Bethan McGeary, New Kensington, PA, continues to assert her presence this season in the Alro Steel – MJMA with her second win of the season. Bethan missed the first event in Belleville but since her return, she has won both events she has bowled in. Jimmy Cook, Indianapolis, IN, was a first time winner in his very first MJMA event. This makes two bowlers who have won in their very first events this season, Kyle Barnes, Smyrna, TN, won in Clarkston in our last event.

I want to thank John Kaashoek, Nathan Adams, Bill Dedoe and Wes Gibson who picked to slack since I was not there in Sturgis and ran a very successful event. 89 bowlers arrived at AMF Sturgis Lanes to test their skills on the “tough” lane conditions that have traditionally faced them here. However, a little surprise awaited as the scoring pace was definitely much higher than our first two events of the season. Christopher Creeks, Zelienople, PA, set the pace as he led the boy’s qualifying field with a fine 1817 for his 8 games, averaging 227. We also saw the first 300 game of the year as Brian McMahon, Saginaw, MI, accomplished the feat during match play on Sunday.

McGeary qualified second behind Valerie Calberry, Brampton, Ont, and was still in second after match play behind out tournament leader Becky Sulligan, Greer, SC. Sulligan jumped up from third after her qualifying round by averaging nearly 218 in match play. In the first step ladder match Calberry, who ended up third after match play, faced off against Nicole Burke, a hometown Sturgis product. Home field advantage was not enough however as Calberry doubled in the tenth to win the match 172-160. Calberry then matched up against McGeary in the semi-finals and was looking good to advance to the finals until she rolled a split in the tenth to allow McGeary to pull out the match 191-180 and advance to her second straight tournament finals. McGeary started strong with a double and when Sulligan opened in the 2nd and 3rd frames, McGeary pulled ahead to stay and win 232-156. It was the 5th MJMA title for McGeary and the second time she has won back-to-back titles in her MJMA career.

The boy’s side was just as exciting as a number of bowlers made runs at making the top five for stepladders. The biggest move was made by Jonathan Schiller, Milford, MI, as he jumped from 10th place after qualifying to third after match play by going 9-3-0 in match play. Joining Schiller in the stepladders was Jimmy Cook, Indianapolis, IN, Creeks, John Kaashoek, Jenison, MI, and Bobby Bures, Mentor, OH.
Kaashoek faced Bures in the first match and Kaashoek struck five straight times to pull away with the win 257-208. In the second match though Kaashoek found the going a bit more difficult as he opened in 4 of the first 5 frames while Schiller threw a clean game and made his way into the semi-finals with a 218-159 victory. Creeks was waiting for Schiller and both bowlers started out hot with four and five baggers dotting the score sheet but Creeks managed to get the job done and move into the finals with a 233-211 win. Cook, bowling in his very first event, and Creeks kept trading leads back and forth throughout the match but when Creeks opened in the ninth and tenth, Cook earned his first MJMA title winning the match 204-171.

The event awarded over $2,800.00 in scholarships which brings our yearly total to over $10,000, this money has been distributed to 54 different bowlers this season. Our presenting sponsor, Alro Steel, is a large reason for our ability to award these scholarships and we want to thank them for their continued support over the years. New sponsors like Brunswick have added a new dimension for us to collect scholarship money as they allow us the opportunity to raffle off new bowling balls at each event to add to the scholarships we can award at those events. To date the bowling ball raffles have contributed nearly $900.00 in just three events.

Our next event is at Eastland Bowl in Kalamazoo, Michigan on October 20th and 21st. Tom DeYoung and the staff at Eastland have been great hosts over the past few years and we are looking forward to two challenging days of competition next month. This event is limited to the first 96 bowlers again as we had in Sturgis so it is imperative that your entries get in early so you do not miss out on the chance to earn a title and the scholarship money we will be awarding.

If you have questions regarding the upcoming event, please contact Jerry Tarabek at jtar2830@yahoo.com or by calling (616) 780-2095. We look forward to seeing everyone in Kalamazoo!