The Alro Steel / Michigan Junior Masters Association stopped in at Eastland Bowl in Kalamazoo to have their annual October event. Tom DeYoung and his staff did not disappoint as they were very gracious hosts, as always, and they let us have the oil machine again this year, so we know what that means don’t we? Yes, scoring was a little bit more of a challenge but many found a way around the conditions to score well.

The girls seemed to have a little tougher time this event than most as they scored lower than they had all season for an event. However, Bethan McGeary (New Kensington, PA) continued her dominance this season as she led the girls in qualifying again. McGeary had won the previous two events and was defending champion in this event from last year. Match play jumbled the field a bit on Sunday but McGeary held the top spot going into the step-ladder finals with Valerie Calberry (Brampton, Ont.) in second followed by Sarah Jaeger (Highland, MI) and Megan Warner (Grandville, MI) who was making her very first step-ladder appearance.

Warner and Jaeger squared off in the first match and the first time nerves were evident on Warner as she opened in 4 of the first 5 frames but Jaeger also had her share of problems on the lanes and when she opened in the 8th with a split, Warner took over. Warner struck in the 9th and twice in the tenth to take the lead and win her first step-ladder 168-141. In the semi-finals Warner faced off against Calberry and again Warner had difficulty early in the match but Calberry was clean throughout the game and struck in the 8th, 9th and 10th frame to close out the match 205-169. In the finals both McGeary and Calberry struggled as opens dotted the landscape early but Calberry pulled it together to stay clean after the third frame while McGeary could not seem to stay away from split after split to allow Calberry to win the match and her third MJMA title 157-153.

The guys did nit seem to have as much trouble with the lanes until the step-ladder finals. Jon Schiller (Milford, MI) lad the field in qualifying by almost 90 pins and he stretched that a bit through match play to take the top spot for step-ladders. Defending champion Chris Creeks (Zelienople, PA) was second with rookie Jimmy Cook (Indianapolis, IN) was third. Brian Dimuzio Jr. (Eastpointe, MI) was making his first step-ladder appearance coming out of fourth place and Scott Honeysett (Lansing, MI) rounded out the field in fifth.

The first match with Dimuzio Jr. and Honeysett went back and forth until it looked like Honeysett was ready to take control with a big break double in the 8th frame however, a split in the 9th gave Dimuzio Jr. a chance and he filled the 9th and 10th to force Honeysett to double in the 10th to win. Honeysett got the first one but got 9 on the second ball to give Dimuzio Jr. the match 186-185. In the second match both Cook and Dimuzio Jr. seemed to have issues with the right lane but Dimuzio closed with three strikes in the tenth while Cook went spare and a 9 count to have the match end in a tie at 171-171. By MJMA rules a one ball roll-off would determine the winner of the match. Dimuzio Jr. got 9 on his roll but when Cook left a Greek Church and only carried 5 pins, Dimuzio Jr. advanced to the semifinal match to face Creeks.

The semi-final was one of the ugliest matched we have seen in a while in MJMA as neither bowler could find a line or make a spare. Between both bowlers, they had only 5 marks total in the first 8 frames (5 out of 16) but again Dimuzio Jr. put on a late surge and strung three strikes in the 9th and 10th frames to take the lead. Creeks however was not done yet as he struck in the 9th and first ball in the tenth but went 6 count and spare to have another tie game at 141-141. In the one-ball roll off it was Creeks getting the count he needed and beat Dimuzio Jr. 8-7 to advance to the finals. Schiller was awaiting Creeks but had been sitting a long time but started out very well with only one open in the first 6 frames, Creeks however had the advantage as he made a ball change and a line change from the previous match and was striking and striking big. A four bagger in the middle of the match coupled with opens from Schiller in the 7th, 8th and 9th frames earned Creeks his second MJMA title 187-170.

Again this event we handed out over $3,000.00 in scholarships to all 30 bowlers who made match play which brings our total to over $10,000.00 awarded this year through 4 events. Our next event is in Jackson, Michigan on November 17th and 18th at the traditional stop at Airport Lanes. I know Sue Hines and the rest of the team at Airport will have things ready as always and this should prove to be an interesting event as it is our first double points event of the season.

If you would like more information regarding the Alro Steel / MJMA or have questions regarding upcoming events please call Jerry Tarabek at 616-780-2095.