By: James McKeever
About a month before the school year was set to begin, Matt Forthun of South Brunswick High School was gearing up for football season, the first leg of varsity competition for this three-sport athlete.
Fate dealt Forthun an unfortunate obstacle, however. The sophomore broke his ankle during preseason drills in August. So instead of challenging for a starting spot at linebacker, Forthun was forced into the operating room for surgery and had to watch the Vikings football team from the sidelines.
Forthun didn’t mope about it. He just worked extremely hard in his physical rehabilitation and prepared for sport No. 2: bowling.
Chris Hayston, Monroe’s first-year bowling coach, knew what type of bowler he was getting in Forthun. He just crossed his fingers and hoped that Forthun who averaged 202 as a freshman to earn a spot on the GMC All-Red Division team would be 100 percent healthy.
"If the injury had happened his freshman year, he would have had to come back and try out for the team," Hayston said. "But coming off his freshman season, we knew he had a spot waiting for him, once he was back to full strength."
Doctors cleared Forthun to bowl again on Dec. 2, the day of South Brunswick’s first match.
"Matt’s a pretty mature kid and very committed to sports, and he has shown no ill effects from the injury," Hayston said. "It probably took him about three weeks to shake off the rust. Not that he wasn’t bowling well those first three weeks, but since then he’s really been bowling great consistently."
Forthun, a valuable pitcher last spring for South Brunswick’s baseball team, routinely rolls 600 series and is averaging 198. His high set is a 736, his best game a 266.
Thanks to Forthun, Robby Kohutanycz, Billy Orchard, Adam Kinder and surprising freshman Carmine Sadano, South Brunswick has turned its season around following a slow start. At one point 2-6, the Vikings had a 7-9-2 mark after Tuesday’s loss to J.P. Stevens.
The Vikings earned two wins on Monday, sweeping South River and beating Colonia 3-1 in a tri-match. While Kohutanycz rolled a 676 (267, 225 games), Forthun fired off a 671 (236-230-205) and Orchard a 609 (214, 201).
In Tuesday’s 4-0 setback to J.P. Stevens, Kohutanycz bowled a 256 game in a 619 set. Sadano recorded a 586 (213 high game) and Forthun produced a 548 (205 high).
"Sadano has bowled great the last two days," Hayston said on Wednesday. "He’s been a tremendous attribute to the team."
The GMC Individual tournament opened on Wednesday and team match play resumes today (Thursday) against Edison. On Saturday the Vikings will compete in the Joe Romer Invitational, capping a busy week.
South Brunswick’s girls team has struggled the last week. Monday’s tri-match losses to Colonia and South River and a setback to J.P. Stevens on Tuesday gave the Vikings a four-game losing streak and a 7-9-2 record. All three matches ended in 3-1 decisions.
May Lynn Olsen led the Vikings on Monday with a 518 set that featured a 244 game. On Tuesday the South Brunswick highlight was a 501 series by Christine Kelly. Allison Nagle had a 442 and Olsen a 438.
