Monthly Archives: January 2013

Jan 29 2013
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Ice Hockey, The Courier News

Cougars, Mountaineers fit to be tied

SOMERSET — It hasn’t been a dream season by any means for the Bernards and Montgomery High School ice hockey teams, but the two teams played to a spirited 4-4 tie Monday afternoon at Protec Arena.

The Cougars (5-11-1) held a two-goal lead entering the third period, but Dan Osika and Matt Dean found the back of the net less than two minutes apart to even the score at 4-4. Dean recorded a hat trick in the game and all three goals were scored in the dirty area just in front of the net.

“The front of the net is the place you need to go if you want to score,” Dean said. “So I just park myself there and drive the net hard for rebounds and that’s how I was able to be successful today.”

Dean’s third goal of the contest, at the 11:18 mark of the third period, was a result of great work along the blue line by the Bernards (8-5-2) defense. The Mountaineers defensemen kept the puck away from the Montgomery forwards and eventually Jake Kerr fired a shot on net. Michael Yanovitch made the stop, but the rebound squirted right to Dean’s stick and the senior forward tapped it in.

Montgomery jumped on top early, when Jese Negron ripped home a slap shot from just inside the blue line at the 10:22 mark of the first period. Negron, one of the Cougars’ captains this season, said he’s been given the green light to shoot the puck more often this winter.

“Coach (Rob) Scarpa has been giving the defensemen the option to carry the puck a little further and shoot it when we have the chance,” he said. “So I just let it go and it went in.”

Dean tied the game less than five minutes after Negron’s goal, but Montgomery found the back of the net three times in the second period to seize control of the contest.

Cam Garinger and Bryan Mayewski worked a beautiful two-on-one down the middle of the ice, with Mayewski dishing to Garinger for the goal at 12:07. Six minutes later, with two Mountaineers in the penalty box, Montgomery capitalized again, working the puck around the offensive zone before Steve Krafcik let a shot fly from the point. With two Cougars standing in front of the net, Bernards goalie Coleman Merchant never saw the puck, and it found the back of the net to put Montgomery up 3-1.

Maxx Berteletti capped the Montgomery scoring with a tap-in goal with 5:26 remaining in the second period.

But from there, it was all Bernards. With less than a minute to play in the middle frame, Dean scored on a tip-in right in front of the Montgomery net, once again because of poor rebound control by the Cougars defense. That goal buoyed the Mountaineers to a comeback that Dean said wouldn’t have happened earlier in the season.

“We certainly battled back, which is something we wouldn’t have done in the past; we usually crumble when we fall behind, but we were down 3-1 and we came back,” Dean said.

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Jan 28 2013
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Bowling, Notebook, The Home News Tribune

Barrons set themselves apart from competition

The Greater Middlesex Conference’s Red Division is always one of the toughest to compete in, regardless of sport or gender. But this winter, the Woodbridge High School boys bowling team has conquered the division, setting itself apart as the top team.

In two head-to-head matches against perennial Red Division power South Brunswick this season, Woodbridge has won easily, taking the two by a combined score of 7-1. Barrons’ head coach Rich Maddock expressed that beating a team like South Brunswick in the fashion that they have has helped his squad in other matches.

“South Brunswick is a phenomenal team,” Maddock said. “They can put up huge numbers at any point, but we just put up bigger numbers than them this year. And the fact that we’ve been able to do that has shown our guys that we can beat anybody when we bowl our best.”

Woodbridge has been beating everyone this season, compiling a 14-2 record through Sunday, and has secured the No. 3 seed in this week’s GMC Tournament, which begins Thursday at Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick.

Leading the Barrons’ charge this season is a trio of seniors: Brandt Bannister (180 average), Matt Caggiano (205) and Mike Chundak (202). As a group, those three have helped Woodbridge roll past their competition, but recently, it’s been junior Mark Simon who has been the hot hand for Maddock’s bunch.

