Bowling should no longer be viewed as a minor sports activity, if it still is, after what the Howell High School and Freehold Township bowling teams accomplished this winter. These athletes deserve the same accolades as any one else for the championships they collected in ’08.
Dave Clampffer’sHowell girlsweremarvelous once again. Led by a trio of seniors- Brittany Budra, Meghan Kelly and Katie Raffele- the Rebels dropped just one game on their way to the school’s eighth consecutive Shore Conference Division crown (B Central this year) forging a remarkable 44- 1 record. They won the Freehold Regional District, Monmouth County and Central Jersey titles, the Central Jersey Winter Classic and the Fairleigh Dickinson and Long Branch tournaments. That’s seven championships in all for Howell’s girls.
Freehold Township’s girls chased the Rebels all year, led by the division’s best top bowler, Pinar Huseyin.
TheRebel boys did a pretty fair job themselves. After a season-long battle with Freehold Township, the Rebels won the B Central title and Monmouth County titles and went on to claim the Central Jersey championship. The same trio of championships won by the girls. Lou DiGirolamo and James Springer led a deep squad that had four bowlers average 200+ for the season.
Freehold Township would win the Freehold Regional District Tournament and finish second at the State Group IV Championships. They were led by Andrew Bohn, the area’s best bowler.
As a result of these great seasons, the Rebels and Patriots are the News Transcript’sAll Freehold RegionalDistrict bowling teams. For the girls, it’s Budra, Kelly, Raffele, Huseyin and her Township teammate Nicole DiGiaimo.
Bohn, DiGirolamo, Springer, Freehold Township’s James Caraluzzi and Colts Neck’s Jon Cody, the only non-Howell- Freehold Township bowler on the team.
Budra, Kelly and Raffele were the backbone of Howell’s finest season. The 2002 Rebels did win the state championship, but Clampfffer said that the ’08 team is the one that came closest to fulfilling its potential and much of that was due to its seniors.
Budra rolled the high game at the District championships (219) and had the second best average (195.29) in B Central. She was 10th at the Shore Conference Championships (522) and eighth at the Central Jerseywith a 615 series.At the state individual tournament, Budra was 11th (1,209). Her high game was 254.
Kelly had the third best average in the division (194.02) with a high game of 268 (second in the division). She was second at the county championships (620) and had the third best game (224). She placed fifth in the conference (588). She was 14th (588) at the state sectional. Kelly had the team’s high score (610) at the State Group IV championships where Howell took fourth place.
Budra and Kelly were both four-year starters for Howell and they now pass the torch to the underclassmen who will look to make it nine straight in ’09.
Raffele, a three-year starter, had the third best average on the team (183.53) but had some big tournament games. She led the Rebels in Central Jersey placing fourth (631) and was sixth as the state individual tournament (1,254).
Huseyin was the dominant bowler in the area. She was the only girl in the division to average better than 200 (208.39) for the season. She had the high series of the year, 728, which was 57 pins better than Kelly’s 671 and best game, 279. The lefty won theMonmouth County title with a 684 series. Her 236 high game was the second best of the tourney. She was third at the SC championships (615) and had the second best game (244).
DiGirolamo averaged 172.29 for the year, fifth best in the division.Her high gamewas 227. Together, she and Huseyin led the Pats to a 34-11 record, and they were the only team to take a game off the Rebels.
Bohn is the only area bowler to havewon a state championship. He did it two years ago as a sophomore. Now a senior, Bohn went out in a big way. He led the division with a season average of 219.79.His high series of the year, 768, was also tops. He was second at the county championships behind DiGirolamo.
DiGirolamomade school historywhen he became the first Rebel to bowl an perfect 300. On the season, he averaged 204.53 for the champions.Hewon the county titlewith a 718 series and had the high game as well, 277. He led the Rebels to the state sectional titlewith his second place (697) and finished 12th at the state championships (1,288).
Springer was Howell’s most consistent bowler throughout the season. His 215.27 average was second only to Bohn’s. He and DiGirolamo led Howell to a 37-8 record in the division,
Caraluzzi averaged 203.71 for Freehold Township and had the high game at theDistrict (248).
Cody was one of the top average bowlers in the area. The Colts Neck standout had 200.31 average for the season.