South Brunswick gets to see where it stacks up with the big boys

By: James McKeever
   The past week gave the South Brunswick High School bowling teams an early-season gauge to find out how they stacked up against the better teams in the GMC.
   Last Thursday the Vikings took on Edison, then Woodbridge on Monday, and East Brunswick on Tuesday. For an idea of how daunting a task that was, consider that heading into last weekend Woodbridge ranked first in the GMC in total pinfall average in both boys and girls. Edison and East Brunswick were ranked 4-5 among boys teams and 2-4 among girls teams.
   The Vikings know there’s plenty of room for improvement. The boys lost to Edison and East Brunswick 3-1 and were swept by Woodbridge. The girls were swept by Edison and Woodbridge while losing to East Brunswick 3-1.
   Coach Chris Hayston’s boys club, which defeated South Amboy 4-0 on Monday in a tri-match with Woodbridge, took a 2-6 record into Wednesday’s match against Old Bridge.
   The girls, who also defeated South Amboy 4-0, had a 3-4-1 mark. Both Vikings teams are scheduled to bowl against Perth Amboy today (Thursday).
   "Sometimes you have stretches where you go against a lot of tough teams in a short period like that," Hayston said. "I don’t think we bowled our best either, which doesn’t help. Some guys have bowled great and other guys have struggled. Every player has bowled well at some time this season, we just haven’t been able to get everybody to bowl well at the same time. That’s what we need. We just have to get back on the right track."
   Hayston has liked what he has seen so far from Matt Forthun, Robby Kohutanycz and Billy Orchard, three bowlers who were expected to lead the club. Adam Kinder has emerged as a solid No. 4 man behind that trio while Steve Cohen, Carmine Sadano and Jared Kohutanycz form the 5-6-7 group.
   Forthun rolled a team-high 570 set in the loss to Edison last Thursday while Kinder stroked a 209 game and Robby Kohutanycz threw a 201-510.
   In Monday’s tri-match Orchard produced a 582 and Sadano (499), Robby Kohutanycz (499), Forthun (493) and Kinder (492) followed with near-500 sets.
   On Tuesday against East Brunswick, the Vikings claimed the second game with a 1025 set. Rob Kohutanycz had a good day, rolling games of 235 and 236 in a 648 set. Orchard came through with 259 and 208 games. Forthun was his consistent self with a 505.
   "Your confidence can take a shot when you’re not having success but all we can do is stay positive," Hayston said. "These guys are trying to stay focused and they’re playing hard. I have no issues at all with their effort."
   The South Brunswick girls team, coached by Tara Burniston, has hovered close to the .500 mark. The Vikings came on strong with an 829 set in game three to avoid the shutout against East Brunswick on Tuesday.
   Mary Lynn Olsen, who knocked down 450 pins against Edison and 460 in Monday’s tri-match against Woodbridge and South Amboy, produced a 276 game vs. East Brunswick. Meghan Nagle had a 204 game and 472 series in the match while Yasmin Ulloa had a 202 and a 450. Allison Nagle scored a 471 and Christine Kelly a 451.
   Allison Nagle shined in the Edison match with a 531 and sister Meghan fired a 212 and 528.
   A highlight from the tri-match along with Olsen’s 460 was Allison Nagle’s 562 set, which included a 200 game.
   On Saturday both South Brunswick teams will compete in the Joe Romer Tournament at Brunswick Zone Carolier in North Brunswick.