Simon, who has bowled 10 fewer games than Bannister and Caggiano this season, has a 226 average this winter, which is among the best in the GMC.

“As a group this year, I think we’ve done pretty well,” Maddock said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, like everyone else, but we’re hitting our stride at the right time. Mark has come on lately and we just have a bunch of guys that can put up huge numbers at any time.”

The Barrons have dropped just two matches this season, to Sayreville and Colonia, which earned the first and second seeds in the GMC Tournament, respectively, but haven’t lost since Dec. 19. In Maddock’s estimation, his squad just needs to make enough spares and he believes it can beat anyone, including Sayreville and Colonia.

“We just need to stay focused,” Maddock said. “Spares have been out big problem this year; we need to stay focused and relaxed, because the team that makes the most spares that will win.”

GMC seeds

Sayreville, the conference’s lone unbeaten team, was awarded the top seed for the GMC Tournament, which gets under way Thursday afternoon. Colonia, which has the GMC’s individual champ in Joseph Adade, is second, followed by Woodbridge, St. Joseph’s and South Brunswick. JF Kennedy is sixth and Middlesex, Old Bridge, Monroe and JP Stevens round out the top 10. Seeds 11 through 22 will compete Thursday to round out the top 16 seeds.

South Brunswick, which ended the weekend with a 15-0 record, was awarded the top seed on the girls side of the tournament. The Vikings, who boast the conference’s individual champion, Amy Caruso, are followed in the seeding by Cardinal McCarrick, Carteret, North Brunswick and Piscataway. JF Kennedy was given the sixth seed, ahead of Edison, Monroe, Mother Seton and Woodbridge. Seeds 11 through 22 will compete Thursday to round out the top 16 seeds.

Jan 27 2013
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The Home News Tribune, Track & Field

Old Bridge sweeps to titles

TOMS RIVER — For the Old Bridge High School boys track and field team, everything came down to the final event of Saturday’s Greater Middlesex Conference championship.

Trailing St. Joseph by one point heading into the 4×400 relay, the Knights put their best four runners on the track and emerged victorious, picking up 10 points and narrowly edging St. Joseph’s 59-56 to capture the team title.

The 4×400 team of Marcus Hernandez, Nick Ballenilla, Hazem Miawad and Alex Leto finished four seconds ahead of South Brunswick and helped cap a strong showing for the Knights.

“We had some really good performances across the board, right from the start, winning the 400 at the beginning and then capping it all off by winning the 4×400 at the end,” Old Bridge boys coach Jack Campbell said. “In between we got some great races and it was very nice to see the team come together today .”

Leto got the Knights off to a fast start, winning the 400-meter dash by a full second over Lamont Higgins of St. Joseph.

“It’s always good from a physiological standpoint to get off to a good start and give everyone a jolt,” Campbell said. “It picks everyone’s confidence up for the rest of the meet to see someone win the first event of the day.”

From there, Old Bridge captured the 3200 relay when Sam Habib narrowly edged St. Joseph’s James Gorman.

“We just did this as a team, but we’ll go back to the drawing board on Monday and try and get better,” Campbell said. “That’s what this sport is about.”

Old Bridge’s girls wouldn’t be outdone by their male teammates, as they won the team title by 10 points over Woodbridge. Like the boys, the girls also won three events, the 1600 and 3200-meter runs and the high jump.

“The girls have been working really hard and we talk all the time that nothing is magical; they train really hard to get to this point,” Old Bridge girls coach Steve Gajewski said. “I think they did a really good job today.”

In the 1600, Rachel Belmont and Alyssa Kramer went 1-2 for the Knights, with Belmont finishing three seconds clear of her teammate, giving Old Bridge 18 points. In the 3200, Old Bridge placed two of the top three again, this time going 1-3, with Cassidy Flynn-Rozanski and Shanna O’Mara getting the Knights 16 points in the event.

