West Orange HS boys bowler Kieryn Knox bowls perfect 300 game at state team finals, then captures title at state individual championships

Editor Published: February 20, 2022 | Updated: February 21, 2022 3 minutes read

West Orange senior Kieryn Knox, left, holds his championship plaque and converses with New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Executive Director Colleen Maguire at the state individual finals at Bowlero in North Brunswick on Friday, Feb. 18.

WOHS sophomore Kieryn Knox, right, poses with then-New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Executive Director Larry White at the NJSIAA individual bowling championships at Bowlero in North Brunswick on Feb. 14, 2020.

West Orange High School senior Kieryn Knox wears the uniform for Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia, where he will attend to continue his bowling career.

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Kieryn Knox has been crowned the state boys bowling champion.

After bowling a perfect 300 score in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s boys team finals on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at Bowlero North Brunswick, the West Orange High School senior won the NJSIAA’s boys individual title on Friday, Feb. 18, also at Bowlero North Brunswick.

At the state team finals, Knox bowled a 300 game as part of a tournament-high 747 series, leading West Orange to a fourth-place finish in the Group 4 standings with a pin total of 2,649.

Then at the state individual championships two days later, Knox had a 693 series in the first round and a 627 series in the second round, in a field of 100 bowlers, to finish as the No. 4 seed. Only the top 18 out of the 100 bowlers advanced to the second round.

In the stepladder finals, Knox defeated No. 5 Henry Hecht, of Howell, 258-238; Matt Reynolds, of Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 209-191; and No. 2 seed KC Campbell, of Seton Hall Prep, 215-183. In the championship match, Knox defeated No. 1 seed Jake Diaz, of Howell, 248-214.

With the competition starting at 9 a.m. and the final game not being completed until nearly 4 p.m., it was a long day for Knox. When asked if he was most exhausted physically, mentally or emotionally, Knox responded, “I’d probably say mentally. Those three match-play games, when we switched sides, I found those most difficult, trying to find a comfortable look.” That was quite a memorable week for the Savannah College of Art and Design commit by finishing his high school career on top.

Knox and WOHS senior Taylor Mills won the Super Essex Conference/Essex County boys and girls individual championships at Bowlero in Belleville on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Knox finished first with a series of 803 with games of 257, 258 and 288. He was then seeded No. 1 in the stepladder finals, which consisted of the top-five high-series finishers. Seton Hall Prep’s KC Campbell was third with a series of 705, with games of 232, 203 and 270. Campbell lost to Barringer’s Chris Padro, 231-223, in Match 2 of the stepladder finals.

Knox defeated Padro, 206-204, in the final match of the stepladder finals to win the boys championship.

Mills also finished first with a 550 series, with games of 170, 194 and 186. In the final match of the stepladder finals, Mills defeated Livingston’s Caitlin Mullen, 203-177, to win the girls title.

In 2020 as a sophomore, Knox finished fourth overall out of 99 bowlers at the state individual championships.

Knox will continue his bowling career at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia.

Photos Courtesy of Darryl Vines