Singletary/Bortnick/Dekowski & Vaughn/Foote/Wagner All Capture 1st PJBT Titles in 3-Person Team Tournament

On another SNOWY DAY in PA, the PJBT made every attempt to get our latest PJBT event in for the 16th season.  On this day, we held our popular 3-Person Team Tournament.  Every year we run this event once a year and it’s a big hit.  Despite the weather, we had a great turnout.  34 teams of 3 or 102 bowlers competed for scholarships and prizes.  We had 14 teams in the scratch division and 20 teams in handicap.  The format was 5 individual games (all partners scores added together).  We cut to the top 8 teams in each division for another 3 games.  After 8 games, the top 4 teams advanced to the finals.  The finals consisted of the #1 seed bowling #4 seed while #2 seed bowled #3 seed in a 1 game match.  Winners advanced to bowl each other in a 1-game title match.

In Scratch, Darius Singletary,Sam Bortnick & Andrew Dekowski all captured their 1st ever PJBT title.  The road to victory was a long one but they survived and outlasted their opponents.  After 5 games of qualifying, Singletary/Bortnick/Dekowski sat at +118 and was seeded in the top 8.  They advanced to Round 2 where they worked their way into the finals.  They shot team games in Round 2 of 691, 667, and 563 to be seeded 4th of the 4 teams making the finals.  They trailed leaders Brian Kennedy/Tristan Leyen/Matt Stephens, 2nd seed team Anthony Neuer/Austin Leon/Alexis Neuer, and 3rd seed team Ethan Resh/Tyler Snyder/Alden Everett.   As the #4 seed, they took on the leaders Kennedy/T Leyen/Stephens in their semi-final match.  This match came down to the 10th frame but Singletary/Bortnick/Dekowski outlasted Kennedy/T Leyen/Stephens 694-639.  This advanced them into the title match vs #3 seed Resh/Snyder/Everett.  They defeated Neuer/Leon/Neuer in their semifinal match 651-638.  In the title match, we had the #3 and #4 seeds bowling for the title.  The final match also came down to the final frames but Singletary/Bortnick/Dekowski beat Resh/Snyder/Everett 684-636 to take home the title and the $450 top scholarship prize.

In Handicap, newcomers Kyle Vaughn/David Foote/Nick Wagner all captured their 1st PJBT title.  Unlike the scratch tournament, Vaughn/Foote/Wagner dominated all day.  They had the lead from Game 1 and never looked back.  They started the day shooting 720 in Game 1 and by the end of qualifying stood at +464!  In Round 2, they maintained their lead and stood at +597 entering the finals as the #1 seed.  In their semi-final match, they took on #4 seed team Logan Reed/Owen & Hayden Shatzer.  This match was excellent!  Came down to the last ball of the last bowler on each team.  In the end, Vaughn/Foote/Wagner defeated Reed/Shatzer/Shatzer 541-534.  This advanced Vaughn/Foote/Wagner to the title match vs #3 seed Jill Sprenkle/Robert Patrula/Nicole Stambuagh.  Sprenkle/Patrula/Stambaugh advanced to the title match by defeating #2 seed team Lucas Francis/Justin Bohn/Brandon Bohn 616-583.  This final match was even closer than the 1st.  Stambaugh struck out and thought she had enough for her team to win.  Nick Wagner needed to strike/spare to win.  That is exactly what he did.  He struck and spared to fill the 10th frame and clinch the title for his team.  Vaughn/Foote/Wagner defeated Sprenkle/Patrula/Stambaugh in the title match 635-632 and took home the $525 top scholarship prize.

Congrats also to Matt Stephens who shot our only honor scores of the day….an 11 in a row 299 Game during qualifying.