John Kaashoek of Jenison MI, and Joy Arrigo of Westerville OH, capped off the 27th Season of JTBA competition, taking home the titles in the 27th JTBA Championship Tournament, June 2-3 at Park Lanes in Mansfield OH. Special thanks go out to the staff at Park Lanes for all of their assistance both with the lane condition, and providing lunch for the bowlers on Saturday. We look forward to returning there in December for a regular season event.
Our 27th Championship proved to be a long test, as each of our qualifiers rolled 16 games of qualifying on Saturday. At the conclusion of that qualifying round, 12 boys, led by Tim Pfeifer, of Cranberry Twp PA at +52, and 5 girls, led by Bethan McGeary at advanced to 12 games of round robin match play on Sunday morning.

Following those 12 games, the fields were cut to 5 on each side for the stepladder finals. One the guys side, the finals kicked off with the 4 seed Bobby Bures taking on our number 5 qualifier Mark Mantle, with Bures earning a victory 216-205, and the right to advance to take on number 3 qualifier John Kaashoek. Kaashoek won that match up 196-164, to meet fellow Michigan State bowler Jon Schiller of Milford MI in the semi finals. Kaashoek would win yet again, this time 185-163 earning a place in the finals, and a shot at the $1000 first place scholarship. The final was a back and forth affair, with top seed Tim Pfeifer converting a difficult spare in the tenth frame, forcing Kaashoek to double in the tenth. He calmly did, earning his first career JTBA title in dramatic fashion, earning a $1000 scholarship. Pfeifer took home $500 for second, Schiller $400, Bures $325, and Mantle $250.

On the ladies side, it was #5 qualifier Alyshia John of Wadsworth OH, who marched her way up the stepladder with victories over Pamela Gorny (180-165) and Jessica Fleck (212-157). In the semi-final match, our number 2 seed Bethan McGeary was victorious with a 219-158 win over John. In the finals however, our number 1 qualifier Joy Arrigo was not to be denied, and took home the 177-160 victory, and her second JTBA title.

At the championship event, we also took time to honor our season long award winners. Chris Creeks of Zelienople PA, and Jessica Fleck took home Bowler of the Year honors, while Richard Galya Jr. of North Braddock PA, and Joy Arrigo claimed Rookie of the Year titles. Our high average awards for the season went to Tim Pfeifer and Jessica Fleck. Additionally, the membership voted on the Sportsmanship Awards, which were won by John Kaashoek and Jessica Baker.

Thanks to everyone who made the 2006-2007 JTBA Season a success. Special thanks to Julie DiLucia who has assisted us over the last two seasons, and will be leaving us this year. Additionally, thanks to Randy Hart for his assistance with lane patterns all season, ensuring that our events were held of competitive lane conditions, designed to prepare our members for college bowling, as well as the adult ranks. We hope that all of you will be back to join us for our 28th Season, starting August 5th at Varsity Lanes in Bowling Green, where Jay Young and staff will be contributing an additional $1000 dollars to the prize fund. This will be the first of several sponsored events we have lined up for next season. For those of you moving up to the adult ranks, either by choice or by age, we wish you well, and hope that you have enjoyed your time with us.