Gajewski credits his girls running cross country in the fall as to why they were so successful in the distance meets.

“We had a strong cross country group coming in and Rachel transferred in from Bishop Ahr; this was the first time she’s raced for us this year, but we took second and third in the cross country season and that definitely translates into success out here,” Gajewski said.

Oksana Sokolova captured the high jump, clearing 5-4, which gave Old Bridge the cushion it needed to pull away for the title.

“Oksana was part of the cross country team this year, too, and I think that definitely helped her out today, She looks very comfortable out there and she works hard at her craft.”

South Brunswick’s Aspen McMillan won both sprint events, taking first in the 55-meter dash and the 55-meter hurdles. She was the meet’s only two-event winner.

Jan 21 2013
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Bowling, Notebook, The Home News Tribune

Ramblers on roll despite lack of practice

For the Carteret High School girls bowling team, the pins have been falling at a more consistent rate this season than they have in years past. But don’t credit their 14-1 start to lots of practice; in fact it’s the complete opposite.

“Unfortunately once the season starts, we don’t get to practice too much,” Carteret head coach Charles Simon said. “We have to just bowl.”

And bowl they have thus far in 2012-13, as the Ramblers have vaulted to the top of the GMC’s White Division behind junior Heather Androvich, who carried a 190.9 average through the weekend. Androvich, according to Simon, has been taking the game a lot more seriously this year, which has clearly shown in her leadership on the lanes with her teammates.

“I think I was good last year, but I just practiced a lot and I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out the lanes, the oil and the patterns,” Androvich said. “Last year we had a pretty good record, but the difference for us this year was in December; we practiced together a lot over winter break and we got a lot closer as a team and learned how to help each other.”

The Ramblers have rolled over their competition this season in dual meets, losing only to Red Division leader South Brunswick. And Androvich’s stellar bowling has been one of the key reasons why they’ve won match after match this winter. Against Perth Amboy on Dec. 7, Androvich rolled a 252-246-256 for a 754 series, which was the highest mark of her career and one of the top marks in the conference this season.

“The lanes were just working with the ball I had that day,” Androvich said. “I was just in a groove.”

But for all of Androvich’s successes this season, Simon made it known that a senior leader has been the one he’s leaned on to guide the squad.

“Cynthia Youngclaus is our leader,” Simon said. “She has really come on to be very steady for us this year. There’s a motto that I have for the girls that she reflects really well: if at first you don’t succeed, there’s another frame and another game and another match.”

Simon also noted that sophomores Alexis Policastro and Cryssi Golino have picked up the pace.

For the remainder of the season, Simon said that his squad just needs to remain focused on the task at hand and not get caught up in what’s down the road. But, because of their front-heavy schedule, when they bowled 10 times before the Jan. 1, Simon is now faced with a difficult situation.

“The season has played out funny, in the sense that we bowled a lot before Christmas and we bowled a lot last week, with the GMC individuals and the Brick Tournament, we were bowling six days of the week and in my opinion that’s way too much,” Simon said. I have to be able to keep the girls focused in the next couple of weeks when there isn’t much on our schedule.”

Woodbridge Classic

J.F. Kennedy finished second to St. Peter’s Prep in Saturday’s Woodbridge Classic at the Woodbridge Bowling Center.

St. Peter’s Prep rolled a 3,112 total in the morning session. Kennedy, bowling in the afternoon session, totalled 3,095 in the tournament, which consisted of two traditional games followed by five in Baker format. Anthony Ruiz of Carteret tied for high game with 268.

