Bomber bowlers are making a strong debut
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer

The Sayreville High School bowling team has been several years in the making, but its debut season in the Greater Middlesex Conference's (GMC) White Division has been stellar thus far.

Sayreville's boys team is 10-0 following Wednesday's 3-1 win over Perth Amboy and the Bombers are sitting atop the White Division ahead of Colonia (9-1-1). Meanwhile, the girls team - populated primarily by freshmen and sophomores - is 3-6 and making strides, according to coach Mike Weinert. The Lady Bombers also beat Perth Amboy on Wednesday, winning all four games.

"It's been a good year, but we still have a lot of work to do," said Weinert, who bowled for St. Peter's College. "Our goal is to build a state championship program."

The Bombers~ boys are certainly off to a great start. Sayreville's six starters all average at least 188 pins, and four averaged more than 200 pins. Brian Nicholas is second in the GMC with a 217 average. The sophomore has a 269 series to his credit and rolled a 300 during a practice session.

Junior Matt Walczak averages 206 pins with a high game of 268 and a 670 high series. A pair of sophomores, Matt Wasielewski and Camryn Nieves, average 204 pins apiece; Dave Jackowski is at 191 pins and Chris Lighty is right behind at 188 pins. Both are seniors.

In addition, sophomores Marcin Golebiowski, Derek Kopek, Mike Savarese and Andrew Siarkiewicz are all capable of rolling 180-plus games. Two other sophomores, Michael Chuntz and Kevin Derelelanko, along with freshman Glenn Sauer, have shown promise, as well.

"This is a tough team to beat because our lineup is very solid," Weinert said. "There aren't a lot of teams that are as consistent as us."

Weinert started the program three years ago. Because of the GMC scheduling cycle, the Bombers were unable to compete in the league. However, Sayreville was able to schedule exhibition matches with other GMC teams and participated in several tournaments, which helped additional generate interest.

"It was weird at first just playing the exhibition matches, but coach was working us up to competing in the GMC," said Jackowski, who has been with the program since its inception and now serves as a captain. "Our team works very hard. We bowl all the time and we take it seriously. I really wasn't a very good bowler at first; I didn't even throw correctly. Now I'm a varsity bowler and I compete in several leagues, and I can help the newer kids."

After losing several of the seniors who helped build the program, the girls team has struggled a bit, but Weinert has seen a lot of positives. Junior Kristin Olesky leads the girls squad with a 160 average. Fellow junior Katie Cavanaugh and sophomore Carol Sharrous are both pushing toward the 150 mark.

Sophomores Stephanie Bisaha and Leah Volpe, along with freshmen Lee Ann Cerbone, Alexes Correa, Tracy Karpinski and Sabrina Patni, give the Bombers a bright future.

"I look at bowling the same way other coaches look at football or basketball, you have to be committed to succeed and you have to be willing to work on your own," Weinert said. "That's what we have here. Most of our girls are new, but they're learning what it takes from watching players like Kristin [Olesky] and the boys. Now they're working harder. It's really great to see."

Weinert, an English teacher who came to the district four years ago, said that there were a fair amount of naysayers who told him starting a bowling team from scratch was next to impossible. That wasn't true. At least not in Sayreville.

"The interest was there right from the start," he said. "We had more than 100 kids at our first meeting and the administration and faculty were all very supportive."