Three-time defending state champions Saint Joseph of Metuchen and Howell headline a deep and talented field of boys and girls high school bowling teams that will compete in the Marisa Tufaro Classic.
Proceeds from the event, at which bowlers and their coaches are invited to donate 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.
The 35-team tournament will be held Saturday (Dec. 6) at Majestic Lanes in the Hopelawn section of Woodbridge beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The wildly successful event, which Amanda Small of Woodbridge founded and continues to run with support from her high school and school district, fundraised nearly $10,000 and generated well over a thousand toys for donation its first four years.
“The kids competing in this tournament are not only great bowlers, they are great young men and women,” Howell girls coach Bob Wetzel previously stated. “They understand how lucky they are with everything they have in their lives and they want to give back.”
A list of recommended toys for donation can be found at the bottom of this story. Monetary donations for the purchase of toys are also being accepted online.
The tournament format will consist of three traditional team games. The girls and boys team with the highest total pinfall in each division will be crowned tournament champions.
Awards will be presented to the team champions and team runners-up and team third-place finishers in each division, as well as to the three girls and boys bowlers with the highest individual game and the three girls and boys bowlers who roll the highest series in each division.
Jim Gano of Crown Trophy in Flemington, who designed and gifted plaques for the last two tournaments, is once again generously donating awards for this year’s event.
The loaded field includes 11 teams – six boys and five girls – that are ranked among the Top 20 statewide, according to NJ.com bowling beat writer Steven Bassin’s preseason rankings.
The Howell girls and boys are the defending Marisa Tufaro Classic Tournament champions.
The Howell girls, who graduation has depleted, posted an unblemished 20-0 record last season during which they won 10 tournaments including a third consecutive Group IV crown.
The Howell boys completed a Cinderella 2024-25 campaign with a South Group IV title. They return their entire starting lineup including Paul Lampe (203) and Jayden Straus (195).
Saint Joseph, the runner-up in last year’s Marisa Tufaro Classic, enters this year’s event as the boys favorite.
The Falcons are expected to receive stiff competition from Woodbridge (the lone team to defeat Saint Joseph in the past three years), Bergen Tech, Howell, Bayonne, and Monroe, among others.
Saint Joseph compiled a 20-1 record last season that included winning the Central Jersey Group III crown and the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division championship.
The Falcons return every member from the 2024-25 team including first-team All-State selections Will Cunningham and Kai Strothers, who boasted a 235 average including a perfect game and an 800 series.
Cunningham led the state with a 239 average, which included two perfect games and two 800 series. He won a second consecutive Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament individual title and finished runner-up for the second straight year in the NJSIAA Individual Tournament.
Josh Lamoreaux earned third-team All-State honors, posting a 218 average including a high game of 299. He placed third in the conference tournament and among the Top 10 in the state individual tournament.
Joey Lamoreaux and Brian Burke, who averaged 204 and 196, respectively, were among Saint Joseph’s top five bowlers.
Defending Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Tournament champion Woodbridge, which also won a second straight sectional title last year, returns four of its top five bowlers including Michael Gurovich (216), Ryan Montalvo (212), Glenn Mohr (200), and Anthony Lyczkowski (196).
On the girls side, Brick, Bergen Tech and Manchester appear to be the Marisa Tufaro Classic favorites, with New Egypt, Monroe and others expected to challenge for the title.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation will distribute all of the new and unwrapped toys collected on the day of the event to pediatric patients at Hackensack Meridian JFK University Medical Center and children in need who Hands of Hope for the Community serves this holiday season.
Toys donated to the hospital will meet the needs of pediatric inpatients and visitors to the hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department, who can benefit at any time from a diversion to help cope with the anxiety and pain that can accompany treatments, medical procedures, and extended admissions.
Toys donated to Hands of Hope for the Community will be distributed as holiday presents to Middlesex County children in need during an event later this month at Saint James Episcopal Church in Edison.
Since its inception in 2017, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated more than $400,000 to fulfill its mission.
In addition, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has spearheaded numerous community initiatives resulting in the collection of thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, baby supplies, winter jackets, school supplies, children’s books, and other items for donation upon which the nonprofit has placed no monetary value.
The foundation has also awarded $36,500 in scholarships to high school seniors and sent 31 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.
J.P. Stevens, South Plainfield, Edison, South Brunswick, Old Bridge, East Brunswick, South River, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Carteret will join Woodbridge, Monroe and Saint Joseph 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.”
RECOMMENDED NEW AND UNWRAPPED TOYS FOR DONATION
Infant toys (toys that make noise, light up)
Infant mobiles, crib mirrors, crib music players
Toddler playsets (such as Little People)
Barbie, princesses, baby dolls
Play-Doh/Model Magic and tools
Arts and craft supplies, coloring books, crayons, and markers
Lego, Mega Bloks, K’NEX playsets
Matchbox, Hot Wheels cars and playsets
Uno cards, playing cards, other card games
Children’s books (hardcover or paperback)
Board books for babies
Books for young teens and teens
Board games
Action figures (non-violent)
Puzzles (25 to 100 pieces)
Electronic learning toys
Hand-held video games
Sports equipment (basketballs, football, soccer balls)
Educational games