Other local boys finishes include: 5. Linden 3,001; 8. Old Bridge 2,964; 9. Colonia 2,900; 10. Woodbridge 2,895; 12. J.P. Stevens 2,836; 13. Middlesex 2,793; 15. Monroe 2,742; 18. South Plainfield 2,640; 19. Edison 2,557; 21. Carteret 2,510. On the girls side, J.F. Kennedy’s Courtney Wiewiorski, who competed while recovering from a broken ankle, rolled the high game of 247 and led Kennedy to a fourth-place finish. Brick and Brick Memorial finished 1-2 with Woodbridge third (2,571). Carteret was fifth (2,528). Other local boys finishes include: 6. Edison 2,422; 7.South Plainfield 2,401; 8. Colonia 2,337; 9. Monroe 2,290; 10. Middlesex 2,017; 11. J.F.Kennedy B 1,796; 12. J.P. Stevens 1,794; 13. Old Bridge 1,735.

Jan 19 2013
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Bowling, The Home News Tribune

Sayreville boys roll through tournament; South Brunswick girls also win

NORTH BRUNSWICK — For the Sayreville High School boys bowling team, the 37th Annual Joe Romer Memorial Baker Shootout was a breeze. The Bombers qualified first for the eight-team final round and then rolled through Monroe, J.F. Kennedy and Colonia to capture the title in what head coach Michael Weinert called their best performance of the season.

“This was our best showing of the year,” Weinert said. “We talked when we came in today how we are what we are right now; other than fine-tuning there aren’t going to be a lot of things to change between now and the postseason, so we just have to take what we’ve got and go out and assert ourselves as the best team in the state. I believe we are the best team in the state. I think we showed a little bit of that today.”

The Bombers knocked off Colonia 446-390 in the final round, using a 256-191 victory in the first of the two games to create a bit of breathing room. The quintet of AJ Angotti Mike Bernstein, Jay Ciszewski, Michael Danchisko and Kevin Nettler made it look easy in the Baker-style tournament, where the bowlers go in a batting order format, and thus only get two frames per game instead of a normal 10.

“I don’t really see that there’s any bit of a difference between a regular tournament and the Baker-type of tournament like this was,” Bernstein said. “You just need to buckle down and make spares like it’s a normal tournament. With my teammates having my back, it’s so easy to go out there and make good shots.”

On the girls side, South Brunswick fought through a slow start to emerge victorious, besting Woodbridge 434-395 in the final two games. The Vikings, which qualified fifth, disposed of Edison and Cardinal McCarrick in the two matches leading up to the finals, and found their groove at the right time on the afternoon.

“Throughout the 12 qualifying games, we didn’t get into as much of a rhythm as we usually do, but it really kicked in for us in the final couple of games,” South Brunswick head coach Tara Burniston said. “In the final matchup, we were down by 40-something pins going into the final game, and we have such a young team and it’s kind of hard to get them to pull together, but I told them they had to come out and bowl one great game and we’ll see what happens.”

The Vikings had their work cut out for them heading into the final game, with Woodbridge having won Game 1 220-179 and the champion being awarded by total wood in the two games. South Brunswick responded with their best game of the day, opening with five straight strikes en route to a 255-175 rout. They only missed one spare in the game and finished with nine strikes out of a possible 12.

“The girls knew what they had to do there in the final game to make up the differential,” Burniston said. “They’re so coachable and they make my job easier and they went frame-by-frame and kept supporting each other and it was the best energy we’d had all day.”

Jan 18 2013
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Features, The Courier News, Track & Field

Bernards girls gearing up for big meets

For the Bernards High School girls track team, Sunday’s performance at the NJSIAA Group I Relays was something of a kick-start to their season.

“We try and pick and choose our moments to go hard and last Saturday was one of those times,” head coach Dave Szostak said. “Our girls gave it everything they had but just couldn’t come away with the victory.”

Bernards was unable to emerge victorious as a team, but it was a banner day for the program’s relay units, with Melanie Macchiaverna and Emma Raftery capturing the high jump and Danielle Aharoni and Danielle Coons combining to help win the pole vault. Also taking home first-place medals were the distance medley squad and the 4X800 quartets.

