ALPHA SCHOOL OPEN at Sun Lanes

champions Andy Byer & Cory Shepan

Andy Byer captured a landmark 10th career JBT title, while Cory Shepan tasted victory for the first time, in exciting action at the JBT SW Alpha School Open at Sun Lanes in Las Cruces.

The scratch division finals opened up with Jeremy Medina grinding out a 213-202 win over BJ Eichensehr, when BJ got the first hit but not the second in the tenth frame on the challenging lane conditions.

In round two of the finals, Medina got by Christina Waldron, the 2004-05 Handicap Bowler of the Year, 195-181, when the first-time scratch finalist left a solid-9 on her first shot in the tenth frame.  The good breaks stopped for Medina in the semifinals, as Medina rolled a fine 214, but BJ Baker came up with an extremely solid 237 to advance to the title match.

The final game featured two JBT stars with 24 titles between them, but this match was all Byer. A triple to start from Byer and early opens from 15-time winner Baker led to a prohibitive lead halfway through, and Andy cruised to a 213-169 win.  His 10th JBT title ties him for sixth place on our all-time titles list.

In a very close opening match in the handicap division, Jennifer Fast rolled a 207 to just get by Brandon Culp (205) and Darnelle Spears (197).  Dee Dee Harvey took over then, winning round two with a 239 to defeat twin 206 efforts from Fast and Bailey McFarland.  She got even hotter in the semis, with a big 255 to oust Nick Hernandez (212) and Alexandria Pangelinan (208) to advance to her first career title match.

Top seed Cory Shepan had caught fire in the semifinal round, rolling a 627 scratch series to leap into the number one seed.  The title match went as smoothly for him too, as Harvey began to struggle while Cory had plenty left in the tank for a 215-169 win, the first of his JBT SW career, and a big $400 scholarship payday.

Everyone who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2006 JBT SW NM-TX 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 again to Barbara DeDera and Alpha School for spearheading one of the best sponsorship campaigns we have each year.  In addition to Alpha School, Sun Lanes and Pizzeria Uno are major sponsors of this event.  Contributing sponsors also include Getz Funeral Homes, Angel's Photography, A Plus Pest Control, Hoop-T-Dudes, PTS Office Systems, Expert Care Inc., Las Cruces Men's Bowling Association, Mikey's Pro Shop, Edwina Roman, Uniglobe, and My Brother's Place.  Due in part to their great efforts, over $2,600 was awarded to the 80 player field, and our Tour is very grateful for their efforts.

Alpha School Open at Sun Lanes- final results and optional scholarship winners
2/26/2006        
New Mexico-Texas Conference      
       
Scratch Division      
rank name city, state score prize
1 Andy Byer Albuquerque, NM p 55 $475
2 BJ Baker Tempe, AZ p 35 $210
3 Jeremy Medina Santa Fe, NM m 43 $148
4 Christina Waldron Albuquerque, NM m 28 $75
5 BJ Eichensehr El Paso, TX m 36 $50
6 Labriel Leach Tucson, AZ m 78  
7 William Entsminger El Paso, TX m 86 $16
8 Cody Mansfield Albuquerque, NM m 160  
9 Stephen Gaucin El Paso, TX m 162 $55
10 Chris Johnson El Paso, TX m 207  
11 Justin DeDera Albuquerque, NM m 110  
12 Bill Grant Rio Rancho, NM m 111  
13 Justin Medina Santa Fe, NM m 113  
14 Tom Anderson Chandler, AZ m 139  
15 Jerod Florez Bosque Farms, NM m 142 $8
16 Josh Arceo Albuquerque, NM m 196  
17 Brandon Dye Roswell, NM m 311  
       
       
Handicap Division      
rank name city, state score prize
1 Cory Shepan Las Cruces, NM p 165 $400
2 DeeDee Harvey Las Cruces, NM p 115 $215
3 Nick Hernandez Silver City, NM p 156 $125
4 Alexandria Pangelinan El Paso, TX p 139 $160
5 Bailey McFarland El Paso, TX p 107 $100
6 Jennifer Fast Las Cruces, NM p 31 $75
7 Brandon Culp El Paso, TX p 102 $75
8 Darnelle Spears El Paso, TX p 23 $50
9 Susan Kurzeka Albuquerque, NM p 20 $20
10 Dillon Bridge El Paso, TX p 16  
11 Wendy Shelton Albuquerque, NM p 15 $45
12 Kassi Willis-Johnson Roswell, NM m 1  
13 Malika Josey El Paso, TX m 9  
14 Paul Carper Rio Rancho, NM m 10 $30
15 Kara Casaus Roswell, NM m 14  
16 Nathan Hughes San Jose, NM m 17 $15
17 Michael Hinojosa Las Cruces, NM m 19  
18 Brianna Fry Las Cruces, NM m 21  
19 Austin Mansfield Albuquerque, NM m 23 $30
20 Debbie Jarzemba Rio Rancho, NM m 24  
21 Christa Harvey Las Cruces, NM m 26  
22 Zak Covert El Paso, TX m 26  
23 Austin Yearwood Las Cruces, NM m 34 $30
24 Jeremy Baca Albuquerque, NM m 53 $30
25 Jeff Tillman Hobbs, NM m 56 $30
26 Amanda Johnson Rio Rancho, NM m 56 $20
27 Sophie Diaz Santa Fe, NM m 57  
28 Taylor Cruz Santa Fe, NM m 66  
29 Charlie Elliott Santa Fe, NM m 83  
30 Rachel Thompson Albuquerque, NM m 88  
31 Sara vargas Albuquerque, NM m 126  
32 Ryan Fast Las Cruces, NM m 168  
33 Sabrina Vargas Albuquerque, NM m 50  
34 Thomas Gutierrez Albuquerque, NM m 50  
35 Zachary Barnard Albuquerque, NM m 50 $30
36 Andrew Esparza El Paso, TX m 55  
37 Jamison Spam Rio Rancho, NM m 57 $45
38 Austin Pangelinan El Paso, TX m 62 $15
39 Ryan Scheer Rio Rancho, NM m 62  
40 Brittany McComb Albuquerque, NM m 64  
41 Annalicia Martinez Roswell, NM m 67  
42 Ashley Belden Tijeras, NM m 67  
43 Brandy Main Roswell, NM m 67  
44 Tommie Hall MacDonald, NM m 70  
45 Travis Shepan Las Cruces, NM m 70  
46 Mike Santana El Paso, TX m 74  
47 Eric Kear Albuquerque, NM m 74  
48 Brianna Jaramillo Albuquerque, NM m 81  
49 Kyla Casaus Roswell, NM m 89  
50 Ashley Dale Albuquerque, NM m 90  
51 CJ Jordan El Paso, TX m 100  
52 Janeyl Carper Rio Rancho, NM m 105  
53 Justin White Phoenix, AZ m 107  
54 Jordan Spam Rio Rancho, NM m 109  
55 Jamie Tillman Hobbs, NM m 114  
56 Anthony Tripi El Paso, TX m 122  
57 Krista Casaus Roswell, NM m 135  
58 Jessica Palma Albuquerque, NM m 137  
59 Carlos Mendez El Paso, TX m 141  
60 Joshua Johnson Hobbs, NM m 169  
61 Aaron Winchester Santa Fe, NM m 212  
62 Mark Mares Los Lunas, NM m 215  
63 Jonathan Frederick El Paso, TX m 233  
       
Cuts: scratch -102; handicap -49      
Ball Winner: Andy Byer      
Jr. Gold Qualifier: none      
       
TOTAL AWARDED THIS EVENT: $2,615