In what proved to be the highest scoring event of the season so far, John Essenmacher III (Richmond, MI) and Felicia Goll (St Clair Shores, MI) top the field in the 2nd Annual Greater Chesterfield Open at Salt River Lanes in Chesterfield, Michigan.

With the field average for the two days of competition at a stellar 189, the event by far surpassed our previous high from Royal Scot Lanes in Lansing, Michigan. Twelve bowlers, including one female, out of the field of 81 that showed up to compete averaged 200 or better for the two days of competition. This also surpassed any field we have had this season since our previous high was 7 bowlers over a 200 average.

Let’s not take anything away from our bowlers though, they all bowled well and there were a number of close calls at a 300 game this weekend. Bobby Bures (Mentor, Ohio) led the way for the boys with a 290 game and Josh Jablonski (Sterling Heights, MI) rolled a pair of 289 games in qualifying on Saturday. As a result, in order to make the top 16 field for match play on Sunday, the boys needed to average at least 198 to make the cut.

On Sunday the scores continued to be on a torrid pace and there was a lot of bumping and shifting of positions throughout the morning. As the dust settle on the ladies side, Goll passed Kristy Kerr (Bay City, MI) for the top spot on the very last game as she rolled a 246. Joining Goll and Kerr in the stepladder finals were Jennifer Guertin (Milford, MI) and Bethan McGeary (New Kensington, PA) who squared off in the first match. Guertin struggled to throw strikes and back-to-back opens in the 3rd and 4th frames opened the door for McGeary to advance to the semi-finals in a 199-160 victory.

In the semi-finals it was Kerr finding the stroke she seemed to loose in the last match play game as she threw nine strikes while McGeary found too many splits as Kerr advanced to the finals with a 236-144 win. In the finals, Kerr started out strong while Goll saw two splits in the first four frames. However, Kerr also found two splits, one late in the game in the eighth frame that drew the match even. Goll stepped up in the tenth needing the first two strikes to win the title and she delivered as she won the match 196-190 for her second MJMA title.

The boy’s also had their share of excitement as the top five step ladder finalists were not decided until the 20th game. Essenmacher III held on to his top spot by only a single pins as a hard charging Brian McMahon (Saginaw, MI) rolled 1228 for his final five games to nearly pass Essenmacher III. Rounding out the top five were Chris Creeks (Zelienople, PA), Ryan Fuller (Rochester Hill, MI) and Adam Jablonski (Sterling Heights, MI).

In the first match Jablonski started strong with three straight strikes to open up a slight lead and when Fuller sandwiched a split in between three strikes, that gave Jablonski all he needed as he bowled a clean game in a 209-191 win. Jablonski next matched up against Creeks who started with the first four strikes to put Jablonski in an early hole. Jablonski though stayed tough and fought back with a three bagger of his own but Creeks continued to throw good shots and won the match 217-204. In the semi-finals, Creeks matched up against McMahon who was the hottest bowler entering the finals. McMahon opened in the second frame but three strikes behind that to keep the match close but Creeks had found a target and after two spares to start the match he strung the next eight strikes to win the match 268-195 and advance to the finals.

Essenmacher III was waiting for Creeks in the finals and he showed why he had led the tournament the whole weekend as he started with a double to put Creeks, who opened in the first frame, in an early hole. Creeks though recovered from that open frame to spare in the second and then strung the next 6 strikes to keep the match close. The problem for Creeks was that Essenmacher III was keeping pace with his own striking ability as he threw eight of the first nine. When Creeks failed to strike in the ninth frame and Essenmacher III did, that gave the title to Essenmacher III, his first MJMA title, 265 – 235.

We also awarded two Junior Gold spots for this event and they went to Jessica Guertin (Milford, MI) and John Essenmacher III. Each bowler now has an entry into the national event being held in the Metropolitan Detroit area in July. To date we have awarded 18 spots for that event on over the next few events we will be awarding at least six more spots. MJMA will be represented very well at the national event as we have already qualified 66 of our members for the event.

We were also able to award over $3,000.00 in scholarships again this weekend which brings our yearly total to over $36,000.00. This would not be possible without the dedication of Alro Steel, our presenting sponsor again this year. The involvement of the Glick family and all the people at Alro Steel has meant a lot to all of us in MJMA and we are looking forward to many more years of working together.

Our next event will be in Taylor, Michigan at Taylor Lanes on March 8th and 9th. Last year we had the largest field ever in an MJMA event as 150 bowlers participated and we are looking forward to the same kind of turnout. Get those entries in early and remember it is an 11AM start. This is also a double points event so those in the hunt for the Rookie-of-the-Year and Bowler-of-the-Year awards need to make sure your entries are in so you don’t get locked out. A list of entries received will be posted on here the website.

If you have any questions regarding the Alro Steel – MJMA organization or any of our upcoming events please contact Jerry Tarabek.