The Howell High School girls bowling team, coming off a second consecutive undefeated campaign, defended its title at the Marisa Tufaro Classic.

With a three-game pinfall of 2,865, the Rebels qualified as the top seed for the best-of-five baker format finals, where they defeated Bergen Tech 3-2 to win the team title at Majestic Lanes on Saturday afternoon.

Proceeds from the event, at which bowlers and their coaches donated hundreds of new and unwrapped toys for children in need this holiday season, will benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which assists pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.

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The wildly successful tournament, which Woodbridge head coach Amanda Small founded and continues to run with support from her high school and school district, fundraised more than $8,000 and generated thousands of toys for donation its first three years.

“The kids competing in this tournament are not only great bowlers, they are great young men and women,” Howell coach Bob Wetzel said. “They understand how lucky they are with everything they have in their lives and they want to give back.”

For the second consecutive year, Sophia Raucher (655) and teammate Kayleigh Germadnig (635) paced Howell with the highest series in the tournament, while Union City’s Brittany Pagador opened the competition with a 613 set.

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Raucher also had the high game of the tournament for the second straight season with a 239, followed by Germadnig and Bergen Tech’s Samantha Seneres (tied with 237) and Bayonne’s Dakota DeMarco (236).

Competing in the Marisa Tufaro Classic holds special meaning to Wetzel, whose Rebels participated in the inaugural event in 2018 with senior Vanessa Puebla, who was thriving after undergoing a successful heart transplant three years prior.

Puebla was in attendance on Saturday, returning to Majestic Lanes with classmate Jake Hager, a former Howell High School boys bowler who also competed in the Marisa Tufaro Classic.

“I felt a need to go back because I felt a connection,” said Puebla, now a junior at Georgian Court University, referring to a synergy with the tournament’s namesake.

The two-time defending Group IV champion, Howell entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the entire state, according to NJ.com’s preseason rankings.

Three other state-ranked teams – Bergen Tech (2,706), Woodbridge (2,392) and Monroe (2,339) – also qualified for the best-of-five baker format semifinals.

Howell returned five starters including Raucher, Germadnig, Madison Lewis, Reilly Palmese and Colleen Stapleton.

“These kids work very hard all season long at being the best,” Wetzel said. “We like to challenge ourselves and this tournament brings us a challenge right off the bat.”

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation will donate the collected toys to Hands of Hope for the Community to distribute as holiday presents to Middlesex County children in need later this month at Saint James Episcopal Church in Edison.

“This is the second year in a row that Hands of Hope is going to benefit from all the toys that are collected from all of these student bowlers from across our county and state who come out and supply these donations for our kids,” said Charlie Tomaro, president of Hands of Hope for the Community, referring to the 32 boys and girls teams who competed in the tournament.

“We’ll probably have about 250 to 300 kids come out on Dec. 21 and each will receive three or four toys apiece. And as they are walking out the door with their toys they are smiling like crazy.”

Tomaro said he recently spoke with a mother who was concerned about being able to provide presents for her children this holiday season.

“She said to me that she didn’t know what she was going to do for toys for her kids this year and she started crying,” Tomaro said. “I said we are going to take care of that.”

Since its inception, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation and Hands of Hope for the Community, which operates out of St. James Episcopal Church in Edison and whose mission includes alleviating food insecurity throughout Middlesex County, have enjoyed a longstanding partnership.

Earlier this year, Hands of Hope for the Community recognized The Marisa Tufaro Foundation for its “dedicated efforts in fostering positive change within the community” as the honoree of its annual Tee Off Against Hunger.

The Edison Chamber of Commerce named The Marisa Tufaro Foundation its 2024 Organization of the Year, while the YMCA of Metuchen-Edison-Woodbridge-South Amboy presented the nonprofit with its prestigious Barnes Community Champion Award last year.

Established in its namesake’s loving memory seven years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated more than $350,000 to fulfill its mission.

The nonprofit has also spearheaded multiple initiatives resulting in the collection of thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter coats, baby supplies, and other items for donation upon which it has placed no monetary value.

In addition, the foundation has awarded 46 scholarships totaling $33,000 in Marisa’s name to high school seniors and sent 27 elementary and middle school students to a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Museum.

Born with a complex cardiac defect, Marisa Tufaro lived with a medical condition that restricted her from some physical activity, but never prevented her from bowling.

Marisa, who died in 2017 at the age of 13 from a rare form of cancer following six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant, enjoyed her time at Stelton Lanes in Piscataway and at Milford Lanes in Delaware during family vacations.

Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and attending hundreds of doctors’ appointments, Marisa was an Edison Township Public Schools honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities.

She is the inspiration behind the Marisa Tufaro Classic, which Small founded in 2018.

“Amanda wanted to offer another option for a holiday tournament to kick off the year, and she came up with the idea to host one in Woodbridge Township to benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation,” Woodbridge athletics director Joe Ward said. “We were 100 percent on board when she brought the idea to us. Amanda is hard-working and dedicated to the sport of bowling. She’s always looking to assist the school and the community in any way she can, and I think this is a great example of that.”

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation is eternally grateful for the support it has received from Woodbridge High School and the entire scholastic bowling community.

South Brunswick, Old Bridge, J.P. Stevens, Sayreville, Edison, South Plainfield, Carteret, and East Brunswick joined Woodbridge and Monroe as representatives of the Greater Middlesex Conference competing in the Marisa Tufaro Classic.

“We’ve been blessed beyond words with amazing support from so many people,” said Marisa’s mother, Cyndi Tufaro, who is also the foundation’s executive director.

“Our nonprofit doesn’t take a second donated or a penny raised for granted. The kindness and generosity of Woodbridge and the entire high school bowling community has been extraordinary.

“We hope their benevolence is exponentially returned.”