Bernards won the 4×800 as Zoe Wojtech, Katherine Gunson, Sydney Rudin and Laura Quintana clocked in at 9:54.68. Quintana, Gunson and Wojtech were joined by Maddy Auerbacher on a first-place effort in the distance medley, when they ran a 12:39.50.

“It was a good day for our distance runners, but it’s been our strong suit throughout the season,” Szostak said. “But it’s in the plans to start running faster now as the season is progressing and we’re getting ourselves into bigger and more competitive meets.”

In the pole vault, both Aharoni and Coons cleared 9-6 to give Bernards the gold and Macchiaverna cleared the meet’s top height of 5-4 in the high jump to come out on top.

But going into the event, she didn’t know if she had what it took to be the best.

“Going into it, I knew it would be tough to even try and place,” Macchiaverna said. “I knew the best in the state would be there and I just focused harder than I have in the past and I walked away as the winner.”

Next up for Bernards is the Skyland Conference Championships, Jan. 26 at Lehigh University. Then, in February, come the sectionals and Group I meets where the Mountaineers can do the most damage.

“We can’t compete depth-wise and we probably can’t win the team title, because some of the other teams in the Skyland Conference are the best in the state and they’re Group IV schools; we simply can’t stack up to them top to bottom,” Szostak said. “We’ll go for season-best times and look to get some individual medals.”

Jan 16 2013
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Features, The Home News Tribune, Track & Field

Bulldogs running for a bigger prize

Coming off of an impressive second-place performance at last Sunday’s NJSIAA Group I Relays, the Metuchen High School boys track team is thinking bigger.

The Bulldogs collected 26 points at the meet, just 12 fewer than champion Pleasantville, thanks in part to their 4×400 squad of Aaron Lewis, Julian Lenartowicz, Ivan Gulyaev and Travone Latouche, which placed second with a time of 3:31.42. That foursome consists of one senior in Lewis, who runs leadoff, and three juniors, which sets Metuchen up to be reckoned with the next few seasons.

“Going into that event, we thought we had a chance to win it,” Lewis said. “Everyone gave their best effort and stepped up and ran their best. But we had some tired legs and we knew we had some stiff competition.”

Pleasantville’s 4×400 team finished less than a second-and-a-half ahead of Metuchen, something head coach Marty Holleran was proud of.

“I thought we had a great meet,” Holleran said. “The kids stepped up and had a great day overall. We were down a couple kids who were sick, so that hurt us a little bit, but I wouldn’t say that we’re disappointed at all about our outcome.”

Holleran has high hopes for his squad, but knows that the biggest event is still to come — the Greater Middlesex Conference Championship, scheduled for Jan. 26 (9 a.m.) at Toms River’s Bennett Center.

“We have high expectations every time we go to a track meet and the GMC meet is important,” Holleran said. “But, the state sectionals is more important to us; we are trying to go back and win again on February 6. Our main goal is the sectionals, yet in the GMCs we’ll be looking to get some kids to medal and the 4×400 race is important to our program, so that’s the one we’ll focus on most.”

Lewis echoed his coaches’ words, saying that he’s looking forward to running in that 4×400 event more than any of the others.

“I ran last year and we came out third, and I would like to come out as a county champ this time around,” Lewis said. “As a team, I feel like we can medal; we have good runners across the board and we want to compete our hardest. Whatever happens, happens. If we compete hard, good things will happen.”

Jan 14 2013
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Bowling, Notebook, The Home News Tribune

Sayreville keeps on winning

The Sayreville High School boys bowling team understands the importance of having fun at the alley, considering it’s just a game. But this winter, the Bombers haven’t been making the sport much fun for their competition, as they have rolled to an 11-0-2 mark through the weekend.

But one of their finer moments of the season came on Jan. 5 at the 27th Annual Brick Bowling Tournament, when the Bombers finished 35 pins ahead of Howell for the team title.

