Bowlers make most of “snow day” at New Year’s tourney by Greg Tartaglia of The Record
ELMWOOD PARK – Nick Cilento knew the drill. Marissa Cosentini may need to get used to it.
The Pompton Lakes senior and Wayne Valley freshman shot the boys and girls high series, respectively, in Saturday’s FDU New Year’s Team Championships at Parkway Lanes.
Both were called upon to accept individual awards typically given at the midpoint of the tournament. Since snowfall forced the cancellation of the Baker format playoff round, all winners were declared at the end of the three-game qualifying session.
Individual runner-up Jordan Tse led NV/Demarest to the highest finish by a North Jersey boys team, as the Norsemen tallied a third-place 2,600. Montville defeated Howell for the title, 2,733-2,676.
Three North Jersey squads were in the running for the girls title entering the third game, and Wayne Valley (2,182) emerged as runner-up ahead of Westwood (2,154) and Paramus Catholic (2,153). Howell (2,246) captured the title for the first time since its run of seven in a row ended in 2014.
“Part of me wishes we could play [the Baker tournament] to see how we could do,” Wayne Valley coach Jason Wilke said. “But we played it safe, which is the smart thing to do.”
Tournament director Mike LoPresti called a coaches meeting before the start of the third game to announce that the tournament would be shortened due to the foreboding forecast.
NV/Demarest reached the Baker championship series of the 2016 event, where it pushed Hawthorne to a tiebreaker game. The defending champion Bears withdrew from this year’s NYTC on Saturday morning after one of their starters underwent an emergency tonsillectomy.
“We have a lot of the same kids back and were really looking forward to the chance to try and win it this year,” Norsemen coach Damon Affinito said.
“The cool thing about this tournament is that you go from the traditional setting to the Bakers,” he added. “And especially for the boys, it’s really the only time a lot of these teams get to compete in that setting. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance [Saturday].”
Tse fired a team-best 614 series to edge Dumont’s Kyle Schellberg for third by two pins. Jon Kopf chipped in a 545 for NV/Demarest, which held off Fair Lawn (2,513) for third.
Erik Kattermann (607, fourth) and Peter Ho (583, fifth) paced Montville to its first NYTC crown.
Scores in general were somewhat lower due to a more difficult oil pattern, the Kegel Sunset Strip. Cilento, a veteran of travel bowling as well as a former county and state champion, rose to the challenge with games of 236, 215 and 203 for a 654 series. Schellberg, another experienced senior, had the boys high game at 265.
Cosentini (562 series) took girls high series over Madison Gibson of Howell by one pin and seemed pleasantly surprised by her first varsity title. The ninth-grader has been called upon to fill Wayne Valley’s anchor spot and placed second at her first major tournament, the Crusader Classic in December.
“It’s been nice that [my teammates] have just helped me through this and everything,” Cosentini said.
Senior Claudine Rosca added a 505 set for the Indians. Paramus Catholic’s Victoria Vucak (550) and Kristen Kane (531) had the third- and fourth-high girls series.
FDU NEW YEAR’S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
BOYS RESULTS
Qualifying Round*
1. Montville 2,733; 2. Howell 2,676; 3. Demarest 2,600; 4. Fair Lawn 2,513; 5. Lyndhurst 2,466; 6. St. Peter’s Prep 2,429; 7. Pascack Valley 2,418; 8. Indian Hills 2,412; 9. Ridgewood 2,410; 10. Passaic Tech 2,394; 11. Pompton Lakes 2,388; 12. North Bergen 2,369; 13. Paramus Catholic 2,361; 14. Mahwah 2,320; 15. Fort Lee 2,311; 16. Morris Hills 2,300; 17. Clifton 2,299; 18. Dumont 2,251; 19. Paramus 2,250; 20. Westwood 2,136; 21. Harrison 1,885; 22. Leonia 1,831; 23. St. Joseph 1,709.
All-Tournament Team
1. Nick Cilento (Pompton Lakes), 654; 2. Jordan Tse (NV/Demarest), 614; 3. Kyle Schellberg (Dumont), 612; 4. Erik Kattermann (Montville), 607; 5. Peter Ho (Montville), 583.
GIRLS RESULTS
Qualifying Round*
1. Howell 2,246; 2. Wayne Valley 2,182; 3. Westwood 2,154; 4. Paramus Catholic 2,153; 5. Holy Angels 2,060; 6. Ramsey 1,935; 7. Hackensack 1,908; 8. Ridgewood 1,898; 9. Demarest 1,893; 10. Paramus 1,888; 11. Clifton 1,774; 12. Fair Lawn 1,597.
All-Tournament Team
1. Marissa Cosentini (Wayne Valley), 562; 2. Madison Gibson (Howell), 561; 3. Victoria Vucak (Paramus Catholic), 550; 4. Kristen Kane (Paramus Catholic), 531; 5. Amanda Dorner (Howell), 530.
*Baker playoff rounds canceled due to snow