GOLDEN PIN LANES

champs Matthew Garrett & Kyle Perry with Dawson Reese; Kristy Mace

        Two talented bowlers earned their first JBT titles in dramatic JBT Arizona Conference action at the historic Golden Pin Lanes in Tucson.

        The scratch division was dominated by Matthew Garrett, something he's never done in JBT events before.  After easily gaining the #1 seed in qualifying, he enjoyed a bye then beat Josh Mabry in matchplay to reach the title game.  He'd face off against fellow Tucsonan Bryan Van Sickle, who also had a bye, then got revenge against Harley Sweigart, who beat him for the previous day's title, to reach the final.

        Van Sickle's well documented search for his first singles title might have appeared near its end on paper as Garrett may have been the most untested opponent he's faced, but Matthew's brilliant bowling continued in the finale.  He filled the frames on a tricky pattern, and his tenth frame spare locked up a 202-188 win and a well-earned first career JBT title.

        In the handicap division, drama abounded as Kyle Perry beat Silas Phillips 249-218 in one semifinal, while Dawson Reese stopped Keith Ylvisaker's attempt at a weekend sweep with a 223-208 win to set up a title match between two of the all-conference point leaders this season.

        Like Van Sickle, Perry has been oh-so-painfully close to winning a JBT title, and the pressure to finally break through was clearly mounting, even more so in the late frames of this one.  Both Kyle and Dawson were bowling great on a challenging pattern, but with a chance to lock it up, Perry left a 2-4-8 then inexplicably threw the spare attempt in the right gutter, utterly stunning him and giving Reese a chance to only mark to win.  However Reese's tenth frame effort left a 4-6-7, and when the miracle spare didn't occur, a relieved and emotional Perry finally had his first career win by a topsy turvy 229-219 final score.

        Kristy Mace has been red-hot since her out-of-nowhere Main Event win, and it continued here with a 215-191 win over Stefanny Toala for the day's Priority Girls Scratch title.  Garrett's dream day concluded with a U17 win, as he blasted 258 to give Reese no chance in a tough spot for Dawson.   

        Thanks to the team at Golden Pin for another excellent hosting job.  Want in on all this fun for all ages and averages?  Just come on down to the next JBT event, it's that simple!