Defending state champions Saint Joseph High School 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 32-team tournament will be held Saturday (Dec. 7) at Majestic Lanes in the Hopelawn section of Woodbridge beginning at 8:30 a.m.

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 well over a thousand 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 girls coach Bob Wetzel said. “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 will be conducted in a best-of-three team game format followed by a baker format best-of-five competition for the top four teams in each division to determine the boys and girls champions.

Awards will be presented to the team champions and runners-up in each division, as well as to the three bowlers with the highest individual game and the three bowlers who roll the highest series in each division.

Jim Gano of Crown Trophy in Flemington, who designed and gifted plaques for last year’s event, is once again generously donating awards for this year’s tournament.

The loaded field includes 10 teams – five boys and five girls – that are ranked among the Top 20 statewide, according to NJ.com bowling beat writer Chris Nalwasky’s preseason rankings.

The Saint Joseph boys and Howell girls are the defending Marisa Tufaro Classic Tournament champions. Both teams finished last season undefeated.

Saint Joseph expects to receive stiff competition from Woodbridge, Bergen Tech, Warren Hills, and Monroe, among others. Howell will receive challenges from Bergen Tech, Woodbridge, Monroe, and Union City among others.

“This is a good early litmus test to see where we are at,” said Saint Joseph coach Rusty Thomsen, who must replace graduated starters EJ Chin and Devon Kiessling. “This tournament is a good early-season challenge. We are expected to win but nothing is handed to you. You’ve got to go out there and earn it.”

Saint Joseph returns four starters including two-time defending state individual tournament champion Kai Strothers, who defeated a teammate in the stepladder finals each of the past two years. Also back are Will Cunningham, Josh Lamoreaux and Joey Lamoreaux.

Thomsen expects strong performances from junior Brian Burke and freshman Ethan Brucato, who have the potential to average around 200 before season’s end.

Winners of nine consecutive sectional titles, Saint Joseph set an NJSIAA record last season for highest series, knocking down 3,671 pins during a regular-season match against East Brunswick. The perennial power is coming off a ninth-place finish in a national tournament over the summer.

The Howell girls team returns five starters. They are Madison Lewis, Kayleigh Germadnig, Reilly Palmese, Sophia Raucher, and Colleen Stapleton. Raucher posted the high series (631) and high game (275) of last year’s Marisa Tufaro Classic. Junior Melissa Bascone will solidify Howell’s lineup.

“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.”

This year, the Marisa Tufaro Foundation will donate the collected toys to Hands of Hope for the Community to distribute as holiday presents to children in need. Since its inception, the foundation and Hands of Hope for the Community, which operates out of St. James Episcopal Church in Edison, have enjoyed a longstanding partnership.

Hands of Hope for the Community, whose mission includes alleviating food insecurity throughout Middlesex County, has long supported efforts to benefit The Marisa Tufaro Foundation. Earlier this year, Hands of Hope for the Community recognized the 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.

Since its inception in 2017, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated more than $350,000 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 and other items for donation upon which the nonprofit has placed no monetary value.

The foundation has also awarded $33,000 in scholarships 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 join 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.”

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