Simply the best.
Three years ago, Warren Hills had a really good girls bowling team, led by a very good senior anchor (Lauren Scholes) and a fantastic freshman named Jenna Henderson. They went to sectionals as one of the favorites, but were denied a trip to the state tournament of champions when a girl from Teaneck had the day of her life and the Streaks came up about 20 pins short.
One year later, Jenna was joined in the permanent starting lineup by two more sophomores, Jessica Yerance and Elizabeth Hudock, as well as a freshman, Katie Winch. Along with junior Abby Laws, this version of the Blue Streaks was young, exciting, and improving every day. They walked into Bowler City this time and lit the place up, winning Group II easily and scoring the highest of any team at the sectional, earning a trip to the TOC. They faced a Manchester team that was the defending champions. Manchester was loud and confident; their fans were just loud. It was a little intimidating. The Streaks bowled well, but settled for second place in Group II.
One year later, the same group of five was even better. All season long, they destroyed opponents. They nearly cracked 3000 at the Skyland tournament. Abby was named all-state. Once again, they blew away everyone at the Sectional, this time winning Group III with the highest score in the building. That meant a date with Brick Township, one of the two dominant teams in New Jersey, at the TOC. Brick was strong, talented and confident, but Warren Hills wasn't intimidated; they just lost by a little bit (3rd highest total in the state) to, frankly, a better team.
A little less than three months ago, the 2016-17 version of the Warren Hills girls bowling team began practice. Abby had graduated, but there was every reason to believe that this team could have a great season: Jessica and Elizabeth had improved significantly: not just in ability, but in consistency: after averaging 168 & 171 respectively in 2016 (equivalent to 504 & 513 series), neither would throw a single series under 518 in any team match or tournament all season long, and each averaged over 180 in team events. A new freshman, Kelcie Mannon, joined the team with enough talent to replace a decent percentage of what they had lost: she would average 195. Katie Winch, who had already been good, saw her commitment to becoming much better pay off big, as she was now both a bowler capable of throwing big numbers at any time (her average would improve nearly 20 pins from 2016) and a leader devoted to making her team better. And at the end of the day, there was always Jenna Henderson, now a senior and captain, doing everything you'd expect from an all-state level future D-I college bowler, and doing it every day.
They beat everyone in the Skyland conference. By a lot. They won the Central Jersey Winter Classic, beating State #1 Brick Memorial. They were top qualifier and top NJ finisher at the Snowball. They shot over 3000 at the Skyland tournament. They torched Bowler City and won the North Sectional with the day's highest score for the 3rd year in a row (and this time with the highest sectional score in the state). But all of that was just prelude; the Streaks were after a state title.
On Friday morning, 24 teams took to the lanes at Bowlero to determine four state champs. The Streaks would have to defeat Teaneck, Toms River South, Edison, Freehold Township and 2016's nemesis Brick Township. Game one had WH matched up with Brick, likely their top competition for the title. Junior Katie Winch started things off with a strike. Senior Jessica Yerance followed with: a strike. Freshman Kelcie Mannon was next with: a strike. Senior Elizabeth Hudock's shot: a strike. And Senior anchor Jenna Henderson finished off frame one with: a strike. A perfect first frame. They never looked back. Liz would finish at 190, Kelcie at 203, Katie at 208 at Jessica put up a very nice 220. The team score was 1003, giving the Streaks a huge 130-pin lead over Brick Township.
After a pair of misses at the end of game 1, Jenna was all over it in Game 2, firing ten strikes en route to a 247 game, which would prove to be the 3rd highest of the event. Katie was great as well, posting 221 and Jessica threw another solid game, 192. The Streaks 985 was easily the highest in Group III, and earned them a massive 192 pin lead over Edison, now their closest competitor.
Game three was a coronation, as none of the other entrants could make a big enough run to close the gap and the Streaks, for the third time in three games, carded the highest game of the division: 961 this time, completing a 2949 set, the Streaks' second highest of the season. Jenna finished off a 614 set, Jessica rolled a 197 to finish her highest series of the year, 609, and Katie put up her third great game of the day, 223, for a team-leading 652 set - the second highest of the entire TOC. With all the numbers in, Warren Hills had won the Group III state title by a 320 pin margin over second-place Brick Township. Wow.
