Three individual bowlers and one team qualifier competed in the Indiana middle school semistate tournament last weekend at Chippewa Lanes in South Bend.
Haydn Hunt, a student at Sts. Joan of Arc/Patrick, finished second in the tournament to qualify for the sixth-grade boys division of the state finals to be held today at Mike Aulby’s Arrowhead Lanes in Lafayette. Haydn bowled games of 174, 163, 154 and then a great 252 for a four-game series of 743.
The Western team finished 10th and missed qualifying for state by only 85 pins. Western's bowlers were Conner Shane (four-game series of 645), Arie Lowe (625), Alex Burk (619) and Trenton Pulsipher (619).
Shane finished ninth in the seventh-grade boys division and Justin David finished ninth in the sixth-grade boys division with a series of 558.
The top 10 bowlers in each division advanced to state and the top four in each will receive medals this weekend.
The middle school program is a feeder program for high school bowling. Gerard Kelley is the coach for the local middle school bowlers and has given his time and talent to leading these youths to their success with 19 middle school bowlers participating this season. A special thank you, Gerard, for a great season.
Congratulations to all of these participants and good luck to Haydn Hunt this weekend!
HALL OF FAME
The City of Firsts USBC held its Hall of Fame banquet last Saturday evening at the Ibn Saud Gotto with Judy Smith, Indiana State USBC WBA President, serving as master of ceremony.
The 2016 City of Firsts Scholarship was presented to Cameron Gregory, a senior at Northwestern. He plans to pursue a career in accounting and business. Angela Mose received the “Tex” and Sue Thornton Scholarship. Angela is graduating from Kokomo and she plans to attend Valparaiso University and major in meteorology. She also hopes to qualify for the Valparaiso bowling team. The City of Firsts 2016 Dairy Queen Scholarship was presented to Allison Shepard, a Taylor senior. Allison plans to attend Ball State University and study accounting to become a licensed CPA. She plans to qualify for the Ball State bowling team.
We wish the best for each of these talented students and successful careers.
Kelly Beale was inducted by his father, Tom Beale (also a Hall of Fame member), into the Outstanding Bowler category. Kelly had a career-high game of 300 (four times), city record series with 865 and high average of 209. He also shot two more 800-plus series and many tournament championships.
Don Mason was inducted posthumously into the category of Outstanding Bowler by Judy Smith. Don had a 300 game in 2007 and several 700-plus series with a high of 738 and a 205 average. He also gave many years of service as a league president and as a league secretary.
This writer inducted Don Sparks into the Meritorious Service category. Don has bowled in the City of Firsts for more than 26 years and has served as second vice president of the association and currently as first vice president. He also served as the Kokomo Youth Bowling Club's secretary for two years. As a youth leader Don served as the Indiana State Youth USBC president for five years and vice president for one year.
Each of these men had too many achievements to list; however each was well qualified and highly deserving of this honor bestowed on them.
The Miami County USBC held an induction for Hall of Fame members who had been elected prior to the dissolution of their association in 2013. Due to unforeseen circumstances, a ceremony had been delayed several times and the City of Firsts' board of directors voted to allow them to hold their ceremony in conjunction with the local banquet.
Inductees for the Miami County Bowling Hall of Fame were Terry Woodhouse (posthumously), John A. Smith, Ira “Ike” Rice and Karen Cadwallader.
Terry was recognized for rolling the last 300 game at Hillcrest Lanes in Peru prior to the loss of the center due to a fire in 1994, then rolling the first 300 game at Riverside Fun Center which was built in 1996. He also was a volunteer for every event held in the bowling centers and an ambassador for bowling in the community.
John has many championships to his credit, including three Indiana state titles, seniors singles actual and handicap and seniors team handicap, a second-place finish in the Air Force tournament, and has bowled in tournaments in every state except North and South Dakota. He is a life member and past president of Miami County BA.
“Ike” bowled in many national, state and local tournaments, earning championships and awards throughout his career. He also was a member of the second-place team in the Air Force tournament. He served as a past president of the Miami County BA and is also a life member.
Karen served as an officer in the Peru WBA for many years and was elected to the board when they chartered under USBC. She was an officer on the Miami County USBC board until its dissolution in 2013 and had always volunteered and worked for every event planned for the association and the bowlers. She bowled in several national, state and local tournaments, earning placings and awards for many years.
Nine women who had been inducted in to the Peru WBA Hall of Fame in the categories of Performance, “Star of Yesteryear” and “Meritorious Service” were “grandfathered” into the Miami County Bowling Hall of Fame during the induction ceremony. These women were Lena Balsbaugh (posthumously), Martha Jo Hawley, DiAnne Rickel, Debra Z. Binkerd, Linda Runkle, Marilou Skiles, Sue Burton, Sharon Cadwallader and Patsy Ballard.
Congratulations to all of the inductees and a special thank you to the City of Firsts for allowing them to be a part of the banquet Saturday evening.
Keep the ball rolling.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.