SO CAL INVITATIONAL

champs Kris George & Kyli Selley

        Kris George and Kyli Selley earned $1,000 scholarships each as champions of the JBT Southern California Conference Invitational tournament, hosted by Parkway Bowl.

        Zach Hattori earned the top seed in the scratch division for the second consecutive day, but his 224 average was 30 pins lower than yesterday's 254 clip, indicative of the much tougher pattern put out for the major event.  Zach and 15 other bowlers advanced to the triple-elimination matchplay finals, and the top seeds fared very well, with Hattori, #2 Dan Hansen, #3 George, #4 Brandon Kraye, #5 James Hawkins, and #6 Jon Mamakos all surviving to round six.  In that round, #15 Mark Myers eliminated Mamakos, Kraye ousted #8 Brad Hansen, Dan Hansen handed George his first loss, and Hattori stayed alive by beating Hawkins (who had just fired a 300 game, joining Steven Manier as the only 300 rollers of the day).

        Now with six players left, Myers eliminated Kraye, Hattori gave George loss #2, and Hawkins gave Hansen loss #2.  This gave Hansen a bye, and he watched as Hattori eliminated Myers and George eliminated Hawkins (who also converted a 7-10 and an 8-10 in his eventful day).  With three players left, George got the much needed bye, while Hansen eliminated Hattori, setting up the title game.

        No Invitational ever has ever had the top three seeds finish in the top 3 before today, so it was no surprise that George and Hansen would put on a classic title match show.  In the end, George's 20-fill in the tenth meant Dan needed 29 pins in his tenth for the win.  Hansen has earned his 'Dirty Dan' nickname by being at his best in clutch situations, and he flushed the first hit.  However, his second ball went high and left a 6-8, giving George the thrilling 223-218 win and his second So Cal Invitational title.  The win, the 23rd of his stellar JBT career, moved him past Andrew Cain into fourth place on our all-time JBT title list.

        Vincent Nolan led the handicap division qualifying round to earn the top seed for the 16-bowler finals, but struggled in matchplay, opening up the top of the board for bowlers like #16 Brandon Turner and #15 Jacob Camacho, who both got through to round six before having to play each other, where Camacho eliminated Brandon. Eventually six finalists remained, in in that round, #14 KJ Martinez eliminated #11 Rane Lacona, #7 Selley eliminated #2 Luke Holley, and #4 Jake Francisco eliminated Camacho.   That left three bowlers, which gave Selley a valuable bye, and in that round she watched as Martinez gave Francisco his second loss.  Still with three remaining, this time KJ got the bye, and Selley eliminated Francisco, setting up a situation where KJ would have to beat Kyli twice for the title.

        KJ, a two-time JBT champ at just 11 years old, put up a great battle to get this far, but a determined Selley was focused on the win, and earned the championship with a 227-203 win in the first game.  What a way to win your first JBT title!

        A windfall of over $7,200 in scholarships were awarded to the talented field of qualifiers.  What an exciting conclusion to the So Cal season!  The top 20 point scorers now advance to the 2010 Touring Players Championship, and there's lots of other JBT action over the summer as well.  Want in on the fun?  Come on out to the next JBT event, it's that simple!