Monroe enjoys year of highlights

By: James McKeever
   At Monroe High School this winter, the girls bowling team made some history while the senior star of the boys team made a triumphant return to the lanes.
   Let’s start with the girls first. After a 9-9 season – which included a 1-1 record in the Greater Middlesex Conference tournament — the Falcons entered the NJSIAA Central Jersey sectional under the radar.
   That quickly changed. In the tournament on Feb. 3, Monroe finished second in CJ Group 2 with a 2,434 series. Since the top two teams in each of the four CJ groups advanced to the state finals, the Falcons clinched the first berth in the finals in team history.
   "They did a nice job," said George Packard, who coaches the boys and girls teams at Monroe. "Reaching the state finals was a great accomplishment."
   The Falcons were a senior-dominated team, with 12th-graders Nicole Chasan and Shannon Weber at the top of the lineup. Senior Nicole Santiago and Jen Matikonis and junior Noelle Trinkler also made valuable contributions during the season.
   Just getting to the finals wasn’t good enough for the Falcons and that was evident by their season-high 2,561 series in the finals. That put Monroe in fourth place among six teams in Group 2, but only 41 pins behind first-place Mother Seton (2,602). Manchester Township (2,601) was second and Dumont (2,591) third.
   "These girls improved year to year since Shannon and Nicole (Chasan) were freshmen on the varsity," Packard said. "And Nicole (Santiago) and Jen were on varsity for three years. They finished the season strong."
   In the first round of the GMC team tournament, the 12th-seeded Falcons defeated No. 21 seed New Brunswick, 2-0. In the second round they fell to fifth-seeded South Brunswick, 2-0.
   Next year will be a rebuilding season for the Falcons. Trinkler will be a senior and should get help from classmate Kelsey Wanas and Lisa Buyofsky, who will be a junior. Wanas and Buyofsky saw some varsity action this winter.
   The big story with Monroe’s boys team was Gregg Puleio. His junior season was cut short by a mysterious ailment that took a long time to diagnose.
   Puleio was stricken with a rare disorder named hypokalemic periodic paralysis, which affects approximately one in 100,000 people. Those with the condition, which is caused by potassium deficiency, can suffer intermittent periods of muscle weakness. It can be severe enough to cause temporary periods of paralysis.
   So Puleio came into his senior season just hoping to stay healthy enough to bowl. He managed his disorder with changes in his diet and potassium pills. Fully healthy, Puleio produced some memorable moments on the lanes.
   It started with season-opening 699 set in the Bishop Ahr Tournament. But nothing was more impressive than the perfect game Puleio fired off in the GMC team tournament on Feb. 1.
   Rolling the second 300 game of his high school career – his first came as a freshman – Puleio led the Falcons to a 2-1 victory over J.P. Stevens in the opening round of the GMCT. Puleio finished with a 723 series.
   "This season was a welcome return for him," Packard said. "He came back strong and did his usual thing without missing a beat."
   The Falcons, seeded 14th in the GMCT, lost to third-seeded Colonia in the second round. They never found consistency as a team and finished with a 6-8-3 record.
   Packard will lose seniors Puleio, Dan Seyfried and Derek Witt, but will still have talented bowlers to work with next season. Sophomore Shawon Danser just completed his second season with the varsity and Nick Chen showed flashes of being a big-time bowler in his freshman season. Throw sophomore Ron Stuto and junior Justin Barrett into the mix and Monroe has the makings of a winning team in 2007-08.
   "We should be, but only if the kids returning go out and work at it," Packard said. "If they put the bowl down now and don’t pick it up again until November they’re not going to get better."