Vern Elkhart won the Tom Myers Inspirational Award given to Kitsap Scratch Bowlers Association member who exhibits gusto for the sport of bowling. Elkhart was given the award as the second half of the KSBO season got under way at Hi-Joy Bowl in Port Orchard on Feb. 7 with the Westbay Auto Open and the Tom Myers Sr. Memorial 205 and under division.
The tournament was open to all USBC members, including junior bowlers. And that proved to be critical because junior bowler Tyler Boe rolled games of 202, 201, 194, 215 and 279 to take the lead after the first round of qualifying.
Boe continued to impress and after the semi-finals he continued to lead with games of 212, 247 and 190, winning all his matches. His collective total was 1830. Austin Gratzer was second at 1796, third was another junior bowler, Daniel Hanson (1726). Fourth was Dean Richards (1693 and fifth was Ryan Council (1668).
There wouldn’t be a remarkable Hollywood ending to this script for Boe, however. Richards knocked off Council, 221-213, Hanson stopped Richards 247-220 and went on to down Gratzer 208-153 and then wrote his own Hollywood ending by beating Boe 236-212 in the TV Final. Thus, it was Hanson who became the first junior blower to win a KSBO event. Boe, it appears, came up just a Seahawks’ yard short.
Since junior bowlers cannot accept prize money, his winnings was placed in scholarship (SMART) in his name. It is the same with Boe for finishing second.
In the Tom Myers Sr. Memorial, Larry Dodd, who finished third in qualifying, roared back from that position to win it all, defeating Craig Wilkey, 187-178 in the TV Final.
The high game out of the money was a three way tie in the open division with a 232. Mike VanWinkle, Nate Hipp, and Ryan Showalter each receive $47 (prize portion of entry fee per USBC) off of their next singles entry. The high game out of the money in the under division was a 203 by Andrew Kashuba. He receives a free entry into his next singles tournament.
The KSBO will be back bowling this weekend when the Lakeside Industries and the Seven Cedars Casino 205 and under division will be rolled at Port Angeles’ Laurel Lanes.