CANOGA PARK BOWL

champs Brian Leseberg & Jaymes Conn

Brian Leseberg and Jaymes Conn captured their first JBT titles in exciting Southern California Conference action at Canoga Park Bowl.

The scratch division used our demanding PBA format.  After five games on a challenging pattern, the field was cut to the top 16 bowlers, who advanced to best 2-of-3 head to head matchplay.  The round 0f 16 made history, as all eight matches were swept 2-0 for the first time, including wins by top seed Matthew Jones, #2 seed Ricky Brown, and #4 seed Kyle King, who tossed his first career JBT 300 game earlier in the day.

In the round of eight, Danielle Schilling came from a game down to stun Jones in three games.  Brian Leseberg took down Brown in three tough games, while Forrest Holland won his deciding game three emphatically with a big 279 to oust Matt Cormack.  King became the fourth semifinalist with a low scoring 2-0 sweep over Cameron Smith.

In the first semifinal match, Leseberg won a close battle with Holland 205-195.  The other semifinal was even closer, as King converted a 2-5 spare in the tenth for a 181-180 win over Schilling, setting up the title match.

The title match was a struggle for both bowlers until halfway through, when Leseberg responded from an open with the next five in a row to pull away for a 230-196 win and his first JBT crown.  King's runner-up finish still allowed him to take over the So Cal points lead (and better things were in store the next day- check out the Laughlin results).

The handicap division also featured relatively low scoring but still dramatic matches in its finals.  Brandon Mullikin won round one with a 185-178 victory over David Clabaugh.  Brandon then defeated Justin Basom 163-129, before rookie Kaitlin Silva defeated Mullikin 178-156 to advance to the title match.

Top seed Conn had struggled so far this season, and came out of the gates slowly here as well, but turned it around big time to nab the top seed.  He was able to make the shots he needed to defeat Silva 193-176 to capture his long-awaited first career JBT victory.

67 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 JBT So Cal 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 Canoga Park for a terrific job hosting our event.  Over $1,700 in scholarships were awarded.  Want in on the fun?  Come on out to the next JBT event, it's as simple as that!