The largest field in Alro Steel / Michigan Junior Master Association history converged on Taylor Lanes in Taylor, Michigan for the first time in our 21 year history. Erin Dobbins and the staff at Taylor Lanes were expecting a good sized field, I warned them, but no one expected 150 bowlers to show up to test their skills. The previous record for an Alro Steel / MJMA event was 127 bowlers so this turnout was amazing.

On the boy’s side, the scores were a little higher than what they have been in recent tournaments. At the end of qualifying there were 20 bowlers averaging over 200 for the eight game block and Brian McMahon (Saginaw, MI) was leading the field after shooting a fine 1747 for his block, John Kelley (Sterling Heights, MI) also shot well and was in second place with 1709. Day two saw the scoring pace drop a bit but the action certainly continued. At the end of match play, the top five bowlers advancing to the step-ladder finals consisted of 4 non-title holders and one 5-time champion.

Jon Schiller (Milford, MI) led the way with John Kelley, the 5-time champion, in second. Three other non-winners, David Lughermo (East Lansing, MI), Joel Klaas (North Street, MI) and Matt Anderson (Davisburg, MI), rounded out the top five. Anderson looked like he was ready to make a run all the way to the finals as he defeated Klaas 232-168 in the first match and then took out Lughermo 236-219 in a very exciting match to advance to the semi finals. However, the 5-time champion Kelley held firm and closed with a four-bagger in the ninth and tenth frames to oust Anderson 203-192 to advance to the finals match against Schiller.

In what proved to be one of the more exciting matches we have had in the finals, Schiller threw the two strikes he needed in the tenth frame to defeat Kelley 226-223 to win his very first Alro Steel / MJMA title. Schiller bowls for the Michigan State team so the $500.00 scholarship will help things out I am sure. Lughermo earned the Junior Gold spot for the boy’s for this event finishing one place better than Klaas who was also vying for the Junior Gold tournament spot.

The girls were no less exciting as three non-winners and one two-time champion ended up in the ladies’ step-ladder finals. Sara Litteral (Chesterfield, MI), a two-time MJMA winner, led the field with three non-winners, Felicia Goll (St. Clair Shores, MI), Jennifer Besana (Scarborough, Ont) and Addileen Pointer (Highland, MI), also joining Litteral in search of a title. Besana, who has made herself a regular in finals matches since joining MJMA faced off against Pointer who was making her first step-ladder appearance. Besana’s calm and determined style paid off as she won the first match over Pointer 196-168 to advance to the semi-finals.

In the semi-final match, Goll faced off against Besana for the right to face Litteral in the finals. Goll was coming off her win at the Michigan High School Singles Championships a couple of weeks earlier as she won the girls state title in Division II. She continued that roll as she shot a clean game and ousted Besana 205-177. The finals match was very close and was up for grabs but then Litteral left open frames in the 9th and 10th frames to open the door for Goll and she took full advantage of the opportunity and won her first Alro Steel / MJMA title with a 198-182 victory. Emily Bowers (Milford, MI) was the Junior Gold recipient for this event on the girl’s side and she will now represent Alro Steel / MJMA in Buffalo, NY in July.

I want to thank all the people at Taylor Lanes for their cooperation and how hard they worked to make sure the large field we had there was taken care of. This was our first time in Taylor and I hope not our last. With the kind of enthusiasm that revolves around the Taylor, Michigan area for bowling we should see large fields like this one every year we return. Thank you again Erin Dobbins and all the folks at Taylor Lanes for a very successful event.

Our next Alro Steel / MJMA event will be back at a very familiar center, Galaxy Lanes in Grand Blanc, Michigan on April 27th and 28th. Ken Hochstein and the staff at Galaxy Lanes have always been gracious hosts and this year, Ken said we have the oil machine for the lanes and you know what that means boys and girls. The event will start at 11:00 AM so check in will begin at 9:30AM or earlier depending on the size of the field. We are limited to 120 bowlers for this event; I can’t believe I even have to put that in writing, so please make sure entries are in as early as possible.

We look forward to seeing our friends at Galaxy Lanes and look forward to seeing you on March 27th and 28th for the 16th Annual Greater Grand Blanc Open. For more information please call Jerry Tarabek at 616-780-2095.