (2,645) and finish (fourth) by a Bergen County team at the finals, with Mark Davies rolling a 256 third game.
Group 3: Jackson Memorial repeats
Jackson Township produced a champion for the fourth consecutive tournament (the 2021 event was cancelled). The Jaguars topped 1,000 each game for a 3,124 and their second straight title, after rival Jackson Liberty won Group 2 in 2019 and 2020.
Memorial senior anchor Dan Robertson was recognized for firing the unofficial high game (279) and series (747), offering a smile and a shrug when told of the awards being discontinued.
“In our division [Shore Conference A South], we only lost one game all season, so our mental game was just really strong,” Robertson said. “And it just carried through into the [postseason] tournaments.”
► Toms River East (third, 2,718) and Brick Memorial (fourth, 2,696) gave the Shore three teams in the top four.
► River Dell competed with just three bowlers. Coach William Kleinfelder confirmed that several members of the team were on a pre-planned school trip to Iceland, but he added that all three of the Hawks' state individual qualifiers would be there for Friday’s tournament.
Group 4: East Brunswick on top
The Bears finished second to Monroe in the Feb. 11 Central sectional, but led wire-to-wire at the state finals. Their 2,774 put them 65 points ahead of Southern Regional and 86 ahead of Monroe.
“We have four starters that are seniors, so they were a little disappointed after coming in second [in the section],” East Brunswick coach Coty Widmaier said. “But I told them to keep their heads up and step up when it matters.”
Junior anchor Jeremy Leventhal led the Bears with a 659 series, which featured a 231 opening game.
► Andy Lee of Bergen Catholic shot the top game by a North Jersey bowler, a 266 in Game 3.
► Southern, which got a 693 series from Andrew Christensen, was within 14 points of first place following Game 2, before East Brunswick closed with a 944.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJSIAA boys bowling: Group winners play their own Tournament of Champs
