A fter a quiet sixth-place showing by the Jackson Memorial High School boys bowling team in the Brick Tournament two weeks ago, the Jaguars were back to making noise in the Winter Classic, where they finished second behind Manchester High School on Jan. 14 at Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick, Middlesex County.
“You can’t play defense in bowling and there was nothing stopping Manchester,” Jackson Memorial coach Anthony Buczynski said. “I can’t complain. We made very few mistakes. We hung tough and bowled well and did not lose our mental edge when teams might self-destruct.”
Manchester won with 3,363 total pins, just 21 pins ahead of Jackson Memorial (3,342). Woodbridge High School was third with 3,303 pins.
The Jaguars’ Luke Kane had the third highest series at the Winter Classic behind record-setting Ryan Kenny’s 812 for Manchester that led the day. Kane bowled games of 256, 246 and 246 (748). The Jaguars’ Mike Ormsby had the fourth best series (742) on games of 247, 227 and 268.
Jackson Memorial was in fifth place after the first game of the competition and moved into second place after the second game. The Jaguars finished sixth in the Winter Classic last season and went on to win the NJSIAA Group IV title and finish second in the Tournament of Champions.
“The competition was incredible, and we beat the Group IV schools handily,” Buczynski said of the 48-school field at the Winter Classic. “If we get to the state finals again this year, we like Carolier and I like our chances to compete there.”
The NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV sectionals will be held at Brunswick Zone in Deptford on Feb. 11 and the Group IV finals are scheduled for the following week. The team’s performance at the Winter Classic was a fine comeback for Jackson Memorial after the Brick Tournament, although Buczynski said he “was not that disappointed,” as Jackson Memorial slipped from the top three places in the third game when the Jaguars struggled with the drying lanes.
“We adjusted by taking shots that are not our strength,” the coach said.
Jackson Memorial, which is the twotime defending Shore Conference B Central Division champion, leads the division by one game over Freehold Township High School. The Jaguars and the Patriots will meet in the final division match of the season on Feb. 1.
Starting the week, Howell High School was three games behind Jackson Memorial in the division. The Jaguars and the Rebels squared off on Jan. 18.
The Jaguars’ other upcoming matches will be against Colts Neck on Jan. 23, Jackson Liberty on Jan. 25 and Manalapan on Jan. 30, all at Howell Lanes.
Don Kane is averaging 212 and his brother, Luke, is averaging 210. Ormsby averages 206 and Joe Starace averages 201. Mason Kimball and Jason Gold share time in the other spot.
Don Kane has the high series for the team in division play this season with a 703, and Joe Starace has the best high game at 289 en route to a 700 series. Luke Kane has rolled a 697 series.
The Jaguars are looking to return to the Shore Conference Tournament, where they finished third last year and second two years ago.
In late December, Jackson Memorial won the Toms River South tournament as Ormsby’s 672 led the competition. Jackson Memorial then bowled well as a team in the Baker segment.