NM-TX INVITATIONAL

champs Blayne Hurst & Aiden Ruiz Jimenez, with finalists

        Blayne Hurst and Aiden Ruiz-Jimenez earned $1,000 scholarships as champions of the 2020 NM-TX Invitational, hosted by Western Bowl in Amarillo.

        Hurst qualified 6th on a grueling lane pattern, and blasted through the first six rounds of triple-elimination matchplay undefeated.  Brad Harvey beat him in round 7 to stay alive, while top seed Brock Bivins and #2 seed John Green were eliminated.  #4 Alex Harmon bowed out in round eight, followed by Hurst avenging his loss to Harvey, setting up a one-game title match against #3 Yarelis Alvarez.

        Blayne started the title match strong, and was able to hold on for the win, the third title of his JBT career.  Alvarez then played Morgan Ellis for the Girls Invitational title, and was able to come away with that win, good for a $700 payday for the soon to be Tulane student.

        Sixteen handicap finalists were carved down to five by round eight, and in that round #8 Shaiden Raymond (who turned 8 years old the next day) eliminated #11 Gerilynn Delegarito, while top seed Aiden Ruiz-Jimenez gave #3 Jared Basey his second loss.  With three bowlers left, Shaiden got a bye, forcing Aiden and Jared to play again, for the fourth time this weekend (he beat Basey for the title the day before).  Ruiz-Jimenez got him again, setting up the finale against Raymond.  Needing only one win, Aiden defeated Shaiden in the first game to win the title, sweep the weekend, and become a three-time JBT champion.

        Delegarito came back to beat Green for the U17 Invitational title, becoming the first female to win a U17 Invitational!  Will Davis and Eric Gauna each had prohibitive point leads going into the Invitational, and hung on to those leads to earn Bowler of the Year honors in their respective divisions.

        Huge thanks to Jonathan and his team at Western for hosting us on short notice when the original host could net yet host us.  The top 20 in points now advance to the TPC, featuring $2,000 for first place!  

Bowlers who were Invitational eligible as of the COVID shutdown are now "IN" and can't fall out. Please RSVP if you're coming to Western by contacting us.  Others may still 'jump in' to the Invite based on their performance 6/20.   Details on the Invitational are below.

The following bowlers are guaranteed in the NM-TX Girls and the NM-TX U-17 Invitational.  Others may 'jump in' as a result of bowling on 6/20.  Keep in mind you may qualify or be qualified for the Girls or U17 Invitational, but not the main Invitational.  In that case, you bowl only the qualifying round on Sunday and cannot 'make the cut' to Sunday's finals.  Entry fee is only $30 in that case.

Girls Invitational:

U-17 Invitational:

$25,000 in scholarships

MINIMUM GUARANTEED!

at the 5 JBT Invitational tournaments

NM-TX: June 21, at Western Bowl,  9 AM (one squad only)

ENTRY FEE: $50 scratch, $40 handicap

 Includes all scholarships except $2 scholarship brackets in both divisions

Eligibility:

Each event is open to anyone making TWO top-4 finishes in that Conference this season,

OR the top 32 in season-long points in that Conference

Format:

**Format is subject to change due to COVID restrictions, etc.  Stay tuned!

-QUALIFYING: Bowl 5 games.   The top eleven 5-game totals, plus the top 5 season-long point scorers, advance to the triple-elimination finals!  (If a top-5 player does not show or chooses to bowl in the opposite division, additional bowlers will be taken to complete a 16-player field)

-FINALS: Bowlers will play TRIPLE elimination match play (keep bowling until you lose 3 times), until a winner is determined

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GUARANTEED PRIZE FUNDS, each event:

1^st-$1,000

2^nd- $500

3^rd- $250

4^th- $150

5^th- $100

Additional spots earn scholarships on a 1:6 ratio

PLUS The top 5 point scorers going into each Invite will have Invite winnings augmented to $50 minimum

ALL OTHER JBT RULES APPLY. SEE YOU THERE, DON’T MISS IT!!!