Freshmen score titles at NJSIAA individual bowling championships
NORTH BRUNSWICK — A pair of freshmen captured the NJSIAA boys and girls individual bowling championships on Friday, and one of them threw a perfect game.
No, for real.
Annabelle Carter of Gloucester County Tech began the tournament with 17 consecutive strikes – following up a 300 with a 246 – and approached perfection again in the girls stepladder final. The right-hander got the first seven strikes in a 278-216 victory over Vivian Luna of Elizabeth.
St. Joseph (Metuchen) left-hander Kai Strothers won the boys title over junior teammate Devon Kiessling, 238-180, at Bowlero North Brunswick.
Here is a closer look at how each reached the pinnacle out of their respective fields of 100 bowlers.
Girls division: All about Annabelle
Carter ranked first at the end of the morning three-game qualifying session with a 728 series. She leveled off in the first two games of Round 2 but clinched the No. 1 seed in the stepladder and a bye to the final with a 243 in Game 6.
“Waiting was harder, but bowling [practice shots] with everyone just got me through it,” the Williamstown resident said.
After seven strikes in the final, her eighth roll was on line, and a wobbly 9-pin kept the crowd in suspense before refusing to fall.
“When she had the front 7, I’m like, ‘Alright, we could do this again’,” Gloucester Tech coach John Holland said.
Carter is the Cheetah’s second consecutive state finalist. Megan Prettyman, now a freshman at Sacred Heart, got there as the No. 4 seed last year.
“I bowled with her in leagues,” Carter said. “She introduced me to the [GCIT] coaches.”
► Luna made it back-to-back stepladder appearances by shooting a 674 series in the second round to move from seventh to third.
► Sydney Bohn of St. John Vianney finished third, securing her stepladder spot with a 258 in her final qualifying game.
► St. Thomas Aquinas’ Alexandra Sardis wound up fourth after knocking out 2020 champ Leah Varela of Brick Memorial in the stepladder opener, 234-229. Sardis went into the 10th frame with five consecutive strikes and clinched the win with an 8-spare-6.
Boys division: Can’t keep Kai down
Strothers was instrumental in St. Joseph winning the Group 1 team title on Monday, when he fired a 726 series. Friday, he vaulted from 15th place after Round 1 to the top seed in the stepladder, thanks to a 728 afternoon series.
And again, he did it all with a sore knee sustained in a pick-up basketball game last weekend.
“I think I hyperextended it, but I just wrapped it up,” Strothers said. “Nothing can really stop me from bowling. I love it too much.”
His high game for the day was a 277 in Round 2, which was second-best of the day for the boys. The Plainfield resident calls Jersey Lanes his home center and celebrated with all the other NJSIAA qualifiers from the Linden lanes.
► Kiessling began the semifinals with two open frames before ripping off seven consecutive strikes to advance, 237-210, against…
► Justin Rizzo of Sussex Tech placed third, best in program history, thanks in part to a 279-180 victory that he opened with seven strikes. He defeated…
► Kinnelon junior Scott Sanczyk came on strong with a 706 afternoon series en route to placing fourth. “We’re a second-year program, and he’s a big part of it,” coach Jim Soules said.
► Joe Dominguez of Freehold Township fell to Rizzo in the fifth-place match. He was second after Round 1 and held on to the final stepladder spot with a 220 in Game 6.
Best of Morris County girls
Morris Tech senior Amanda Granata came within 11 pins of returning to the stepladder finals after finishing fourth in 2022. She ended with a sixth-place 1,229 series (204.8 average), moving up from 10th after Round 1, and she has committed to bowl at Youngstown State.
Best of North Jersey
► Wayne Hills senior Erica Cuciti, who placed 18th last season, came home 11th in the girls bracket with a six-game 1,138. She shot a 235 in the final game of Round 1 to ensure her place among the 18 second-round qualifiers.
► Bergen County had three boys qualify for the second round, and they finished in order from 13th to 15th: Morgan Fuld of Fair Lawn (1,161), Andrew Lee of Glen Rock (1,149) and Tom Short of River Dell (1,135).
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ bowling: Freshmen score titles at NJSIAA individual championships
