NJSIAA bowling: What to know about the 2024 state qualifiers from North Jersey
After 64 years of holding sectional bowling tournaments that were open to virtually any team that wished to enter, the NJSIAA debuted head-to-head playoffs on the lanes this winter.
The new format is the same as that of basketball, for example – teams qualify based on power points and are seeded in brackets of as many as 12. Matches are best-of-3, but since total pinfall is not counted, each game is worth 1 point, and the first team to 2 wins (similar to a style that has been used in select PBA competitions).
The North 1 tournament culminated Saturday at Bowler City in Hackensack, while North 2 teams had to trek all the way down to Bowlero North Brunswick, the site of Tuesday’s NJSIAA team finals. Boys and girls teams now compete on the same day in both events.
Here is a look at the North teams that advanced to the state competition by capturing sectional titles.
NJSIAA semifinal match-ups
NOTE: The NJSIAA team tournaments begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Bowlero North Brunswick. Seedings are based on power points, and finals will immediately follow the semifinal matches.
GROUP 1 GIRLS: (1) New Egypt vs. (2) Middlesex. (NOTE: Only the Central and South sections had entrants in this group.)
GROUP 2 GIRLS: (1) Barnegat vs. (4) Ocean Township; (2) Indian Hills vs. (3) Holy Angels
GROUP 3 GIRLS: (1) Brick Memorial vs. (4) Immaculate Heart; (2) Lacey vs. (3) Warren Hills
GROUP 4 GIRLS: (1) Howell vs. (4) Phillipsburg; (2) Passaic Tech vs. (3) Old Bridge
GROUP 1 BOYS: (1) Kinnelon vs. (4) Roselle Park; (2) Clayton vs. (3) North Arlington
GROUP 2 BOYS: (1) St. Joseph-Metuchen vs. (4) Jefferson Township; (2) Overbrook vs. (3) Becton
GROUP 3 BOYS: (1) Montville vs. (4) Woodbridge; (2) Warren Hills vs. (3) Toms River East
GROUP 4 BOYS: (1) Seton Hall Prep vs. (4) Bergen Tech; (2) Eastern Regional vs. (3) North Brunswick
North 1 boys sectional
GROUP 2: Jefferson Township def. Pascack Valley, 858-962; 1,003-961; 1,050-1,030 — Imagine being in Jefferson senior Nick Brindisi’s shoes.
You have a perfect game going into the final frame of a match that your team leads by 1 point, and only the two anchor bowlers’ turns remain. Never mind striking out to complete a 300, you may need all three strikes in the 10th to win the match.
As it turned out, Brindisi finished with a 279 game, but that was enough to give the Falcons the title. At last year’s tournament, they had finished second to Glen Rock by 2 pins.
“I’ve had too many 279s in my life, so leaving 1 pin [on his 10th roll] again is pretty frustrating,” Brindisi said. “But I wasn’t focused on myself in that moment, I just wanted to get the win for the team.”
GROUP 4: Bergen Tech def. Fair Lawn, 1,026-927; 1,044-868 — For all the success that the Knights have enjoyed in the Bergen County tournament (they won Groups 3-4 this year), this was their first sectional championship since 2008.
Sophomore Sebastian Bray had the No. 4 two-game series of the day, shooting 214 and 234, to lead Bergen Tech. Freshman Collin Zens also eclipsed 200 in both games (200, 235).
GROUP 3: Montville def. Roxbury, 1,059-888; 997-928 — Mustangs senior Jesse Kirschner fired the tournament’s high two-game set (495) and had the unofficial high game with a 269.
Montville has taken the circuitous route in capturing four consecutive sectional titles. It won North 2, Group 2 in both 2020 and 2022 (no tournament in 2021 due to COVID), then won North 1, Group 3 last year and emerged from the new format with yet another trophy.
GROUP 1: Kinnelon def. Eastern Christian, 965-814; 1,142-976 — Three years after reviving a program that had been on hiatus since the 1970s, the Colts have their first sectional title.
