Kane sets records, Angels set pace in Bergen bowling by Greg Tartaglia of The Record
HACKENSACK — The one pin that stood between Kristen Kane and perfection was the one pin she didn’t knock down all morning.
The Paramus Catholic senior shot a tournament-record 299 game to cap off her repeat performance as individual champion at Saturday’s Bergen County girls bowling tournament at Bowler City.
Holy Angels earned its second team title in four years, posting the highest scores in both the three-game morning qualifying session (2,653) and the afternoon round of Baker games (2,476) to defeat PC, 5,129-4,783.
Before the field of 18 was trimmed to 10 for the team-oriented Baker format, Kane stole the show with a 760 series. In her first two games of 237 and 224, she had a strike or spare in every frame.
The New Milford resident then topped her 2016 effort, in which she began Game 3 with eight strikes and ended with a 265 as part of a 666 series.
“I just shot a 298 last month [in a dual match], so I just wanted to keep going up,” Kane said. “I was excited; I’ve been having a rough start [to 2017], so I’m glad I picked it up.”
With the first eight strikes secured on Saturday, Kane wasted no time in throwing her final four shots, not pausing to ponder the situation for any reason.
“Otherwise, I overthink it way too much,” she said. “I just have to go.”
The previous high-game record had stood for 33 years. Linda Schramm of Pascack Valley rolled a 275 in 1984.
Kane’s 760 was a record for a three-game series, which the tournament began using to determine the individual champ in 2009. Her 253.3 average was an all-time standard – including the six-game series era from 1981-2008 – and bested the mark of 239.2 by Paramus Catholic grad Joely Carrillo (1,435 in 2008).
Runner-up Danielle Quitola of Ridgefield Park (618 series) was the only other bowler to average over 200.
Holy Angels employed four of the top nine individuals. Freshman Amelia Brunda led the way with a fourth-place 587 in qualifying and provided a highlight in the first round of Baker games by converting a 6-7-10 split.
“She was really the key factor,” said Angels coach Pat Dunne. “She bowled fantastic.”
Senior Tiffany Sucero was a freshman on Holy Angels’ 2014 championship team and placed fifth individually with a 573, duplicating her 2016 series.
“Last year, we came really close,” Sucero said. “So to have it this year as a senior is really special.”
Junior Alexa Herndandez (532) and senior lefty Ciara Mottley (531) were eighth and ninth, respectively, for Holy Angels, while senior Shiho Numakura (430) also finished in the top half of the field.
“I told them before we started, ‘I really think you’re the best team in the county’,” Dunne said. “You’ve got to go out there and prove it.”
From the 10 teams that qualified for the first set of five Baker games, six advanced to the second set, and four moved on to the final round.
Teaneck (4,720) took third, equaling its best-ever finish from 1995, when it tallied 4,355 in six traditional games.
Fourth-place Westwood (4,601) graduated a large contingent from the teams that had won the past two Bergen titles but, like Teaneck, scored over 200 points higher in the Baker rounds than in qualifying.
BERGEN COUNTY GIRLS BOWLING TOURNAMENT
TEAM RESULTS (Qualifying-Bakers—Total)
1. Holy Angels (HA) 2,653-2,476—5,129; 2. Paramus Catholic (PC) 2,473-2,310—4,783; 3. Teaneck (TEA) 2,253-2,467—4,720; 4. Westwood (W) 2,170-2,431—4,601; 5. Ramsey (RAM) 2,249-1,503—3,752; 6. Paramus (P) 2,147-1,536—3,683; 7. Mahwah (M) 2,203-688—2,891; 8. Ridgewood (RW) 2,145-731—2,876; 9. Hackensack (H) 2,235-614—2,849; 10. NV/Demarest (NV/D) 2,032-709—2,741; 11. Ridgefield Park (RP) 2,018; 12. Bergen Tech (BT) 1,935; 13. Indian Hills (IH) 1,846; 14. Pascack Hills (PH) 1,823; 15. Immaculate Heart (IHA) 1,626; 16. Tenafly (TEN) 1,566; 17. Fort Lee (FLEE) 1,509; 18. Fair Lawn (FLWN) 1,503.
HIGH SERIES
1. Kristen Kane (PC), 760; 2. Danielle Quitola (RP), 618; 3. Arielle Wallace (H), 591; 4. Amelia Brunda (HA), 587; 5. Tiffany Sucero (HA), 573; 6. Naomi Ramos (Lyndhurst), 566; 7. Donna Lee Graham (H), 532; 8. Alexa Herndandez (HA), 532; 9. Ciara Mottley (HA), 531; 10. Emily Mamunes (Northern Highlands), 527; 11. Gabby Stellacci (W), 509; 12. (tie) Allie Adamski (M) and Victoria Vucak (PC), 503; 14. Kristen Benavente (W), 501; 15. Angela Dinallo (RAM), 500; 16. Caroline Gervolino (RW), 498; 17. Annie Quinn (H), 497; 18. Olivia Wank (BT), 496; 19. Jenai Bacote (P), 495; 20. Samantha Conklin (RAM), 493.
HIGH GAMES
1. Kane, 299; 2. Quitola, 228; 3. Wallace, 219; 4. Ramos, 214; 5. Sucero, 213.