DESERT OPEN

champs Marshall Kent & JD Sweet

     Marshall Kent continued a near-perfect summer, while JD Sweet wrapped up the season in championship fashion, with wins at the Desert Open Marathon, hosted by Glenfair Lanes.

    Bowlers rolled 15 games of qualifying on three different patterns that ran the full spectrum from very challenging to very forgiving, creating a test of both skill and versatility.  Jordan Plunkett was the man in qualifying, leading after each round to grab the top seed.  That give him the choice of lane conditions for the matchplay rounds, and he chose Turnpike, the toughest of the three used, putting a premium on shotmaking the rest of the event.   He ended up needing to make a few key shots just to survive his first rounds of matchplay, squeezing by #16 William Entsminger in five games, and then #24 Josh Jackson in the final game of round three.  Also in that round, #12 Cameron Smith beat #4 James Hawkins 2 games to 1, #6 Marshall Kent swept #14 Brad Hansen 2-0, and #2 Kyle King outlasted #7 Cameron Weier 2-1.

    In one game semifinal matches,  Kent beat King 246-217, and Smith ousted Plunkett 225-188, setting up a terrific title match between Kent, the TPC runner-up and Junior Gold champ, and Smith, a 15-time JBT champ.  Both bowlers showed off their brilliance, making a tough pattern look easy, but in the end it was Kent with the 245-223 win, earning his 8th career JBT title, a $500 scholarship, and the beautiful glass cactus trophy- if there's any room for it at his house with the summer he's had!   

    The handicap division bowled the exact same format, with the three patterns resulting in a terrific array of averages making the 20-bowler matchplay round.  Top seed Luke Jordan grabbed the lead away from #2 Steven Acuff in the final block, but he fell victim to a red-hot finish from #16 Kayla Goad in the second round.  Eventually the field was cut to 8, and in those matches,  Goad got by #9 Marina Stever 2 games to 1, #11 KJ Martinez beat #3 Cortez Schenck 2-1, #4 Ryan Doan swept #12 Derek Iozzio 2-0, and Acuff was upset 2-0 by #10 Sweet.

    In the semifinals, Sweet easily beat Martinez 237-182, while in a thriller, Goad got by Doan 250-244, to set up the title match.  Sweet had won his first JBT title earlier this season in the Baker Team event, while Goad is a 2-time champ looking for her first win of the season.  JD had been picking up steam all through the matchplay rounds, and he remained on a roll in the title game, defeating Kayla 224-181 for his second JBT title and all the goodies that come with it.

   Thanks to everyone at Glenfair for a great job hosting our Tour.  Over $5,000 in scholarships were awarded over the busy weekend.  Want in on the fun?  Check out our brand new season 15 schedule, and come on out to the best under-22 scholarship bowling action around!