Kinnelon senior Scott Sanczyk followed up his 2023 North 1 individual title by logging a two-game 458, second only to junior Cooper Kaplan (467). The Morris County team’s second game was tops in the tournament, as the five-man lineup averaged 228.4.
North 1 girls sectional
GROUP 4: Passaic Tech def. Bergen Tech, 871-850, 845-828 — The three-time reigning Passaic County champs earned their first sectional championship by avenging a regular-season Big North Liberty Division sweep by the Knights.
“In the Big North preseason tournament, we won that, and then at the Vo-Tech tournament [in January], we took second place and Bergen Tech took third,” Passaic Tech coach Michael Pettineo said. “In the 5-on-5 format, we performed better, but in the league matches, they beat us 7-0 and 5-2. So, it was a big comeback here.”
Senior Madison Szarka paced the Bulldogs with games of 200 and 172.
GROUP 3: Immaculate Heart def. Wayne Hills, 717-646, 721-614 — A member of IHA’s last sectional-championship team in 2009 helped out in this one, too.
Assistant coach Lauren Rhein, who was a senior that year, came on board as an assistant to Paul McGinnis this winter.
“[Rhein] been a wonderful addition,” said McGinnis, whose last section title had been coaching the Queen of Peace boys in 2010. “The girls are experienced this year, and she’s been so good working with them.”
The Blue Eagles’ top series belonged to Camila Quevado (157, 199).
GROUP 2: Indian Hills def. Mahwah, 847-769, 933-862 — This was another match that went the opposite way of the teams’ divisional series. Mahwah swept the Braves in Big North Patriot play to win that title, but Indian Hills turned the tables to bring home its second sectional crown in a row.
Senior Daria Carlson, nicknamed “Super D” by one of her teammate’s parents, rolled the second-best girls game of the day (256) as well as her team’s high series (427).
“We make our coach very happy,” Carlson said, giving a nod to the nearby Mike Michels. “As long as he’s happy, we are.”
There was no Group 1 contested for girls in either this section or North 2.
North 2 champions
GROUP 1 BOYS: North Arlington def. Belvidere, 854-753, 923-877 — The Vikings withstood a 300 game by the County Seaters’ Landin Stout to capture their first sectional since 2019, when they went on to win the Group 1 state championship.
Alex Garcia (236) and Trevor Waters (235) helped North Arlington cement the title with big second games.
GROUP 2 BOYS: Becton def. Lyndhurst, 960-836, 852-850 — Lyndhurst won the NJIC Meadowlands title (after the teams split 1-1) and the conference tournament, but the Wildcats came out on top this time.
Senior Brian Battistus opened with a 257 and followed with a 215, while two of the top girls bowlers in Bergen County – Leah Rodriguez (351 series) and Monica Rodriguez (330) helped Becton claim its first sectional trophy in 13 years.
GROUP 2 GIRLS: Holy Angels def. Dumont, 818-708, 756-683 — It seems odd that two of the northernmost schools in Bergen County had to trek to North Brunswick for a sectional-title match against each other – especially when their banners hang in Bowler City, where the North 1 tournament was held.
Nonetheless, the Angels earned their third straight sectional crown and have qualified for every state final contested since 2008 (15 in a row). Sophomore Kaitlyn Zheng (185, 183) had the team’s top series.
North 1 individual series
BOYS: 1. Jessie Kirschner (Montville), 495; 2. Cooper Kaplan (Kinelon), 467; 3. Scott Sanczyk (Kinelon), 458; 4. Sebastian Bray (Bergen Tech), 448; 5. (tie) Joe DeLuccia (Eastern Christian) and Logan Alpert (Pascack Valley), 447.
GIRLS: 1. Samantha Seneres (Bergen Tech), 432; 2. Daria Carlson (Indian Hills), 427; 3. Allison Babino (Indian Hills), 420; 4. Kayla McManus (Bergen Tech), 391; 5. Madison Szarka (Passaic Tech), 372; 6. Shannon Cassidy (Indian Hills), 370.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ bowling: These North Jersey bowlers are headed to 2024 state finals
