The 1st Annual JTBA Isaly’s Pittsburgh Masters got off to a snowy start, as bowlers braved the elements to get to Nesbit’s Lanes for the inaugural event. In all 42 made it to Pittsburgh, where their skills were tested against Kegel’s 40 foot “Highway to Hell” oil pattern. Special thanks go out to the folks at Isaly’s for their support of this event, as well as Bravo Pizza and Weber Insurance Group. Additionally, a HUGE thank you goes out to Rich Nesbit for a great job hosting, and his continued support for youth bowling, as well as competitive bowling in general. Adam Ferri with Host Rich Nesbit

As the morning began, only 2 bowlers were able to solve the tricky conditions, with Wichita States Adam Ferri, at home on Holiday Break, going 83 over to lead the qualifier over another college student at home for the holidays, Penn State’s Richard Galya. On the ladies side, Trafford PA’s Katherine Shumaker led the field at a score of -71 over Fremont OH’s Heidi Sanders.

On a weekend where the NFL Playoffs saw both of the number 1 seeds fall in the Divisional Round, our number 1 seeds both marched to victory. Ferri would defeat Michael Jacobs of Canton MI 209-192 in the semi-final round, moving on to meet fellow Wichita State student, and good friend Chris Bolam in the final, who had advanced by defeating JTBA Champion Bobby Bures 202-178. The final however was all Ferri as he cruised to 199-148 win, and then set off on the long drive back to Wichita State with Bolam.

Shumaker also marched her way to the final, defeating Chrissy Benson 2-1 in the semi-final. In the final she would meet Wright State’s Kristen Keenan, who she would defeat 199-194 in a close match to take home the title.

We’d like to thank everyone for coming out to Pittsburgh to support this event. It was good to see many faces from the Pittsburgh area excited to come out and bowl. We hope to grow this event in the future, and look forward to next year already.Katherine Shumaker with Host Rich Nesbit

Additionally, we will be running another “Out of Ohio” event on February 1st at Emerson Lanes in Parkersburg WV. Emerson is contributing to the scholarship fund for that event as well, so come on out and try to win some “scholardollars!”