But the girls were far from done. Next up was the Tournament of Champions, two Best-of-Five Baker rounds to determine the overall state champion for 2017. First up was Group I champion Westwood. Both teams were a little sloppy in Game 1, which the Streaks took 157-138. Game two was different, as the Warren Hills girls threw nine strikes and took the game easily, 256-166. Game three was a little tighter, but Jenna finished off the 188-172 win in the tenth and Warren Hills had won the semifinal 3-0.
Waiting for the Blue Streaks in the finals was a surprising opponent, as Group II champion Holy Angels had pulled off a big upset in defeating Group IV champ Brick Memorial in the other semifinal. Warren Hills took control in the middle frames and won the first game easily, 192-138. Game two was a real battle, and turned on a couple of breaks: Kelcie left a stone tenpin, Jenna left a stone seven-pin, and an AHA bowler left the 4-5 split, only to have both pins domino down at the last possible millisecond for a strike, and Angels held on for a 198-183 victory. But the Streaks girls, as they have in every single match and every single tournament all year long, put it behind them and went right back to work, taking game four comfortably 185-153.
In the fourth game of the finals, with the TOC title on the line, things were close, with Holy Angels holding a slim lead after seven frames. But Kelcie and Katie both struck for a double, and AHA's anchor left a tenpin, which meant that Jenna needed a mark to give the Streaks the championship. She threw a gorgeous shot, only to be denied a strike by another stone seven. Needing the make the spare that has probably given her the most trouble her whole career, the senior co-captain drilled it and followed with a no-doubt strike, and the Streaks were champions of the New Jersey Girls High School Bowling universe.
As virtually every victory has been all season, this special day was a team effort. Jessica was fantastic in the group finals, shooting her first 600 of the season. Liz and Kelcie both struggled at times in the Group finals but shook it off to each throw several key strikes in the Baker playoffs. Katie was wonderful all day, from her 652 set to making shot after shot in the playoffs when her team needed it. But the biggest reason the Blue Streaks are taking home a pair of Championship Trophies from Bowlero may have been that no other team had Jenna Marie Henderson in the anchor spot. Over seven Baker games, Jenna, unofficially, hit the pocket something like 23 of 24 times. She was absolutely brilliant, and couldn't have ended her amazing high school career with a more impressive performance.
I believe I can speak for all of the Warren Hills bowling parents in saying that I can't imagine being prouder of a bunch of athletes than we are of this team. Enjoy this, ladies; savor it. You were part of something truly special this season, and you earned this success many times over. Congratulations.
One year later, Jenna was joined in the permanent starting lineup by two more sophomores, Jessica Yerance and Elizabeth Hudock, as well as a freshman, Katie Winch. Along with junior Abby Laws, this version of the Blue Streaks was young, exciting, and improving every day. They walked into Bowler City this time and lit the place up, winning Group II easily and scoring the highest of any team at the sectional, earning a trip to the TOC. They faced a Manchester team that was the defending champions. Manchester was loud and confident; their fans were just loud. It was a little intimidating. The Streaks bowled well, but settled for second place in Group II.
One year later, the same group of five was even better. All season long, they destroyed opponents. They nearly cracked 3000 at the Skyland tournament. Abby was named all-state. Once again, they blew away everyone at the Sectional, this time winning Group III with the highest score in the building. That meant a date with Brick Township, one of the two dominant teams in New Jersey, at the TOC. Brick was strong, talented and confident, but Warren Hills wasn't intimidated; they just lost by a little bit (3rd highest total in the state) to, frankly, a better team.
A little less than three months ago, the 2016-17 version of the Warren Hills girls bowling team began practice. Abby had graduated, but there was every reason to believe that this team could have a great season: Jessica and Elizabeth had improved significantly: not just in ability, but in consistency: after averaging 168 & 171 respectively in 2016 (equivalent to 504 & 513 series), neither would throw a single series under 518 in any team match or tournament all season long, and each averaged over 180 in team events. A new freshman, Kelcie Mannon, joined the team with enough talent to replace a decent percentage of what they had lost: she would average 195. Katie Winch, who had already been good, saw her commitment to becoming much better pay off big, as she was now both a bowler capable of throwing big numbers at any time (her average would improve nearly 20 pins from 2016) and a leader devoted to making her team better. And at the end of the day, there was always Jenna Henderson, now a senior and captain, doing everything you'd expect from an all-state level future D-I college bowler, and doing it every day.
