07/18/2010--The 2010 Junior Gold Championships is complete, and five boys from Missouri earned scholarships at this year's national event.
Springfield's Blake Demore, a member of the Wichita State team, finished 33rd, averaging 199.70 for his 30 games, and was awarded a $275 scholarship. Tyler Young of Herculaneum moved up from 124th to 86th in the standings, averaging 195.10, and will also receive a $275 scholarship. Wesley Edwards dropped some in the standings from his qualifying spot, but finished 102nd, averaging 193.53. Jonathan Heimann of St. Peters averaged 192.80, good for 111th, and Quentin Mamer of Pleasant Hill, MO finished at 192.07, in 116th place. Edwards, Heimann, and Mamer will receive $200 scholarships.
Other boys from Missouri who participated in the event: Theo Shipp, Grandview; Alec Ockrassa, St. Louis; Ben Hogan, Springfield.; Adam Thiedke, Liberty; Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon; Anthony Santoyo, Kansas City; Kris Aldrich, St. Louis; Steven Hart, St. Louis; Kevin Davis, House Springs; Corey Meczkowski, St. Louis; Tim Barbeau, St. Louis; Zac Schwering, St. Louis; Jessie Jennings, Fulton; David Fonke, St. Louis; and Jordan Richard, Imperial.
Three young women from Missouri competed on the women's side: Jerri Lynn Kraus of St. Louis, Holly Hutton of St. Louis, and Katy Bogar from St. Charles.
If it looks like these scores are low, they are--and for a reason. The USBC Junior Gold Championships are the platform to qualify Junior Team USA, and the three patterns used are all much more difficult than typical league patterns. The best thing that we can all do to prepare our youth bowlers is to encourage proprietors to put out tougher shots for these bowlers to practice on, and even run leagues with tougher shots so that the kids get the experience necessary to handle the tournament shots when they encounter them.
Full standings, prize lists, and stories about the event are available at bowl.com. |
