Blue Water Area bowling: Outstanding seasons for Friis, Crawford roll on
The current king and queen of the Port Huron Bowling Association (PHBA) were separated by a couple pairs of lanes last Thursday at Port Huron Lanes in the Cowboys & Indians league. Jill Friis is the only woman bowler to break 700 in the association this season, and she has now done it twice in authoritative fashion. She did not quite reach the phenomenal 795 that she had back in September, but she was still spectacular with games of 259, 246 and 255 for a 760 series.
Cliff Crawford solidly continued his revival season with another 300 game, sandwiched by a 241 and 277, for an 818 award series. The perfect game ran his all-time PHBA record total to 33. This was his 18th time reaching 800 in the association, which tied Ed Karwinski and Matt Langolf for the all-time lead in that category as well.
Karwinski, the aforementioned Port Huron Sports Hall of Fame member, rolled his 25th perfect game in the PHBA, moving him into a three-way tie for third most. Karwinski finished his set in the Blue Water Men league at St. Clair River Lanes with a 706 series. Tyler Fields rolled a 299 game in Cowboys & Indians on his way to a 735 series and also had a 278 in The Other League at Bowl O Drome.
Chuck Ouellette was on fire in the Saturday Nite Bridge league with a 781 series. The third highest series of the week also came from that session as Scott Badley rolled a 750. Jed Johnston led The Other League with a 739. Justin Badley put together a 739 of his own to trail only Crawford and Friis in Cowboys & Indians. Cheech was a league-leader with a 733 in the Don McIvor Memorial league. Other great series were Kris Brunelle 731, Matt Pawlak 730, Nick Medley 728, Steve Jakubowski 728, Ryan Smith 723, Brian Krauss 717, Chuck Ouellette 716, Jon Dean 714, Tom Bruehan 713, Joel Schmitt 712 and Paul Fleming 711.
Five other women topped the 600 mark, including Shawna Lentner 621, Kelly Larsen 606, Kate Beck 603 & 577, Amanda Long 601 & 598 and Vicki Vandevelde 601. They were followed by Rosann Brachel 595, Kristin Winkler 593, Peg Vanantwerp 591, Terry Crampton 589 & 586, Jackie Karl 582, Anita Hubbard 580, Deanna Worden 574, Brenda Bruehan 573, Heather Bombard 571 and Ally Irvine 570.
Amanda Long threw two outstanding games with a 257 in Inter City Ladies and 243 in Saturday Nite Bridge, both at Port Huron Lanes. Anita Hubbard rolled a 231 in the Port Huron Hospital AM league at Bowl O Drome. Jessica Heilig and Kate Beck each posted 230 games. Other top games were Jackie Karl 228, Terry Crampton 225, Kelly Larsen 224 and Karley Kirkendall 221.
Anthony Thomason fired a 289 in PHL Early 4 Man. Cliff Crawford had a 280 in The Other League. Ryan Smith had the lone 279 of the week. The remainder of the high games were Brian Krauss 278, Jordan Gamble 277, Jim Carl 277, Troy Warren 276 and Tim Langolf 275.
Kevin Rzeszutek and Paul Rosales won the Handicap Doubles tournament at Bowl O Drome. The duo dominated all day, qualifying first and then rolling through three opponents on their way to the title. In the three games of qualifying, Rzeszutek was 126 pins over average while Rosales was 80 pins over.
Ken Marzka and Garry Hale made it all the way to the final match before falling to the champs. Heather Arnold and Jennifer Wilkins, along with Bud White and Jim Duncan, were the other two teams to make the final four. The round of eight included Ashley Smith/Cliff Crawford, Jason Arnold/Breanna Porrett, TJ Irvine/Justin Badley and Zac Ganhs/Tom Schmitt.
Top individual scores in qualifying included Tom Schmitt with a 757 series and 275 game. Cliff Crawford rolled a 727 series. Chad Jeroue pitched a 270 game. For the women, Terry Crampton led the way with a 594 series. Ashley Smith had a 578, that included a 234 game. Brenda Bruehan rolled a 224 game.
Upcoming tournaments: Senior Doubles is Saturday, Jan. 14 at Strikers Entertainment Center. All bowlers must be 50 or older. Qualifying starts at noon and the finals immediately follow. The Joann Lapish Downs Mixed Doubles tournament will be Jan. 21-22 at St. Clair River Lanes. There are shifts on Saturday at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m., then Sunday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Entry forms for tournaments are at local bowling centers or online at phba.net.
Splits: 2-7: Katrina Hill; 3-4-6-7-10: Rod Reeves; 2-4-8-10: Rod Reeves