JBT's 1,000th Tournament

champs Kyle King & Alex Pellegrino

    Alex Pellegrino doubled his career title total in handicap, while perhaps the toughest scratch field in JBT history had perhaps the most appropriate bowler come through with the win, as the Junior Bowlers Tour celebrated the 1000th tournament in its 17-season history with a special event open to anyone who bowled any of the previous 999 tournaments, at Phoenix's AMF Christown Lanes.

    25-time champ Kris George opened the scratch division stepladder finals with a 239 winning score over two of the Tour's hottest current stars, ASU bowler Ben Canfield (162) and 13 year-old Cortez Schenck (195).  Match two was lower scoring, more indicative of the appropriately brutal lane pattern put out to challenge the field.  In that match, Craig Spencer, now director of the AHT/AST adult tournament club, tossed a 190 game that beat George (182) and Emily Ornelas (166), one of three females to make the semifinals on the day.  In the semifinals, 9-time champ Aaron Foshie put on a clinic from the deep, deeeeep inside line, blasting a 245 game to beat Spencer (176) and PBA superstar Michael Haugen Jr (206), and advance to the title match.

    Kyle King, recently awarded the #1 spot in our top 50 JBT bowlers of all time countdown, showed everyone why he earned that exalted spot, topping the 100 player field field full of PBA title winners, collegiate and Team USA stars, JBT champs with hundreds of combined titles, and one USBC President to boot.  The only place left for Kyle to play on the lane was the airspace over it, lofting the heads as he's proven to be comfortable doing.  Foshie stayed with him as long as he could, but his look finally deteriorated, and King's strike in the tenth punctuated a 184-165 win for the title, $1,000 payday, and the 60th-- that's right, 60th-- title for the undisputed King of our Tour!

    The handicap finals field was fully comprised of current JBT bowlers, and Kayla Goad kicked things off in round one with a 231 game that eliminated Andrew Dorsey (152) and Rachael Berg (191), who made her first finals with the great performance.  Goad was strong again in round two, as her 223 beat Dominic Luna (160) and phenomenal youngster Stacey Lamb (206).  In the semifinal, Kayla could not get past another Lamb, Stacey's equally phenomenal sister Ashley- but neither one could stop the red-hot Alexis Atkin, as her 205 game edged Kayla (193) and Lamb (194), advancing her to yet another title match.

    Top seed Alex Pellegrino, a long time Tour veteran, picked a great day to put on the best performance of his JBT career, leading the entire event to grab the number one spot.  Alex has had great success against Alexis in his JBT career, and that proved to be the case again here.  He won big, 233-197, to win the title, and $1,000 scholarship windfall, while both bowlers consolidate their positions atop the handicap point standings.

    Besides that terrific bowling, the event was a wonderful reunion of 1,000 tournaments worth of JBT bowlers from all 17 seasons, making it easily one of the most fun events we've ever been fortunate enough to run.  Big thanks to everyone who came to relive (or continue) the great times they had with us, and to all the helpers who made it a smooth event, not the least of which is Pat Cook and her staff at Christown, who has been with us literally since the beginning, and continues to be a great supporter and host of JBT events.

    Over $7,600 in scholarships and prizes were awarded to bowlers of all ages and averages.  Want in on the next 1,000 tournaments of JBT fun?  Check out our schedule and come on out to a JBT event soon, it's that simple!