Victoria HarrisTrent MitchellVictoria Ferris (Kalamazoo, MI) and Trent Mitchell (Cleveland Heights, OH) kicked off the 26th season of the Michigan Junior Masters Associations with wins at Lodge Lanes in Belleville, Michigan on August 6th. Bob oike and his staff always help get the season off on the right foot and this year we challenged the kids with the Junior Gold Orleans pattern from this past summers event.

This year we switched things up a bit from the traditional format for a one-day event as each match play round would now be a two-game totals to determine who would advance and who went home. Ferris, a five time champion, snuck into the the top eight girls after the eight game qualifying finishing in sixth place but now it was a new ball game. Ferris took advantage of her opportunity as she took out the #3 seed Mary Wells (Westerville, OH) in round one and 7th seed and last years Rookie of the Year, Andrea Teuber (Swartz Creek, MI) in round two to reach the finals. On the other side of the bracket, it was our #1 seed Samantha Johnson (Wyoming, MI) holding serve as she knocked out 8th seeded Sydney Brummett (Fort Wayne, IN) and 5th seed Cheyenne Long (Willis, MI) to set up a finals match against Ferris.

These two ladies had a total of nine titles between them going into the match and they showed why they are leaders in wins on the ladies side with a very spirited match. But in the end it was Ferris notching her sixth MJMA title knocking off Johnson 416-361 for the two-game set.

The guys had a very interesting match play as once we reached the second round, eight bowlers, it was going to be a first time winner since none of the final eight had a tournament win previously. Trent Mitchell qualified 16th and as happens in so many cases, he came in a took out the top qualifier, Jordan Foster (Lansing, MI) in the first round of match play. In fact only three of the higher seeded bowlers in the first round made it through to round two. Zach Brandt (Fremont, MI) was the highest seed left at #3 but he had a match up against the #6 seed Tylor Greene (Davison, MI). Greene had recently won the Northpoint tournament and was in prime condition for this event. Brandt however made it through to the semi-finals and sent Greene home when a solid 8-pin in the tenth cost Greene the match 416-414.

In the semi-finals it was the 7th seed Nicholas Cooper (Clarkston, MI) taking out Brandt while Mitchell was locking up his spot in the finals by defeating #12 seed Aaron Ohl (Ann Arbor, MI). The finals saqw Mitchell take control early and build a big lead but Cooper was not done and he started a comeback in game two but fell short and Mitchell earned his very first MJMA title 416-361.

In all, 102 bowlers participated in the season opening event and a nice field of 39 girls competed. We have been very fortunate to have the turn outs we have had and the girls field always seems to be getting bigger and better every year. Because of the nice turnout the scholarships awarded could amount to the area of $2,600.00. With the new rules in play this season for Michigan High School athletes, we won’t be able to determine the actually awards to those bowlers until the time of graduation. The rules do not effect any bowler already out of high school or coming in from other states or Canada to compete, at least not yet.

Our next event will in Clarkston, Michigan on August 28-29, 2011 at the center this all began 26 years ago, Cherry Hill Lanes North. Greg Gumbtow and everyone else at Cherry Hill Lanes North always allow us the chance to challenge the kids and this year will be no different. One thing that will be different wil be that we will not be running an Alumni event at Clarkston this year. The past few years we have tried to re-kindle the event that was so popular in the past but with the economic challenges today and the sparse turnouts we have received the last few years it was decided not to host an event this season. We hope all the Alumni will be able to attend the Adult –Junior event in January and we look forward to seeing everyone there in Lansing.

Please remember to get your entries in early as these early season event start filling up quickly. We look forward to seeing everyone in Clarkston at Cherry Hill Lanes North on Saturady, August 28th for qualifying starting at 11am. Match play and step-ladder finals will be on Sunday, August 29th beginning at 9am.

If you have any question please contact us at MJMA@WOWWAY.COM or by calling 616-780-2095.