SHAKE, RATTLE, & BOWL at Cliff Castle Casino

presented by Days Inn Camp Verde

champions Kevin Saunders & Cameron Peck

Kevin Saunders captured his 6th career JBT SW title, while 11 year-old Cameron Peck joined his big brother as JBT SW champions in exciting action at Shake, rattle, and Bowl.

An extremely challenging lane condition put a premium on shotmaking and spares.  Combining that with our nail-biting Survivor semifinals format- where the low score on each pair is eliminated after every game- yielded do-or-die shots throughout the center.  The only two bowlers to average 200+ after qualifying, Brandon Allred and Christian Jensen, were eliminated in middle rounds.

Eventually the scratch division was whittled down to 8, resulting in head-to-head matches from that point on.  The only blowout in that round was Savahna Porter's 234-162 dismissal of Labriel Leach.  All the other matches came down to the tenth frame: DeShaun Jefferson defeated Justin Medina 182-161, Kevin Saunders doubled in the tenth to defeat Bill Grant 189-187, and Grant Sudbeck got by Andy Byer 177-175 when Andy failed to strike in his tenth.

In semifinal matches, Saunders dispatched Sudbeck 217-190, while Porter edged Jefferson 179-175, to set up the title match between Kevin and Savahna.

Porter was looking to become the 5th female scratch champion in JBT SW history, while Kevin had already claimed the early points lead by getting this far.  Saunders, who had qualified third, seemed to leave a ringing-10 every time he had a chance to put the match away, and compounded that by missing two of them. Porter, however, had uncharacteristic spare trouble of her own, handing the match right back to Saunders.  When Kevin got a 9-count on his first ball in the the tenth, he sealed a 183-175 win, and the well-earned title.

The handicap division saw a plethora of younger and lower-average bowlers make the cut, as many of the higher average handicap bowlers were confounded by the conditions.  In round of 8 matches, Cameron Peck eliminated David Price, who had two good tournaments and won a bowling ball on the weekend, Wendy Shelton stopped Bethany Baker's fine run, Susan Kurzeka eliminated top-qualifier Zachary Barnard, while Alicia Sullivan got the best of Jewels Giordano.

In the semifinals, Peck was too much for Shelton to handle, as he cruised past Shelton, 215-175.  In the other match, Kurzeka just got by Sullivan, 216-205, to advance to her first title match.

Peck, the younger brother of 3-time winner Shane Peck, had found no success in his first few JBT events, but was unfazed by the raucous title match atmosphere, and neither was Kurzeka, as they both got off to good starts.  But, just when it looked like Kurzeka was closing the handicap difference, Peck came up with a 2-4-10 split conversion, and rode the momentum the rest of the way to a 254-221 win, and the first title of his JBT SW career.

Thanks once again to Phil Oates and his great staff for hosting a jam-packed event.  $3,382 in scholarships was awarded to a 109-bowler field, thanks in large part to a terrific sponsorship from Ms. Tammy Roper and Days Inn Camp Verde, which all our bowlers and parents deeply appreciate.