BRC DESERT SKY

champs Labriel Leach & KJ Martinez

       Labriel Leach and KJ Martinez, both already having a terrific 2010, added another title each to their great runs, in exciting JBT Arizona Conference action at BRC Desert Sky.

      The scratch division used our nervewracker format, where after a cut to the top 16 bowlers, 2-game matches were bowled, with bowlers going to a one-shot tiebreaker if matches are tied 1-1.  Aaron Foshie had a fantastic qualifying round to easily gain the #1 seed, but the top seed jinx was at it again, as #16 Rebeca Reguero ousted Aaron 2-0.  #2 seed Mark Myers survived over #15 Jay Girkin, and the only match to go to an extended tiebreaker was #6 Mark Curtis and #11 Jimmy Hefley, with Hefley winning it 10-9 on the second ball.

        Round two featured four sweeps: Reguero ousting #8 Jeff Williams 2-0, #12 Leach beating Myers, #3 Matt Herbert over #10 Zach Martinez, and Hefley over #4 Joe Lewandowski.  In the semiifnals, Hefley swept Reguero, while Leach and Herbert went to a tiebreaker, which Labriel won 9-6 to reach the title match.

        Leach won his first two titles since 2006 in the last two months, and was able to add a third to his recent streak with a 2-0 sweep over Hefley.  It's the 7th win of the veteran Leach's career, jumping him up to 25th on our all-time titles list.

        7 year-old Ryan Zent opened up the stepladder finals with a big 261-214 win over Zach Friend, who won last month at Prescott Valley.  Steven Acuff then looked to have Zent defeated in round two, but late opens from Steven and a strong finish from Ryan resulted in a 194-186 comeback win for Ryan.  That win may have helped spark a 233-212 win for Zent over Jacob Potts in the semifinal, advancing Ryan to the title match.

        Top seed KJ Martinez, the 'old man' of the title match at age 11, used a big semifinals to vault into the lead.  He remained in control the entire title match, as Zent finally showed some understandable signs of tiring out a little.  In the end, Martinez claimed his second career JBT title with a 234-188 victory.

        Savannah Carr and Michael Owens picked up $25 scholarships as winners of the Impact Challenge, presented by Impact Pro Shop, located at 99th Ave and Bell Road in Phoenix.  Stop by and say thanks!

          Over $1,500 in scholarships were awarded to bowlers of all averages.  There's still time to get in on the fun and excitement of JBT this season!  Check out our schedule and come on out to the next JBT event, it's that simple!