AMF PEORIA

champs Joe Lewandowski & Megan Laprell

        Teaming up in the exciting new 'mix it up!' format, Joe Lewandowski and Megan LaPrell earned JBT titles in fun and exciting action at AMF Peoria Lanes.

        After five games of singles qualifying, handicap and scratch semifinalists were paired up by seed, forming doubles teams that we'd never otherwise see, and creating a unique and entertaining atmosphere with our scratch stars mentoring and cheering for our younger future stars!  In the stepladder finals, teams then bowled alternating-frame games, emphasizing the team aspect even more.

        Danny Varholdt and Gillian Coyle took on Cameron Smith and TJ Rock in the first stepladder match, with Danny and Gillian stringing strikes late for a 207-183 win.  In the next match, they switched their order, leaving Gillian as the anchor bowler.  Some may have questioned if this was a tactical mistake, especially when Coyle needed to fill 20 in the tenth to tie, but those questions were answered emphatically when she came through with the spare-strike to tie the game at 154 against Jakob Butturff and Joey Sorce.  The magic ended in the rolloff though, as Joey and Jakob rolled to the 54-23 tiebreak win to advance.  Lewandowski and LaPrell then stopped Butturff and Sorce, who has led much of the day, 2130-177 to advance to the title match.

        Austin Thompson, enjoying a successful transition to the scratch division this season, got paired up with Paul Colyer, having his best JBT event by far, and they stormed through the semifinals to grab the top seed.  The title match was close the whole way, with Paul and Megan more than holding up their ends of the bargain with clutch spares and strikes.   In the end, Thompson needed a good count mark to win, but his tenth frame shot came up high leaving a disastrous 6-7, which he could not convert, giving Joe and Megan the 5th and 2nd titles of their respective JBT careers.

        Marina Stever defeated Shelby Dempsey, appearing in her first Impact Bowling Women's Series title game, 221-175 for the day's girls crown.  The defending all-conference female bowler of the year needs one more win to again qualify for the 2013 Girls TPC this summer.

        Thanks as always to Peoria for a great job hosting our events, which awarded over $2,700 on the doubleheader weekend.  Want in on the fun?  Check out our schedule and come on down, it's that simple!