March 14, 2025
By Layla Lundholm
Staff Writer
The bowling team ended its regular season on Feb. 14 with a 16-5 record.
For the second year in a row, the bowlers made it to the sectional final. After losing in the final last season, they won this year and were named North 2 Group 2 Sectional Champions for the first time since 2016.
After winning their section, the bowlers competed in the Group 2 Championships at Bowlero in New Brunswick on Feb. 25. There, they lost 2-0 to Manchester Regional High School in Haledon in the semifinals.
“I was pretty proud that we overcame some of our difficulties in the season…. We lock[ed] in, focus[ed] on one thing [and] capitalize[d] on the other team’s mistakes.”
Head Coach Offitto said he is proud of the bowlers for their achievements.
“We had a pretty good year. We finished in third place in our league in a pretty tough division,” Offitto said.
He said the team accomplished its goal of winning the sectional final.
“If we bowled our best in the state [sectional] tournament, we would have a chance to win it, and that’s what we did. I knew how much the team wanted to win,” Offitto said.
Like Offitto, senior Mark Rigano, who joined varsity his freshman year, said he is happy his team made it further in states than last year.
“I was looking forward to [winning] because last year we lost very closely, so I want[ed] to get it back this year,” Rigano said.
He ended the season with a 200.16 average, the highest on the team.
“I actually felt a really big difference [compared to] the beginning of the season,” Rigano said.
He said at the start of the season, some bowlers struggled to maintain concentration and stay positive when they were underperforming in a match.
“I was pretty proud that we overcame some of our difficulties in the season…. We lock[ed] in, focus[ed] on one thing [and] capitalize[d] on the other team’s mistakes,” Rigano said.
Senior Patrick O’Rourke, who holds the team’s second-highest average of 180.74 and joined varsity last year, said he is disappointed about getting all the way to Group 2 Championships and then losing, but he is proud of himself and the rest of the bowlers.
“I did as good as I could have done, [and] I did about my average for each match, if not I did above [my average],” O’Rourke said. “I only had one bad game out of all of them.”
O’Rourke said, especially since it is his last year on the team, he is glad he improved his highest game from 234 to 267 points. He also improved his high set from 628 to 649 points.
“For the team, I am happy that we got to win the sectional finals,” O’Rourke said. “We got further, we tried our best [and] we did everything we possibly could.”
