After coming up short in the sectional tournament in recent seasons, the Renegades shot a South Jersey high 3,175 to edge Cherry Hill East and Brick Memorial for the sectional title.
Shawnee High School boys bowling erased seasons of heartbreak and frustration with one solid afternoon on Feb. 11.
After years of falling short, the Renegades won the 2017 South Jersey Group IV championship, finishing first in the sectional tournament with a score of 3,175. Shawnee defeated second-place Cherry Hill High School East by 26 pins and outpaced defending sectional champion Brick Memorial High School by 97 pins.
“It was our year,” senior Chris Pagliuso said. “It was our last year of bowling, so it had to happen.”
The sectional title was a long time coming for the seniors on the team. Seniors Pagliuso, Andrew Abbonizio, Evan McNally, Nick Simonetti and Mike Tolkacz have helped the team to a combined regular season record of 50–3–2, including a perfect 20–0 regular season in 2014–15. However, success in the postseason had eluded the Renegades until this year.
The Renegades got a big challenge in the regular season from Cherry Hill East, the only team Shawnee did not beat in 2016–17. Shawnee and Cherry Hill East tied in their first meeting, and the Renegades lost the second match, 3–1.
Despite the defeat, Abbonizio feels playing the Cougars prior to the postseason helped give Shawnee a measuring stick for how they needed to score in the postseason.
“Playing them, we knew they were going to be our biggest opponent,” Abbonizio said. “So playing them early in the season got us used to the pressure of bowling high stakes.”
Shawnee’s 3,175 pins were the most of any South Jersey team across all four groups in the sectional round. Abbonizio led the way with a 757 series, earning him the individual South Jersey title and a spot in the NJSIAA individual tournament.
“When I was playing, I thought I could just throw the ball and I would have miss room,” Abbonizio said. “I definitely was in the zone.”
It wasn’t only seniors who guided Shawnee to the championship. Sophomore Tyler Gates moved up to varsity full-time in 2016–17 and provided a spark for the Renegades at various points in the season.
“I took the time to take a deeper look into the actual form of throwing the ball, instead of just going down there and throwing it and trying to evaluate what I could change about the past but staying in the present in the same frame of mind,” Gates said of how he improved this season.
Gates’ approach was something the rest of the team shared as well. Abbonizio felt the team had the talent to win at the state level in previous seasons, but was able to get it done this year due to a stronger mental approach.
“We wouldn’t look forward to the next shot, we’d live in the past,” Abbonizio said about past seasons. “Living in the past is only going to make you do worse if you’re doing bad.”
Retaining a strong mental focus was crucial at the sectional tournament, where Shawnee was bowling next to Brick Memorial. Abbonizio said Brick was constantly trying to throw the Renegades off their game.
“The whole time, they were sitting there, watching us bowl,” he said. “They all stood up next to us, trying to get into our heads. We silenced them.”
Beating Brick Memorial and keeping the defending champions out of the state tournament was a huge accomplishment for Shawnee.
“Our freshman year, we only lost by six pins,” Pagliuso said. “They’ve won it back-to-back years and keep moving on. To look over and beat them, it’s definitely awesome.”
In the NJSIAA Group IV Tournament, Shawnee finished in third place with a score of 3,103, just 63 points behind state champion East Brunswick High School.
