AMF Deer Valley Lanes

champs Kyle King & Marcella Magallanez

        Our winningest active bowler picked up yet another win, while a JBT rookie captured win #1, in exciting JBT Arizona Conference action at AMF Deer Valley Lanes.

        The handicap division had a welcome shot of new blood, as four of the five finalists were making their first top-five appearance.  The stepladder began with Cortez Schenck defeating Kody Dixon 209-208 in a thriller.  Schenck rode that momentum to a 249-206 win over Kayla Endicott.  Steven Acuff, the only repeat finalist in the field, then defeated Schenck 227-178 to advance to the title match.

        Top seed Marcella Magallanez had been near the top of the leaderboard all day long, finally gaining the top seed in game eight.  Acuff's route was more circuitous, having shot back-to-back 281 games to open the event, then falling down to fifth after game seven, only to find himself back in the title match.  Steven wanted to join his brother as JBT champs, but Marcella would have none of that, as she bowled an excellent game in her first title match for a 244-203 win and the title.

        The scratch division used our 'pba' format, with best 2-of-3 matches after a cut to the top 16.  Top seed Justin Givler led a JBT scratch event for the first time, and also avoided the #1 seed jinx with a 302 win over #16 Alexander Carpenter in his first match.  #2 Kevin Saunders and #3 Brandon Dunson also advanced, but #4 Jory Koizumi was an upset victim, losing 2-1 to #13 Kyle King.  

        In the round of eight, King edged #6 Aaron Foshie 2-1, Saunders swept #12 Joe Lewandowski, #9 Kylee Bonneville upset Givler 2-0, and in an all-Washington battle (oddly enough), #7 Jordan Plunkett defeated Dunson 2-0.  Now down to single matches, Kyle proved one 'e' was better that two this time, beating Kylee 234-198, while in a strike-fest, Saunders beat Plunkett 277-234.

        The title match was a true clash of the titans, with 46 titles and over $60,000-- yes, sixty thousand-- in career JBT earnings between them.  The match absolutely lived up to the hype, with great shotmaking from both players.  In the end, Saunders finished at 217, forcing King to strike to win- the exact same situation he was in- and failed at- just the day before.  Give a bowler of Kyle's talent a second chance, though, and he's likely to not repeat his error, and King shredded the rack for the strike and the win, the 35th title of his JBT career.

          Over $1,600 in scholarships were awarded to bowlers of all ages and averages.  Thanks to the whole crew at Deer Valley for hosting us.  Want in on all this fun and action?  Get yourself down to the next JBT event, it's as simple as that!   

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