CACTUS BOWL

champs Josh Blanchard & Josh Shoup

Josh Blanchard claimed a landmark title, while Josh Shoup finally won his first, in exciting JBT action at Cactus Bowl.

The scratch division used our mulligan format, allowing three ‘do-overs’ in the qualifying round, and they came in handy for everyone, as the PBA’s Viper pattern proved to be extremely challenging, in contrast to the four 300 games rolled last time the JBT visited Cactus and bowled on the house pattern.

Matt Jones had no problem in the opening round of the stepladder finals, though, rolling a big 248 to oust defending champ Greg Garbera (196) and fellow Californian Ken McElvaney (164).  Jones was good again in round two, rolling 194 to beat Andy Byer (191) and Mike Cross (169).  In the semifinal match, BJ Baker struggled to 177, while Blanchard opened in the tenth for 221 to give Jones a chance.  Matt couldn’t get the double he needed, finishing with 217, and advancing Josh to the title match.  Meanwhile, the loss prevented BJ from recapturing the point lead from Christian Jensen, who has had a red-hot spring to grab the top spot, no matter what I announced at Bedroxx.

Top seed Kevin Saunders proved his versatility again by leading the largest scratch field in a few months thanks to an impressive 738 semifinal set.  However, he had his hands full with Junior Team USA member Blanchard, a fellow wizard on all conditions.  Both struggled, however, on the deteriorating pattern.  Josh never did strike on the left lane, but stayed clean, and that turned out to be good enough for a 191-183 win.  The victory was the 10^th of his fantastic career, only the 13^th bowler in JBT history to reach that milestone.

Alysha Vessey, a member of the state champ Sahuaro girls’ high school team, opened the stepladder finals with a 221 game that beat Daniel Cotten (205) and Cody Vanderweyst (202).   Rebeca Reguero then fired a big 233 in round two to defeat Vessey (182) and Anthony Tripi (157).  In a close semifinal match, Shoup came up with a strike in the tenth for 215 to edge Reguero (211) and also beat Lee Kirby (162), sending Josh to the finals.

115 bowlers competed in the event, and we hope everyone who attended had a great time, and will spread the word about the great benefits of bowling JBT.   Everyone who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2007 Arizona 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 2007 JBT Touring Players' Championship, featuring a guaranteed minimum $2,000 first place scholarship per division! 

Big thanks to everyone at Cactus for their usual terrific job hosting JBT events.  Over $2,800 in scholarships were awarded.  Want in on the fun?  Come on out to the next JBT event, it's as simple as that!