by Camille Knecht

Although records are a good indication of how a team is performing, they do not always tell the whole story. For the Barrons’ Bowling teams, the record is missing chapters on each team’s potential and performance.

Throughout the season, both teams remained competitive through weekend tournaments and diligent preparation, the girls concluding at the NJSIAA Girls Sectionals Tournament, and the boys at the NJSIAA State Finals. With practice came perfection, and according to Coach Small, “They had several tough matches that they battled through and they never gave up.”

For the duration of the season, the teams received motivation from their captains to keep them focused. Tyler Karpinecz, co-captain of the girls’ team, motivated the girls by making sure they had a talk before each match or tournament. “I always said to go out and do your best and have fun,” said Karpinecz, a junior. “And we all fed off of each other’s energy, which was a big part of how we stayed focused.”

For the boys, co-captain Kyle Bilawsky encouraged the team by lifting their spirits after bad shots. Bilawsky, a junior, said, “We got off to a rough start, but we started clicking at the right time to make a run in the GMC Tournament.”

Coach Small said, “We had multiple award winning high games and high series awards.” The girls finished 5th in the Westfield Tournament and they took 1st and 2nd place in the Woodbridge Holiday Individual Tournament.

The boys finished 2nd in the Joe Romer Tournament and made a run in the GMC County Championship Tournament where they finished 2nd. They also qualified for the State Tournament. In the Woodbridge Holiday Individual Tournament, two of the boys tied for 1st place.

After the season they had, Karpinecz said, “At the very beginning, I didn’t think we were going to have a team, but as the season went on, we accomplished things that seemed almost impossible and I can’t wait for next year.”

Overall, it was a season well-played. The girls’ regular season record was 6-11-1, and the boys ended at 7-11.  “We had the toughest schedule in the conference being in the red division,” said Coach Small, “and we were competitive in every match.”

As for the next season, Coach Small said that the goal is “to be more consistent on our first ball shots and work on spares.”

GMC Individual Qualifiers:

• John Drost
• Michael Bocra
• Louis Polise
• Kyle Bilawsky
• Deanna Calantoni
• Tyler Karpinecz

State Individual Qualifiers:

• Deanna Calantoni
• Tyler Karpinecz
• Kyle Bilawsky
• Adam Trabalka

Deanna Calantoni – 3rd high game and 1st high series at the Westfield Tournament, 2nd place finish at the Woodbridge Holiday Singles Tournament, 7th place GMC Individual Finals, 2nd high game at Individual State Finals, 8th place finish in the Individual State Finals

Tyler Karpinecz – Captain, 1st place in the Woodbridge Holiday Singles Tournament, 3rd in the GMC Individual Tournament, and 23rd in the State Individual Finals

Kyle Bilawsky – Captain, 2nd high game and 2nd high series in the Brick Tournament, 3rd high game in the State Sectional Tournament, Central Jersey Individual Sectional Champion, 17th in the Individual State Finals

Louis Polise – 1st place Woodbridge Holiday Singles Tournament

Adam Trabalka – Captain, 1st place Woodbridge Holiday Singles Tournament, 3rd high game in State Sectional Tournament, and 31st in the Individual State Finals