MOJAVE INVITATIONAL

champs and finalists

        Andrew Guba and Peyton Lee earned $1,000 scholarships as champions of the JBT Mojave Conference Invitational Tournament, hosted by Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

        After five qualifying games, sixteen scratch and handicap finalists moved on to exciting triple-elimination matchplay.  Keity Ylvisaker fired the event's only 300 game in qualifying to grab the top seed, but faltered later in matchplay, finishing in a solid fifth.  That opened the door for the two hottest bowlers on Tour, Guba and Josh Abigania, to make deep runs, as each beat the other on the way to surviving to round eight.  In round eight, Cesar Padilla eliminated Josh, while Katelyn Abigania stayed alive by giving Guba his second loss.  That gave Padilla a bye while Guba got his revenge and eliminated Katelyn, leaving a one game title match between Cesar and Andrew.   In that finale, single pins plagued Padilla, while Guba's mid-game strike string was enough to win the match, an amazing third Invitational of the season, and twelfth career JBT title, eleven of them coming this season- holy cow!

        In the handicap division, Bowler of the Year was up for grabs, and many of the candidates bowled well, making for an exciting finals.  Six bowlers made it to round seven, and in that round #2 Gage Baker gave #15 Nathan Harnit his second loss in an importnat match, #12 Lee eliminated previous day's finalist Kekoa Touchstone, and Sterling Smith eliminated Chase Simmons.  In the next round, Peyton beat Gage but Sterling eliminated Nathan, so Harnit had to sweat out the next round.  In that match, Lee eliminated Baker, and that sealed Bowler of the Year for Harnit.  It also left Peyton and Sterling to play one more game for the title, and Lee stayed in control in that match for the win, second career JBT title, first major, and the $1,000 scholarship windfall.

        Gavin Fernandez finally broke out of a slump the day before, then caught fire by leading the U17 Invitational and beating Jason Gootzeit for the title (sunglasses not included).  Katelyn Abigania has been nearly unstoppable in Girls Scratch this season, but TPC champ Koryn Marquez blasted a huge 252 in the Girls title match-- and STILL lost by 16 pins, as Katelyn came up with 268 for that win.  She ran away with Girls Bowler of the Yeatr honors, while Alo earned Bowler of the Year in both U17 and scratch.

        Giant thanks to the team at Suncoast for their usual great hosting job.  Thanks also to Jason and Sunset in St George for their contribution to the event's prize fund!  Over $9,000 in scholarships was awarded to field of qualifiers of all ages and skill levels.  Top bowlers now advance to the TPC, and everyone starts the whole thing over with season 28 beginning in August!

Date: Sunday June 18, 2023  (This is ONE tournament that is one day long, open only to those who qualified for it based on their performance this season (see below). 

Start Time: Bowling begins at 9:30 AM.

Re-entries?:  There's only one qualifying squad, so there are no re-entries this event..

Reservations:  Please email director@bowljbt.com to reserve a spot.  The tournament will not sell out- if you qualified, we will have room for you, but please still email us so we can plan an efficient event.   You can prepay (not required) at the 'Prepaying' section of this website. 

Eligibility: The Mojave Invitational is open to anyone who EITHER had a top-4 finish in a Mojave Conference event this season, OR the top 32 in the Mojave Conference points standings after the last regular season Mojave Conference event (the day before at Suncoast).  Also, simultaneous with the main Invitational are the Girls Scratch and U17 Invitationals;  (it is possible you may qualify for only the Girls and/or U17 Invites but not the main Invite; in that case you still bowl the qualifying round but cannot make the main Invite cut).   Visit the 'statistics' section of the website to check on your points.

Format: Qualifying round is 5 games.  The top 5 season-long point scorers earn a bye into the finals (but are still playing for their seeding within the finals). The bext 11 bowlers also qualify for the finals, so 16 total bowlers.  Finals are triple elimination matchplay- keep bowling until you lose three times, which will eventually leave only one bowler- the champion- standing.

Divisions/ Averages:  Scratch or handicap.  It is the bowlers' choice of division, regardless of which division you bowled in to qualify for this event.

Points:  This event counts for TRIPLE Mojave and All-Conference points.  After the Invitational, the top 20 in the final Mojave Conference points standings advance to the Touring Players Championship, July 27-30 in Las Vegas, with $2,500 first place scholarships.   Visit the 'statistics' section of the website to check on your points.

Entry fee: $60.  Scholarship brackets are available for $2 each.  Raffle tickets for Ebonite bowling balls, and our PowerBowl and '27' jackpots, are available on-site. 

Sponsor Incentive bonuses:  1) IAM Bowling: Bowlers making the final match of an event (scratch or handicap) wearing an IAM patch (good), any IAM shirt (better), or an IAM JBT shirt (best) earn point bonuses towards a $5,000 IAM incentive jackpot.  (The IAM patch is requested to be worn by all bowlers).   2) Virtue Bowling: Bowlers making the final match of an event (scratch or handicap, win or lose), using a Virtue Bowling shirt or patch, and a Virtue drilled ball, earn a $25 Virtue gift card.  

Scholarships: 1:6 in each division earn scholarships, scratch and handicap.  Minimum prizes are $1,000, $500, $250, $125, $100.  The top 5 in points heading into the event earn a minimum $60 scholarship regardless of finish in the event.

Lane conditions: conditions vary from event to event, and are not posted prior to the event (unless otherwise announced).  Some events do not post the pattern until after qualifying.  Be ready for anything- it makes you a better bowler!  Check out previous patterns and corresponding cut scores at the 'lane conditions' section of this website.

Dress code:  Anything goes EXCEPT tank tops, gym shorts, clothing promoting alcohol, drugs, or firearms, or excessively ripped or short clothing, subject solely to the director's discretion.  However, bowlers wearing slacks or dress shorts/skirts, and a 'name shirt' or PBA-style 'dye-sub' shirt, or college or high school team shirt, earn an extra 10 points on their season-long points total.  If you're not sure about dress code, check with us.  If you're new to us, the vast majority of the bowlers do dress in the 'bonus' dress code, and those points become very important, so plan accordingly.

We hope you qualify for this prestigious event- do not miss it if you do!

$25,000 in scholarships

MINIMUM GUARANTEED!

Mountain: May 21, 9:30 AM, at Silva Lanes

So Cal: June 4, 9:30 AM, at Winnetka Bowl

Pac NW: June 11, 9:30 AM, at Triangle Bowl

Mojave: June 18, 9:30 AM, at Suncoast

Arizona: June 24, 9:30 AM, at Let It Roll   (T of C/ non-C Sunday 6/25)

ENTRY FEE: $60

Includes all scholarships except $2 scholarship brackets in both divisions

Eligibility:

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

OR the top 32 in season-long points in that Conference after the last regular season event in that Conference

Format:

-QUALIFYING: Bowl 5 games across 10 lanes.   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- $125

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!!!