In Brick, it was Mike Bernstein that led the way for Sayreville, as he finished with the second-highest series of anyone competing from the 41 teams. Bernstein rolled a 216-245-256 set to finish with 717 for the day; Woodbridge’s Mike Chundak led the boys side with a 734 series.

But even with Bernstein’s big scores, the Bombers knew they left pins on the lanes in Brick.

“We happened to throw a lot of strikes but it was just barely enough to come out on top,” senior Jason Ciszewski said. “We missed a lot of those spares and probably left a good 300-400 pins out there on the lanes.”

They didn’t miss those spares because they haven’t been practicing, according to classmate Mike Danchisko, who estimates that Sayreville spends most of their time practicing picking up spares.

“We practice a ton and we’re always working on perfecting our craft and making sure we are able to pick up all those spares,” Danchisko said. “We just have been stronger mentally this year and it’s paid off so far.”

Sayreville has remained perfect this season because they go five deep in their starting lineup, with someone different stepping up and leading the way every day. Even when they’re not at their best, the Bombers have been the class of the Greater Middlesex Conference so far this season, something Bernstein credits to the closeness of the team and the way they interact during matches.

“I feel like we all just pick each other up when we’re down; when someone’s not doing great, someone comes over and makes sure he knows he’s got the support of the whole team and it just keeps rolling from there,” Bernstein said. “We pick each other up and it’s been awesome to bowl with these guys this year.”

Ciszewski agreed with his teammate, that it’s been a fun season to this point, and pointed out that he tries to keep the Bombers loose whenever they’re competing.

“We all stay positive all the time and we make sure that everyone knows that it’s just a game and it’s supposed to be fun,” he said.

But for all of their success to this point, the Bombers know that their biggest goals are ahead of them.

“We just need to keep picking each other up and stay in it all the time; we can’t look back at bad games or anything like that,” senior Kevin Nettler said. “We have to keep moving forward and not pay too much attention to what we’ve done so far.”

Jan 11 2013
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Bowling, The Home News Tribune

Joseph Adase of Colonia, Amy Caruso of South Brunswick claim titles at the Greater Middlesex Conference bowling championships

Joe Adase of Colonia during the GMC Individual Finals. Photo by: Mark R. Sullivan

Joe Adase of Colonia during the GMC Individual Finals. Photo by: Mark R. Sullivan

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Colonia’s Joseph Adase and South Brunswick’s Amy Caruso took the same route to their respective Greater Middlesex Conference individual bowling titles Friday afternoon at Carolier Lanes.

Both bowlers qualified second for the stepladder finals, but had no trouble taking care of their competition along the way.

Adase, a senior for the Patriots, knocked off fifth-seeded Tom Leone of Edison in the semifinals and then dispatched of top-seeded Jonah Burger of Monroe to claim his first individual title.

“I just needed to stay focused and stay calm throughout the day and keep my shot where it’s been all day long and I knew I’d be okay,” Adase said. “I needed to relax and put the ball down in the same place every time.”

After placing fifth in the qualifying stage Wednesday, Adase picked up the pace Friday, shooting a 235-225-224 to get himself into the finals. He had to watch from the practice lanes as three others bowled before him, but came out with four consecutive strikes against Leone to set the pace.

In the game against Leone, who had won two straight games as the fifth-seed, Adase finished with six strikes and only one open frame, allowing him to cruise to a 221-174 victory.

“I felt good today from the start and I felt like I was on point with all of my shots and I did my best to just stay in that kind of groove throughout the games,” Adase said. “It feels great, especially in my senior year, to come out on top like this.”

In the final against Burger, Adase once again rolled four straight strikes to build up an early lead and nearly replicated his output from the game before, finishing with six strikes and only one open frame en route to a 224-171 win.

On the girls side, Caruso faced a stiff task from fourth-seeded Lauren Hoffman of Monroe in the semifinals, as the two bowlers matched strike for strike and went into the final frame in a near dead heat. Caruso was just seven pins better than Hoffman, 244-237, in what was the best matchup of the afternoon. Caruso finished the game with nine strikes to Hoffman’s eight.

