FANTASY LANES

scratch champ Josh Blanchard

A veteran and a newcomer performed superbly in capturing JBT titles in exciting Southern California Conference action on Super Bowl Sunday at Fantasy Lanes.

A very tough pattern was laid out, challenging the scratch field, who enjoyed our exciting Mulligan format, where you get one "do-over" for every strike you rolled during game one.

Matthew Jones opened round one of the finals by exhausting all of his remaining Mulligans to get by BJ Baker, 214-178, after Baker edged fellow Arizonan Christian Jensen in a double-rolloff for the fifth and final spot.  Bidwell then defeated the Mulligan-less Jones 234-170, before Ken McElvaney started with the front 8 strikes to oust Bidwell 278-235 and reach his second consecutive title match. 

Top qualifier Josh Blanchard put on an absolute clinic all day long, obviously comfortable on this particular pattern.  Both bowlers had 4 Mulligans left, and after a first frame spare by McElvaney, nothing but strikes was put on the scoreboard through frame 8.  In the end, Ken's Mulligans were used up and he could only finish with spares for a brilliant 267.  Meanwhile, Josh burnt 2 Mulligans to get the clinching ninth frame strike, then used his final one in the eleventh, getting the next two strikes for the newly-termed "Mulligan 300" and the win, the ninth title of his JBT career.  He also nearly swept the brackets for a $670 windfall on the day.

The handicap division bowlers struggled as a whole on the tough conditions, with a -75 score being good enough to make the finals.  Alesha Pannier made her trip from Lake Havasu count with a 165-155 win over Bethany Baker in round one of the stepladder.  Kaylee Riddle then took over, defeating Pannier 173-112, and following with a 214-144 win over Troy Lien to reach the title match.

Unlike almost everyone else, top qualifier Wesley Low found the lanes to be just fine, thanks, as he cruised to the top seed, leading 7 of 8 games.  The 9 year-old lefty cranker struggled on spares in the title match, however, while Riddle, rebounding from a sub-par performance at Saturday's JBT event, remained solid.  In the end, Kaylee defeated Wesley 227-184, good for the first title of her JBT career.

Big thanks to Doug Schmidt and everyone at Fantasy for a terrific job hosting our event for the first time.  Over $1,800 in scholarships were awarded on teh day, and nearly $4,000 on the weekend.  Want in on the fun?  Come on out to the next JBT event, it's as simple as that! 

Fantasy Lanes (Sun.)- final results and optional scholarship winners
2/4/2007        
So Cal Conference      
       
Scratch Division      
rank name city, state score prize
1 Josh Blanchard Fresno, CA p 331 $670
2 Ken McElvaney Chatsworth, CA p 215 $100
3 Devin Bidwell Simi Valley, CA p 155 $80
4 Matt Jones Canoga Park, CA p 112 $40
5 BJ Baker Tempe, AZ p 79 $40
6 Christian Jensen Anthem, AZ p 79 $30
7 Kris George Glendale, AZ p 69  
8 Matt Cormack Woodland Hills, CA p 56 $15
9 Foster Phandanouvong San Diego, CA p 22 $23
10 Will Jackson Gardena, CA p 13 $65
11 JR Monteith Orange, CA even $15
12 Cameron Smith Santee, CA m 59  
13 Jeff Mathews Las Vegas, NV m 134 $14
14 Ricky Brown RSM, CA m 205  
15 Kyle King Phoenix, AZ m 78  
16 Preston Fukumizu Los Angeles, CA m 79  
17 Forrest Holland Escondido, CA m 81  
18 Shane Peck Riverside, CA m 86  
19 Shane Lien San Diego, CA m 106  
20 Lana Lycan San Diego, CA m 129  
21 Nick Powanda San Diego, CA m 156  
22 Chris Valenzuela Los Angeles, CA m 167  
23 Brian Ballard San Diego, CA m 195  
24 Chris Weyrauch Tempe, AZ m 196  
25 Eric Rubin Phoenix, AZ m 207  
       
Handicap Division      
rank name city, state score prize
1 Kaylee Riddle Indio, CA m 44 $200
2 Wesley Low Palmdale, CA p 92 $189
3 Troy Lien San Diego, CA p 34 $60
4 Alesha Pannier Lake Havasu City, AZ m 69 $40
5 Bethany Baker Tempe, AZ m 75 $100
6 Shayne Huntley Mission Viejo, CA m 84 $49
7 Brittany Page Los Angeles, CA m 41  
8 James Hawkins Anaheim, CA m 106 $21
9 Andrew Castaneda Bermuda Dunes, CA m 145  
10 Christina Fraijo Corona, CA m 146  
11 Taylor King Phoenix, AZ m 154 $15
12 Brian Castelloe Carlsbad, CA m 171 $60
13 Robert Page Los Angeles, CA m 179 $9
14 Samantha Meyers Mission Hills, CA m 184 $15
15 Eddie Sayles Los Angeles, CA m 210  
16 Brittany Kolatzny San Diego, CA m 223 $15
17 Martika Cabezas Cathedral City, CA m 134  
18 Kyle Frederick Chandler, AZ m 137  
19 Kaitlin Mayall Chula Vista, CA m 143  
20 Justin Basom San Diego, CA m 158  
21 Cameron Peck Riverside, CA m 166  
22 Jaymes Conn San Diego, CA m 166  
23 Mike May San Diego, CA m 175  
24 Billy Stafford Los Angeles, CA m 189  
25 Brandon Mullikin Torrance, CA m 190  
26 Mimi Duong San Diego, CA m 199  
27 Kyle DeCew Riverside, CA m 202  
28 Shalynne Schmid Indio, CA m 204  
29 Drew Stern Northridge, CA m 224  $5
       
       
 Ball Winner: Chris Valenzuela      
Super Bowl Winner: Ricky Brown (predicted 28-17)    
       
TOTAL AWARDED THIS EVENT: $1,895