Brick Memorial boys finish in third at state finals

By Wayne witkowski
Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Walter McKnight did not accomplish the goals he thought he could as part of the Brick Memorial boys’ bowling team, but he came away with some satisfaction from the NJSIAA bowling championships at Carolier Lanes.

McKnight rolled a 661 series — 38 pins higher than what he hit to win the Shore Conference individual championship last Thursday when Brick Memorial won the team title — as the Mustangs finished in third place in the state finals. It was not what the No. 1-ranked team in the state had hoped for going into the match, but it wasn’t far from the mark.

"We thought we’d make it in the third game," said McKnight, whose team was in second place at that point but bowled its worst game — a 952. "The last time we bowled here (for the Central Jersey Holiday Classic), we bowled an 1,120 in the last game. We were down only five pins today but fell apart in that last game."

Brick Memorial’s 3,034 pins trailed Manchester Township’s 3,188 and Woodbridge’s 3,058.

The Mustangs have been in the state championships the last three years, but this was their best finish.

"We were right in there," said Brick Memorial coach Woody French. "We knew what we had to do and just did not get some breaks."

McKnight, who is headed to William Paterson University this fall, has one great parting memory — he hit strikes on the first and last ball he threw on varsity. "Tying two ends with a strike is a pretty good feeling," said McKnight.

Cross-town rival Brick Township finished seventh with 2,944 pins, behind a 622 series by sophomore Bobby Klimas and a 615 from John Pinto. The Green Dragons won the state title in 1990.

"We’ve had better days," lamented coach Cara Lukosius. "We’ve been in a slump."

"The games were consistent but not all five did it together," said Klimas, who was 12th in the individual stepladder state championship qualifiers with a 1,222.

But Jim Rogers, who was fourth in the individual state championships last year, helped maintain the excitement for Brick Memorial fans as he kept his team in the hunt with a 628 series off an opening 233 game.

"The team bowled real well but we missed too many spares and got a couple of bad breaks and got ripped off a couple of times," said Rogers.

But the good news for the Mustangs is that, although they lose a valuable senior to graduation in McKnight, the rest of the lineup returns.

French can be happy about that and also was pleased to see all four teams from the two Brick high schools reaching the state finals, with Brick Township winning it all and Memorial finishing third. "It says a lot for Brick bowling," said French.

Standings: 1. Manchester Township: 3,188; 2. Woodbridge: 3,056; 3. Brick Memorial: 1,054-1,028-952 — 3,034; 4. Lenape Valley 3,031; 5. Howell: 2,990; 6. Westfield: 2,987; 7. Brick Township: 999-969-976 — 2,944.

Brick Memorial bowlers were: Walter McKnight 224-216-221 — 661, Jim Rogers 233-199-198 — 628, Steve Tudor 182-204-209 — 595, Frank Papandrea 214-209-152 — 575, Mike Nicholson 201-202-172 — 575.

Brick Township bowlers were: Bobby Klimas 209-198-223 — 622, John Pinto 190-222-203 — 615, Gary Hayes 212-188-184 — 584, Mike Haberman 221-180-162 — 563, Chris Conrad 167-189-204 — 560.