In the finals against top-seeded Nicolette Arnone of Piscataway, Caruso put an exclamation point on the afternoon, striking out in the 10th frame as she capped off a 204-143 victory.

The individual title left Caruso at a loss for words.

Amy Caruso of South Brunswick during the GMC Individual Finals. Photo by: Mark R. Sullivan

Amy Caruso of South Brunswick during the GMC Individual Finals. Photo by: Mark R. Sullivan

“I don’t know how to describe this, honestly,” Caruso said. “It was really hard for me and I just worked really hard in qualifying to stay confident out there.”

Caruso had been the top qualifier Wednesday when she rolled a 682 series, but got off to a bit of a slow start Friday, putting up scores of 173 and 174 in her first two games. It was her third game that vaulted the sophomore back into contention, as she tossed a 232 to finish with a 579 set. Like Adase, Caruso had to watch three bowlers go before her in the stepladder finals, but she said it didn’t affect her at all.

“I didn’t mind waiting around; I was able to catch my breath a little bit, after such a long day, and it felt great to come out and put up big numbers like that in the finals,” Caruso said. “I was very confident and I knew that I had the support of everyone in the crowd.”

Jan 07 2013
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Bowling, Notebook, The Home News Tribune

Young Vikings setting the pace in Red Division

The South Brunswick High School girls bowling team is pacing the Greater Middlesex Conference’s Red Division with a 9-0 record through Saturday.

“I am very impressed with the girls so far this year,” South Brunswick head coach Tara Burniston said. “Several of them didn’t bowl varsity last year and it’s a very young team so I’m impressed with how we’re bowling right now.”

The Vikings are indeed young this season, with just one junior on the roster and all of the rest of the bowlers competing as sophomores. Three of their contributors this season weren’t members of the varsity squad last year, including starter Connie Thanapuasawan, who is carrying a 178 average through the weekend.

Amy Caruso, one of the sophomores on the Vikings roster, leads the way with a 188 average this season. Brianne Font, the team’s lone junior, is close behind with a 186 average.

Alanna Zetchus rounds out the South Brunswick starting lineup with a 183 average, making the Vikings one of the deepest teams in the entire GMC. But with the high scores comes high pressure to continue their winning ways and stay ahead of second-place North Brunswick.

“We’re expected to keep bowling well and that’s a lot of pressure right now,” Burniston said. “I’m impressed with the camaraderie they’ve shown so far this season and they’re handling the pressure well.”

Burniston mentioned that she’s had to keep her team focused during matches, especially when something doesn’t go their way.

“I want them to make sure they know that if they have a bad frame it’s not going to be a bad game. I am hoping they have that confidence on their own at some point this season though,” Burniston said. “Every pin matters and they need to keep up the support for each other and the weeks drag on and I hope they keep up the energy.”

Chundak rolling for Barrons

On Dec. 28, Mike Chundak helped the Woodbridge boys to the Woodbridge Tournament title, as he rolled a 290 high-game and averaged 249 for the tournament. Chundak’s seasonal average of 186 is aided by the fact that he hasn’t thrown a series below 522 all year long. The senior’s 698 series on Dec. 13 against South Brunswick kept the Barrons ahead of the second-place Vikings for the top spot in the GMC Red Division.

Kennedy boys dominating

Through the weekend, the John F. Kennedy boys bowling team stood as one of three unbeatens in the Greater Middlesex Conference at 8-0-1 (7-0).

Tom Sharfetz, the only non-senior in JFK’s starting lineup, has been one of JFK’s bright spots this season, averaging 208 over the first month. Joe Pickard has JFK’s second-highest average at 206 and Tim Baakel is third on the team at 204. Nick Green’s 194 and Aaron Beltran’s 185 round out the Mustangs’ starting lineup, which makes them one of the toughest teams to deal with in the entire GMC.