West Orange HS bowling team rolls to great start to the season

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep bowling team, under the direction of first-year head coach Michael Smircich, had a great first week of the regular season. In their two Super Essex Conference–Colonial Division matches, the Pirates defeated Caldwell 7-0 and Livingston 5-2. 

On Friday, Dec. 9, they traveled to Bowler City in Hackensack to take part in the 11th annual Tom Irwin Memorial Crusader Classic, where they finished in second place. Against Caldwell, in his first game of the season, junior all-stater KC Campbell rolled a 289 to lead the Pirates. In the Crusader Classic, Campbell led the way with a high series of 721; senior teammate Luca Rispoli had the best game with a 277, while Campbell was second with a 269.

Following the tournament Smircich said, “I’m extremely proud of our team effort today versus some of the top teams in the state. KC set the tone for our team, and the rest of the guys rose up to the challenge. I was thrilled to see Luca receive the high game after struggling a bit early on. Newcomer sophomore Nick Dragone continues to develop and came up big for us. This was a great showing for us, and I’m looking forward to building on it.”