BOWLING

Wayne Valley girls win fourth straight Passaic title

Doug Scancarella
Correspondent

For the Wayne Valley girls bowling squad, the prestigious Passaic County tournament ended just as it had the previous three seasons – celebrating and holding the championship plaque aloft.

Wayne Valley girls bowling team celebrating its Passaic County title.

The Indians completed a historic “four-peat” – becoming the first bowling team in school to ever win that many in succession.

“I’m so proud of what our team accomplished,” said head coach Jason Wilke. “We had to overcome a big loss to graduation (Kristine Verbeke). Fortunately, we returned three starters (Claudine Rosca, Hayley D'Alessandro, Melody Morris) and we caught lightening in the bottle with a very good freshmen (Marissa Cosentini) coming in.”

All four were instrumental in the Passaic County Tournament win as Wayne Valley claimed the championship with a team total of 2,326 pins at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park.

D'Alessandro, a junior, led the way for Wayne Valley with a 545 series and a 213 high game. Cosentini was second with a 490 series. Rosca, a senior, registered a 478. Morris, a junior, turned in a 440.

“Claudine is our leader,” Wilke said. “She doesn’t only lead with her performance, but she also plays a big role in helping our team be so close knit. There’s a lot of chemistry on this team and that is a big contributing factor to our success.”

Wayne Valley is 7-1 in its regular season with its only loss being a close 4-3 setback to powerhouse Holy Angels on Dec. 22. With two juniors and a freshmen starting, Wilke doesn’t see the team’s successful ways ending anytime soon.

It was an utterly dominant win for Wayne Valley in the Passaic County Tournament. Lakeland placed in distant-second with a team score of 1,983. They were followed by DePaul (1,931), Mary Help of Christians (1,927) and Passaic Tech (1,754).

Madison Perry of Hawthorne was the individual star of the event on the girls side with a 636 series. She also had tournament’s high game (238). D’Alessandrdo’s had the second high game (213).

Wayne Valley now turns its attention to the Group 3 State Tournament.

“It won’t be easy,” Wilke says. “With several Top 15 teams in New Jersey, Group 3 is the most competitive group in the state without question.”

Wayne Hills, meanwhile, finished in 3rd place on the boys side. Matt Klarberg led the way with a series of 617. Patrick Mayer bowled a game of 240.

Pompton Lakes (11-0) easily won the boys side (2,993). Hawthorne took second (2,749). Wayne Hills (2,671), Clifton (2,367) and Lakeland (2,599) rounded out the top five.

Johann Gamo of Clifton was awarded with the high series of the event with a 719 and the high game of 289.