On Tuesday, December 2nd, the boys’ bowling team opened their season with a game against the Ramsey Rams at Montvale Lanes.
A major change from last year to this year is that the roster across the league has been expanded from four varsity players to five. “We’re looking to get more kids involved,” said Mr. Tota, River Dell’s Athletic Director, when asked about the expansion.
This year’s team consists of captains senior Justin Spano and junior Henry Wacks. Junior Henry Arturi, sophomore Jack Leahy, and freshman Jin Jang round out the five-man team.
While this was the season opener’s roster, math teacher and coach Mr. Kleinfelder has stated that the lineup is subject to change and will fluctuate throughout the season.
After a morale-boosting pep talk from Wacks, the boys got to the lanes. In this first game, the Hawks got off to a solid start.
Spano bowled a 112, with both Wacks and Jang adding another 144 each. Arturi bowled a 116, and Leahy bowled a 133, giving the Hawks a 649 total in the first game of the match, beating the Rams by 132 pins.
The Hawks briefly regrouped, hoping to build on the last game’s momentum.
The Rams started the second game off hot, with multiple players bowling strikes in the first frames of the game. With this electric start, the Rams managed to put themselves up by over 35 pins by the fifth frame.
The Hawks came back, however, as Wacks laced together a string of strikes and spares that would ultimately land him a 187 by the game’s end.
Arturi also improved on his first game by 19 points, bowling a 135. Spano followed suit, adding 13 pins to his last game, bowling a 125.
Despite the performances by the other members, Leahy dropped 30 pins from the first game, bowling a lackluster 103 in the second game.
The highlight of the game, however, was Jang, who bowled a 201, getting over four strikes in a row.
JV sophomore Joseph Bushi said, “Jin is really an amazing bowler. Watching him play is really inspiring—not only does he have great skills, but he’s a great person to have as a teammate.”
“I’m truly excited to have scored 201 points. It’s my personal best score!” Jang said. But despite his personal accomplishment, Jang was thinking of his teammates before himself. “What I’m most satisfied with is that I was able to positively contribute to the team’s energy,” Jang finished.
And with that, the Hawks won the second game of the match by a staggering 196 pins.
While winning the first two games secured the boys a win, they hoped to complete the sweep by winning the final game. In the first frame, Wacks, Arturi, and Leahy all bowled strikes, along with a spare from Spano.
The momentum stayed throughout the game, and even with the Rams rolling their highest total at 593, the Hawks all showed up and finished with a 684 total, beating the Rams by 91 and completing the sweep.
“It feels great to know that our individual hard work has paid off,” said Arturi, reflecting on the match.
In total, the boys had a score of 2,084, with the average total per game at 694.66.
The Hawks’ win on Tuesday marks the sixth year in a row that the Hawks have won their season opener against the Rams, and marks their seventh win in a row against them. The Hawks have opened their season against the Rams every year since 2021 and have not lost an opener or a game to them since.
The Hawks will match up with the Rams one more time this season on January 15th, 2026.
“Starting the season off with a win puts not only myself but our team in a winning mindset,” Arturi said. “I see that win the other day against Ramsey as the beginning of many. Personally, as it is my first season bowling, I was beyond excited to share this win with my team,” he finished.
