Northern Highlands perfectly stunning at bowling sectional by Greg Tartaglia of The Record
HACKENSACK — Will Cunningham and his bowling ball got good hang time in Saturday’s North 1A sectional tournament at Bowler City.
The Northern Highlands right-hander leapt in celebration of his perfect 300 in the second game, which was part of an astonishing first-place 746 series.
Cunningham led a group of 12 qualifiers for Wednesday’s state individual finals and paced the Highlanders to their first Group 4 title since 2012.
“I was not expecting this at all,” the junior from Allendale said of his 300.
It seemed even more surprising given Cunningham’s delivery. He puts a small bit of loft on the ball, causing it to land just before the arrows on the lane.
“I just try to hit the same spot every single time,” he said. “Once that [shot] was on, then it was on the whole time.”
Cunningham opened with a 237 before tossing the first perfect game in the section since Joe Pelissier of Garfield in 1993 – before North 1 was split into A (Bergen County) and B (Passaic/Hudson/Sussex) subsets.
Senior Emily Mamunes and junior Jacob Lucibello added series of 567 and 593, respectively, to help Northern Highlands top Ridgewood, 2,925-2,774. The top two teams in each group advanced to Friday’s state team finals at Bowlero North Brunswick.
“What I like about this group of kids is, there’s no individual star,” said Rich Smith, the Highlanders’ acting coach while Bob Tschinkel is out ill. “Everybody averages between 170-180, and on a good day, someone can pop and elevate us.”
After winning Group 4 a year ago, Indian Hills scored a tournament-best 3,103 to take Group 3 over longtime rival Pascack Valley (2,857). Individual runner-up Jared Duncan led the Braves with a 702 series.
“Last weekend, I went and got a new ball drilled,” the senior lefty said. “I threw it in practice in the middle of the week, and the first three-game set I threw with it was [Saturday].”
Two schools earned their first North 1A titles. In Group 2, Fort Lee (2,945) ended the five-year sectional reign of Lyndhurst (2,711). Seniors Luke Athanassopoulos (seventh, 658) and David Grant (tied for ninth, 646) gave the Bridgemen two state individual qualifiers.
“We won the trophy, and the two of us moved on, that’s what counts,” Athanassopoulos said.
In Group 1, Hasbrouck Heights held off Becton, 2,668-2,606, for its first sectional title in bowling – and second of the school year for Frank Quatrone (626). The senior quarterbacked the Aviators to a North 1, Group 1 title on the gridiron.
“Both championships were awesome because we had a great team,” Quatrone said. “This is a fun team to be a part of, and so is the football team.”
Dumont’s Kyle Schellberg (third, 694) and Indian Hills’ Ryan McGuire (sixth, 664) earned state singles berths for the third straight year.
Matt Myers (680) placed fourth in helping Ridgewood reach the state team finals for what is believed to be the first time. Fifth-place Henry Tipping (675) anchored Pascack Valley to its eighth state bid in nine years.
Fair Lawn’s Nick Greco (eighth, 648), Bergenfield’s Eric Weiss (tied for ninth, 646), Hasbrouck Heights’ Justin Rinaldi (11th, 644) and Ridgefield Park’s Derek Lewandowski (12th, 642) rounded out the individual qualifiers.
NORTH 1A SECTIONAL BOYS BOWLING TOURNAMENT
TEAM RESULTS (TOP 2 IN EACH GROUP QUALIFY FOR STATE TOURNAMENT)
GROUP 4: 1. Northern Highlands 918-1,050-957–2,925; 2. Ridgewood 2,774; 3. Fair Lawn 2,746; 4. Bergen Catholic 2,728; 5. Bergen Tech 2,520; 6. Teaneck 2,450; 7. Hackensack 2,437; 8. Don Bosco 2,416; 9. Paramus Catholic 2,341; 10. NV/Old Tappan 2,232.
GROUP 3: 1. Indian Hills 1,043-1,070-990–3,103; 2. Pascack Valley 2,857; 3. Ridgefield Park 2,791; 4. NV/Demarest 2,790; 5. Bergenfield 2,611; 6. Paramus 2,426; 7. Ramapo 2,364; 8. Garfield 2,236; 9. Tenafly 2,130; 10. River Dell 1,933.
GROUP 2: 1. Fort Lee 938-1,042-965–2,945; 2. Lyndhurst 2,711; 3. Dumont 2,595; 4. St. Joseph 2,584; 5. Ramsey 2,556; 6. Westwood 2,541; 7. Glen Rock 2,523; 8. Mahwah 2,492; 9. Pascack Hills 2,452; 10. Park Ridge/Emerson 2,289.
GROUP 1: 1. Hasbrouck Heights 884-861-923–2,668; 2. Becton 2,606; 3. North Arlington 2,591; 4. Palisades Park 2,255; 5. Bergen Charter 2,219; 6. Queen of Peace 2,168; 7. Leonia 2,128; 8. Midland Park 1,922; 9. Wallington 1,847.
HIGH SERIES (TOP 12 QUALIFY FOR STATE TOURNAMENT)
1. Will Cunningham (Northern Highlands), 746; 2. Jared Duncan (Indian Hills), 702; 3. Kyle Schellberg (Dumont), 694; 4. Matt Myers (Ridgewood), 680; 5. Henry Tipping (Pascack Valley), 675; 6. Ryan McGuire (Indian Hills), 664; 7. Luke Athanassopoulos (Fort Lee), 658; 8. Nick Greco (Fair Lawn), 648; 9. (tie) David Grant (Fort Lee) and Eric Weiss (Bergenfield), 646; 11. Justin Rinaldi (Hasbrouck Heights), 644; 12. Derek Lewandowski (Ridgefield Park), 642.
HIGH GAMES
1. Cunningham, 300; 2. Tipping, 268; 3. Matt Carbone (Glen Rock), 254.