NELLIS 300 LANES

champs Nathan Panaligan & Matthew Griffith

Nathan Panaligan continued to run away with the Mojave Conference scratch division lead, while Matthew Griffith "picked up" hid first win, in exciting JBT SW Mojave Conference action at Nellis 300 Lanes.

The scratch finals opened with Christian Jensen doubling in the tenth to get by fellow Arizonan Kris George 199-196.  Jensen then got by DJ Sloan 199-179, and then escaped past Shane Peck in another low scoring battle 173-167, to advance to yet another title match in a red-hot spring run.

Top seed Panaligan has been nearly untouchable all season in Mojave action, and easily grabbed the top seed at this event.  Throwing a plastic ball to combat the drying lanes, Nathan doubled in the 9th and 10th to secure a 191-182 win over Jensen, good for the 8th title of his JBT career.

The handicap division finals began with Casey Bybee getting by Hannah Chipman 213-174 in round one.  Griffith then began his incredible run with a 230-221 squeaker over Bybee, and followed that up with a 208-156 rout of Kris Del Campo to reach the title match.

Top seed Eddie Jim had led most of the second half of the day, but could not pull away from Griffith.  The 7 year-old came up with clutch marks in the 9th and 10th to pull out a 204-199 victory, becoming one of the younger champions in JBT SW history with the hard-fought win over Jim.

Everyone who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2006 JBT SW Mojave Invitational Tournament, the regular season's year end event, featuring a guaranteed minimum $1,000 first place scholarship in each division.  Top season-long point scorers also qualify for the 2006 JBT SW Touring Players' Championship, featuring a guaranteed minimum $2,000 first place scholarship per division! 

Thanks to everyone at Nellis AFB for the privilege of having a JBT event on base at their fine facility. 73 entrants shared in over $1,600 in scholarships awarded.  Please continue to help spread the word about the terrific benefits of bowling JBT SW events!