NM-TX INVITATIONAL

champs William Haverland & Mike Romero

William Haverland and Mike Romero picked up a cool $1,000 scholarship each as champions of the JBT's NM-TX Conference Invitational Tournament, held at Santa Ana Star Casino's Starlight Lanes.

Robyn Ashley led the difficult 10-game qualifier, but quickly was eliminated in the triple-elimination matchplay.  After five grueling rounds, eight bowlers remained, including top two seeds Andy Byer and Bill Grant, undefeated #11 Tom Anderson, always dangerous #7 Steven Black, and last chance winner #16 Christopher Yoshimura.  In round six, Haverland handed Anderson his first loss, Grant handed #10 Justin De Dera his second loss, Byer eliminated Black, and #5 Justin Medina eliminated Yoshimura.

In round seven, Medina eliminated Byer 213-168, Haverland eliminated DeDera 278-226, and Anderson eliminated Grant 226-201.  With three bowlers now remaining, Medina got a valuable bye, while Haverland dismissed Anderson 235-193, setting up a title match sitiation where Medina had to beat Haverland twice for the title.

Justin was up to the challenge in match one, coming from behind for a 179-167 win in a low scoring battle.  In the finale, more nerves were evident, but Haverland was able to put it together in the end for a 193-173 win and his 4th career JBT title.

Christa Harvey was the handicap division leader in the qualifying round, but also suffered an early exit in the triple-elimination matchplay.  Seven bowlers remained after round five, including top seed Ashley Belden, #2 Charlie Elliott, #3 Sara Vargas, and #5 Janeyl Carper.  In that round, Vargas enjoyed the bye, while #13 Sabrina Vargas eliminated #15 Ahkeen Williams, Elliott eliminated Carper, and #9 Romero gave Belden her second loss.

In the next round, Romero got a much-needed bye, Elliott eliminated Sabrina 209-195, and Ashley Belden stayed alive by stringing the first nine strikes for a 288-202 elimination of Sara Vargas.

With three bowlers left, Belden got a very rare second bye, while Romero and Elliott squared off in a semifinal game, which was won by Mike by a 218-206 margin, setting up a one-game title match against Belden.

Romero had had a decent but certainly not spectacular season with us, but put it all together at the Invitational, and had enough left in the tank to defeat Belden 228-193 for his first JBT title.

Thanks to Jerry Bradley, Margaret Sanchez, and everyone at Starlight Lanes for an absolutely fantastic job hosting this great event.  82 qualifiers shared in an enormous $7,495 in scholarships awarded at the event.    The top 15 in our season-long points after this event now qualify for the Touring Players Championship, featuring a $2,000 first place scholarship.  We'll see everyone else in September if not sooner for the start of season 11! 

NM-TX Invitational- final results and optional scholarship winners
6/10/2006      
New Mexico-Texas Conference    
     
Scratch Division    
rank name city, state prize
1 William Haverland Round Rock, TX $1,010
2 Justin Medina Santa Fe, NM $550
3 Tom Anderson Chandler, AZ $250
4 Andy Byer Albuquerque, NM $310
5 Bill Grant Rio Rancho, NM $200
6 Justin DeDera Albuquerque, NM $80
7 Steven Black Phoenix, AZ $385
8 Christopher Yoshimura Lakewood, CO $60
9 Stephen Gaucin El Paso, TX $115
10 Jerod Florez Bosque Farms, NM $65
11 Shane Peck Riverside, CA $95
12 Jeremy Medina Santa Fe, NM $130
13 BJ Eichensehr El Paso, TX $50
14 Geoffrey Young Denton, TX $80
15 Robyn Ashley Farmington, NM $110
16 Sam Cuevas Lubbock, TX $50
17 BJ Baker Tempe, AZ $105
18 Brian Collier Amarillo, TX $30
19 Dan Romero Santa Fe, NM  
20 Cody Mansfield Albuquerque, NM  
21 William Entsminger El Paso, TX  
22 Christian Jensen Anthem, AZ  
23 Matt Snyder Amarillo, TX $15
24 Christina Waldron Albuquerque, NM  
25 Josh Arceo Albuquerque, NM  
     
Handicap Division    
rank name city, state prize
1 Mike Romero Santa Fe, NM $1,045
2 Ashley Belden Tijeras, NM $650
3 Charlie Elliott Santa Fe, NM $400
4 Sara Vargas Albuquerque, NM $330
5 Sabrina Vargas Albuquerque, NM $200
6 Janeyl; Carper Rio Rancho, NM $200
7 Ahkeen Williams Las Cruces, NM $145
8 Jordan Oppenheim Rio Rancho, NM $75
9 Wendy Shelton Albuquerque, NM $80
10 Jeremy Baca Albuquerque, NM $110
11 Kyla Casaus Roswell, NM $50
12 Christa Harvey Las Cruces, NM $50
13 Jerrico Palma Roswell, NM $50
14 Kalani Kaula Albuquerque, NM $140
15 DeeDee Harvey Las Cruces, NM $50
16 Jessica Palma Albuquerque, NM $95
17 Miranda Ruiz Roswell, NM  
18 Ryan Scheer Rio Rancho, NM $15
19 Travis Turner Amarillo, TX  
20 Bethany Baker Tempe, AZ  
21 Nathan Hughes San Jose, NM $15
22 Kara Casuas Roswell, NM  
23 Debbie Jarzemba Santa Fe, NM  
24 Eric Kear Albuquerque, NM  
25 Paul Carper Rio Rancho, NM  
26 Tanner Palmer Amarillo, TX  
27 Annalicia Martinez Roswell, NM  
28 Kirsten Kelley Amarillo, TX $60
29 Amanda Johnson Rio Rancho, NM $30
30 Blake Brown Albuquerque, NM  
31 Victoria Baca Albuquerque, NM  
32 William Yoder Albuquerque, NM  
33 Zachary Barnard Albuquerque, NM  
34 Susan Kurzeka Albuquerque, NM $5
35 Thomas Gutierrez Albuquerque, NM  
36 Vincent Michel Albuquerque, NM  
37 Bailey McFarland El Paso, TX  
38 Kyle Gaines Espanola, NM  
39 Arielle Palma Roswell, NM  
40 Jonathan Frederick El Paso, TX  
41 Evaristo Baca Albuquerque, NM  
42 Eric Sanford Santa Fe, NM  
43 Amanda Jarzemba Santa Fe, NM  
44 Elizabeth Romero Santa Fe, NM  
45 Brianna Jaramillo Albuquerque, NM  
46 Rachel Thompson Albuquerque, NM  
47 Santiago Withers Albuquerque, NM  
48 Brandon Culp El Paso, TX  
49 Krista Casaus Roswell, NM  
50 Jamison Spam Rio Rancho, NM  
51 Justin Silva Albuquerque, NM  
52 Mark Mares Los Lunas, NM  
53 Anthony Tripi El Paso, TX $15
54 Carlos Mendez El Paso, TX  
55 Travis Gudelj Albuquerque, NM  
56 Darnelle Spears El Paso, TX  
57 Chris Fox Amarillo, TX  
     
 Ball Winner: Jamison Spam    
     
TOTAL AWARDED THIS EVENT: $7,495