The 21st Alro Steel – Michigan Junior Masters Association season ended this past Sunday with the step ladder finals of the Daniel C. Ottman Memorial Championships at Monroe Sport Center. The Held family once again proved to be a very gracious host and even though the scoring was a bit higher than anticipated, the excitement was still there all through the weekend. After 18 games of qualifying and two rounds of match play for both the girls and the guys, nine bowlers awaited their opportunity to claim this year’s title and their “Eagle”.

The ladies side saw three title holders in Jennifer Churchill (Windsor, Ont), Sarah Jaeger (Highland, MI) and Felicia Goll (St Clair Shores, MI) in the final four along with Valerie Calberry (Brampton, Ont) who was looking for her first MJMA title. In the first match Jaeger and Goll were back and forth the whole way but Jaeger threw 2 strikes in the tenth frame to lock up the win 185-175. Jaeger next faced off against Calberry who had made an impressive run in her first Monroe event. Calberry continued with that impressive performance as she closed the game throwing the final eight strikes to win easily 248-169. In the all Canadian final, it was the girls Bowler of the Year, Churchill, facing the girls Rookie of the Year, Calberry. Calberry continued her onslaught as she started with the first three strikes, making that 11 straight, and closed out the championship with a 205-168 win, her first MJMA title.

The guy’s had just as much excitement, starting with the very first match. Kevin Black (Port Clinton, OH) faced off against John Kaashoek (Jenison, MI) in a battle of adult board members sons. In a match that was back and forth the whole way it was Black throwing a strike on his fill ball in the tenth to seal the win 224-221. Black next faced three-time title holder Jesse Hojnacki (Port Huron, MI) and back and forth we went again until the tenth when Black opened and Hojnacki doubled to win the match 196-179. In the semi-finals, Junior Team USA member Tim Pfeifer (Cranberry Twp., PA) was waiting for Hojnacki but Hojnacki continued his climb to the finals with a 214-190 victory. In the finals, Ryan Van Hecke (Sterling Hts., MI) who was the top seed was waiting for his Junior Doubles partner from January. Hojnacki was not to be denied though as he started the assault early and kept up the pressure to win his first singles title 226-182.

Scholarship money was awarded to all the bowlers who made it to the match-play portion of the tournament and the step-ladder finalists earned their share of the scholarships. For her win, Calberry received $1,250.00, Churchill $600.00 for second, Jaeger $500.00 for third and Goll took home $400.00 for fourth. On the guys side Hojnacki earned $2,500.00 while Van Hecke took $1500.00, Pfeifer $1250.00, Black $1000.00 and Kaashoek $900.00 for their second through fifth place finishes.

Along with the Championship tournament scholarships there were a number of year end awards also given out. The Ottman Memorial Scholarship Award was presented to John Kaashoek and Sara Litteral (Chesterfield, MI) who each received a $1,000.00 scholarship. John Kelley (Sterling Heights, MI) and Jenifer Churchill each earned $400.00 scholarships for being named the Bowler of the Year, sponsored by Pro-Am Bowling and Trophy. For Kelley it is back to back seasons for the award and Churchill earned the award for the second time in three years. The Morrell Inc. Rookie of the Year honors went to Chris Creeks (Zelienople, PA) and Valerie Calberry who each took home a $300.00 scholarship. The Brunswick High Average award and the $100.00 scholarships went to Tim Pfeifer and Jennifer Churchill.

One award that the bowlers themselves vote on is the Ottman Sportsmanship award. This year 19 guys and 9 girls received votes and this years winners of the $100.00 scholarships were Jennifer Churchill, back to back seasons, and Ben Galloway (Moon Twp., PA).

In all, we awarded nearly $21,000.00 over the weekend which took our season awards over $60,000.00 for the very first time in our history. Over the course of our 21 seasons, we have now awarded over $600,000.00 in scholarship money to our members. This would not be possible without the dedication of our presenting sponsor Alro Steel. The Glick family has continued to support the organization all these years and we look forward to their support for years to come so we can continue to offer these kinds of scholarship dollars to our youth bowlers.

One award that has no scholarships attached to it is the Cass Sicilia Memorial Service Award. This is given to a person / persons who have gone above and beyond to help the organization continue to proper. This year’s recipient was Bob Black who after the death of Dan Ottman help lead the Board of Directors with his tournament director experience and helped with bringing Dyno-Thane as a sponsor to the organization. Black will be stepping down from his post on the board this year to focus on his obligations in Ohio as a college and high school coach. He will certainly be missed but his contributions to the organization will be felt for many years to come.

With each ending comes a new beginning and we are looking forward to our 22nd season as we will kick off at Lodge Lanes on August 4th. Information packets will be mailed out to the membership soon.