PACIFIC NORTHWEST INVITATIONAL

champs Josh Jackson & Zane Hays (center), flanked by runners-up Patrick Hickok & Evan Pendergraft

      Josh Jackson and Zane Hays captured $1,000 scholarships each as champions of the JBT Pacific Northwest Invitational tournament, hosted by Husted's Hazel Dell Lanes.  Over $7,000 total was awarded to the 71-bowler field of qualifiers from three states.

     The bowlers were challenged with a 5-game qualifying block on the demanding PBA chameleon pattern, putting an emphasis on shotmaking and spares for both divisions.  Five each division earned exemptions into the 16-person finals based on their season-long performance, and they proved to be valuable as 6 of the 10 would have missed their respective cuts otherwise.  The top five 5-game scores plus the next 11 qualifiers advanced to 2-game total pinfall matches.  Scratch division top seed Josh Jackson, the only bowler to average over 200 in the qualifier, opened the round of 8 with a 357-314 win over #8 Ray Nugent.  Also in that round, #2 Patrick Hickok beat #7 Justin David 375-295, #3 Jordan Yoke ousted #13 Tristan Curtis 419-393, and #5 Jordan Plunkett eliminated #4 Daniel Carroll 361-330. 

    In the semifinal matches, Hickok eliminated Yoke 410-384, while Jackson ousted Plunkett 431-417, although Plunkett's strong weekend jumped him over 3-time winner Cameron Weier for the points title.  In the title match, Hickok, in his first title match since October of 2007, struggled while Jackson maintained the same dominance he had all day long to build a 70-pin cushion that Patrick would not be able to recover from.  In the end, the determined Jackson beat Hickok 412-308 for his 2nd career title.  With brackets, Josh earned $1,135 in scholarships on the day, while runner-up Hickok was compensated handsomely with a $500 scholarship windfall.

   Evan Pendergraft, who only qualified for the Invitational with a top-5 performance the day before at Kellogg, grabbed the top seed for the 16-person finals, and won his round of 8 match against previous day's champ Kelsey Abrahamsen 441-428 to advance.  Also winning that round were #4 Kyle Jonas, beating #5 Cody Nelson 437-385; #2 Kyle Hays with a 362-328 decision over #7 Ryan Laird; and #12 Zane Hays, who upset #3 Janai Romanoff 414-366.

   Pendergraft eliminated Jonas in one semifinal match, while fate conspired to have the Hays brothers play each other in the other semi, with younger brother Zane beating Kyle to advance to the title match.   Matchplay rounds are often all about momentum, and Zane had all of it in the finals against Evan, having rolled the high game of his LIFE in an earlier match.  So what could he have left for an encore?  How about breaking his lifetime high AGAIN in the second game of the finals with a 167 scratch game, wrapping up a 445-389 win for his first career JBT title and the $1,000 scholarship bonus, while Pendergraft finished up a fine weekend with a $500 runner-up prize.

    Thomas Nute's 9th place finish was just enough to vault him past Ryan Gallagher, who grabbed the points lead the previous day, for the season long handicap points championship.  Points are one of the six statistical factors weighed in our GoWireless JBT Bowler of the Year races. 

   All sixteen finalists received a minimum $50 scholarship, and the top 20 point scorers now advance to the 2009 Touring Players Championship, which features the best of the best from all six JBT Conferences competing for a $2,000 top scholarship prize.  Thanks to the great crew at Hazel Dell for a top notch job hosting the Pac NW's most prestigious JBT event.  Want in on the best junior bowling fun, scholarships, and excitement for all ages and averages?  Then come on out for the 2009-10 JBT season, beginning in August, with events to be announced soon!