BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
CHERRY HILL — Carrie Scott has waited a long time for this. For the past 25 years, the Jackson High School girls bowling coach had never took a team to a South Jersey sectional championship.
The wait is over.
Last weekend Scott and the Jackson girls squad amassed a total of 3,003 pins to capture the 2005 NJSIAA South Jersey Sectional girls bowling championship in Cherry Hill.
“We’ve had quite a few second places at this event over the years,” Scott said. “But we were never able to win it. I’m quite excited about finally capturing the title. The girls were very excited about this event. They were able to channel their excitement and get the most out of their skills.”
Jackson put a lot of pressure on the rest of the field by rolling an opening game compiled
score of 1,018 pins. The Lady Jaguars followed that by collecting a total of 1,129 pins in the second game. It was the blazing start that opened a gap that the rest of the field could not close.
“I was really surprised that we went out that fast,” Scott said. “The girls were right on top of their games. They didn’t show any hesitation at all. I figured in a tournament of this stature that we might be a little tight. But they were relaxed and it showed in their scores.”
Jackson built a commanding 282-pin lead with just one game remaining.
“We felt pretty confident at that point,” Scott said.
Jackson’s Kaitlin Ader and Annie Orbono finished 1-2 in total pins. Ader’s three-game series total was 655. She rolled scores of 237, 236 and 182.
Orbono finished with a three-game series of 643. In addition, Orbono posted the high game of the event with a score of 239.
“Both were very solid for us at this event,” Scott said. “Both had very good seasons. But this was really a team effort. We had strong performances from all involved.”
Nora Hussey rolled a 210, 237 and 169 for a three-game total of 616 to place fourth overall. Teammate Kelly Armstrong had scores of 214, 231 and 147 for a total of 592. Armstrong finished in seventh place.
All four Jackson bowlers qualified for the individual state tournament.
“We’ve had a great season overall,” Scott said. “We’re happy to still be going. I think that the girls will be competitive when we get to the state tournament.”