The Jackson Memorial High School bowling team is homing in on a spot for the Shore Conference Tournament again this season with a show of strength in the B North Division individually and as a team. Coming into this week with 19 wins in their last 20 games, the Jaguars are 30-6, with a four-game lead over Howell in the division after scoring a 2-1 victory over Howell on Jan. 21. Junior Luke Kane rolled a 664 series as Jackson Memorial is assured of a spot in next month’s Shore Conference Tournament. The top two teams in each division qualify for the tournament.
Kane is rated No. 2 in the division, based on average, at 208. Joe Starace has a 210 average that rates No. 2 in the conference, and he has the Jaguars’ high series of the season, at 760.
The Jaguars have all five bowlers ranked well up in the league standings. Senior Jake Zamrzycki has a 207 average and senior Evan Rudanjak is right behind at 204.
Sophomore Mike Ormsby, who can break out with an explosive game and series at any time, completes the lineup and has a 201 average. Ormsby was one of the team’s top bowlers last season, particularly during tournament play.
“We are all in sync with each other, and when one is doing well, it rallies the other players, and when one is not doing as well, the others pick him up,” said Zamrzycki.
That was evident in a recent sweep of Freehold Township when the Jaguars rolled a season-high score of 3,391.
“I think they are bowling great right now,” coach Anthony Buczynski said. “They have shown that they can compete at the highest level in the state.”
At the Brick Tournament on Jan. 15, Jackson Memorial finished third with a 3,246 total, 18 pins behind a surprising effort from second-place Manalapan. Jackson Memorial swept its two matches against Manalapan this season. Brick Memorial won the tournament with a 3,360 total.
“I thought, overall, we bowled great,” said Buczynski. “After the first game, we were the tournament leader and then we bowled even better in the second game with a score of 1,142, but we fell into second place because Brick Memorial bowled an unbelievable 1,246 to take the lead by 40 pins. And they were nowhere near the lead in the first game. We had difficulties in the third game and shot poorly with the lane conditions.”
As one of the team’s senior leaders, Zamrzycki said determination is a key to his success.
“I think I’ve been bowling consistently well and I am concentrating better,” he said. “I have more accuracy, and I don’t let it get to me if in the first few frames I do not do well. I just pull it together the best that I can.”
In the Brick Tournament, Rudanjak bowled the third best game of the day, a 288, midway through his 602 series.
Earlier in January, Jackson Memorial finished sixth in the Winter Classic at Carolier Lanes, North Brunswick, the best finish by any team from the Shore Conference, as Kane had the high game of the day, a 299, amid a team-leading 668 series.
Jackson Memorial also won its 18th annual Junior Varsity Tournament by 50 pins over Brick Memorial as freshman Chris Nicholson rolled a 219 game, third best on the day, and a 614 series that was surpassed by only one other bowler. Senior Aaron Gray, junior Jon Restrepo and freshman Jason Gold also turned in strong efforts.