They beat everyone in the Skyland conference. By a lot. They won the Central Jersey Winter Classic, beating State #1 Brick Memorial. They were top qualifier and top NJ finisher at the Snowball. They shot over 3000 at the Skyland tournament. They torched Bowler City and won the North Sectional with the day's highest score for the 3rd year in a row (and this time with the highest sectional score in the state). But all of that was just prelude; the Streaks were after a state title.
On Friday morning, 24 teams took to the lanes at Bowlero to determine four state champs. The Streaks would have to defeat Teaneck, Toms River South, Edison, Freehold Township and 2016's nemesis Brick Township. Game one had WH matched up with Brick, likely their top competition for the title. Junior Katie Winch started things off with a strike. Senior Jessica Yerance followed with: a strike. Freshman Kelcie Mannon was next with: a strike. Senior Elizabeth Hudock's shot: a strike. And Senior anchor Jenna Henderson finished off frame one with: a strike. A perfect first frame. They never looked back. Liz would finish at 190, Kelcie at 203, Katie at 208 at Jessica put up a very nice 220. The team score was 1003, giving the Streaks a huge 130-pin lead over Brick Township.
After a pair of misses at the end of game 1, Jenna was all over it in Game 2, firing ten strikes en route to a 247 game, which would prove to be the 3rd highest of the event. Katie was great as well, posting 221 and Jessica threw another solid game, 192. The Streaks 985 was easily the highest in Group III, and earned them a massive 192 pin lead over Edison, now their closest competitor.
Game three was a coronation, as none of the other entrants could make a big enough run to close the gap and the Streaks, for the third time in three games, carded the highest game of the division: 961 this time, completing a 2949 set, the Streaks' second highest of the season. Jenna finished off a 614 set, Jessica rolled a 197 to finish her highest series of the year, 609, and Katie put up her third great game of the day, 223, for a team-leading 652 set - the second highest of the entire TOC. With all the numbers in, Warren Hills had won the Group III state title by a 320 pin margin over second-place Brick Township. Wow.
But the girls were far from done. Next up was the Tournament of Champions, two Best-of-Five Baker rounds to determine the overall state champion for 2017. First up was Group I champion Westwood. Both teams were a little sloppy in Game 1, which the Streaks took 157-138. Game two was different, as the Warren Hills girls threw nine strikes and took the game easily, 256-166. Game three was a little tighter, but Jenna finished off the 188-172 win in the tenth and Warren Hills had won the semifinal 3-0.
Waiting for the Blue Streaks in the finals was a surprising opponent, as Group II champion Holy Angels had pulled off a big upset in defeating Group IV champ Brick Memorial in the other semifinal. Warren Hills took control in the middle frames and won the first game easily, 192-138. Game two was a real battle, and turned on a couple of breaks: Kelcie left a stone tenpin, Jenna left a stone seven-pin, and an AHA bowler left the 4-5 split, only to have both pins domino down at the last possible millisecond for a strike, and Angels held on for a 198-183 victory. But the Streaks girls, as they have in every single match and every single tournament all year long, put it behind them and went right back to work, taking game four comfortably 185-153.
In the fourth game of the finals, with the TOC title on the line, things were close, with Holy Angels holding a slim lead after seven frames. But Kelcie and Katie both struck for a double, and AHA's anchor left a tenpin, which meant that Jenna needed a mark to give the Streaks the championship. She threw a gorgeous shot, only to be denied a strike by another stone seven. Needing the make the spare that has probably given her the most trouble her whole career, the senior co-captain drilled it and followed with a no-doubt strike, and the Streaks were champions of the New Jersey Girls High School Bowling universe.
As virtually every victory has been all season, this special day was a team effort. Jessica was fantastic in the group finals, shooting her first 600 of the season. Liz and Kelcie both struggled at times in the Group finals but shook it off to each throw several key strikes in the Baker playoffs. Katie was wonderful all day, from her 652 set to making shot after shot in the playoffs when her team needed it. But the biggest reason the Blue Streaks are taking home a pair of Championship Trophies from Bowlero may have been that no other team had Jenna Marie Henderson in the anchor spot. Over seven Baker games, Jenna, unofficially, hit the pocket something like 23 of 24 times. She was absolutely brilliant, and couldn't have ended her amazing high school career with a more impressive performance.
I believe I can speak for all of the Warren Hills bowling parents in saying that I can't imagine being prouder of a bunch of athletes than we are of this team. Enjoy this, ladies; savor it. You were part of something truly special this season, and you earned this success many times over. Congratulations.
GROUP III FINALS
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toc semifinals
toc finals
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