Neuer/Runk & Belles Jr & Sr Win Stanton Adult-Jr Tournament

The PJBT continued its 17th Season with a trip to the Extreme North of PA!  Event #31 of the year was our Adult-Jr Event of the Year at Stanton Lanes in Wilkes-Barre PA.  On this day, we had 49 Doubles Teams compete for scholarships and adults for prizes.  Format was 5 Games and the top 10 Teams in Each Division bowled an additional 3 games.  After 8 Games, the top 4 teams bowled a head-to-head 1 Game Shootout for the title.  High Score in the 1 Game Final was our champion….2nd High finished 2nd place and so forth.  25 Teams Competed in Scratch while 24 Competed in Handicap.

In Scratch, Southpaws Anthony Neuer & Brandon Runk captured the title.  This was Neuer’s 2nd title of the year while Runk captured his 9th career PJBT title.  On a day where the lanes were challenging….Neuer and Runk used the left side of the lane to their advantage.  With less traffic on the left….combined with wood lanes….they worked their way to the top.  They shot games of 374, 517, 411, 330, and 476 during qualifying.  They were seeded near the top of the leaderboard entering Round 2 of qualifying.  The 1st cut for 10th place was -25.  Neuer/Runk shot games of 439, 453, and 426 in Round 2 to boost themselves into 2nd place on the leaderboard entering the finals.  The finals included #1 seed Alex Glinski/Brent Himmelreich, #3 seed Joe Starace/Bradley Crouse and #4 seed Bryan Bilanin/John Longacre.  In the 1 game final, it came down to the 10th frame.  Bilanin/Longacre shot 360 and Starace/Crouse shot 373.  It was down to Glinski/Himmelreich and Neuer/Runk.  Neuer/Runk had the lead entering the 10th frame and if they both got a mark….could shut out Glinski/Himmelreich.  Brandon Runk left a split on his 1st shot in the 10th.  He did not convert and this gave Glinski and Himmelreich a chance to win.  They both had to double in the 10th frame to win.  Glinski went up 1st and struck on ball 1 but left a 9 pin stand on the 2nd ball of the 10th.  Himmelreich struck out but it wasn’t enough as Neuer/Runk defeated Glinski/Himmelreich 467-461-373-360.  Officially Glinski/Himmelreich finished 2nd, Starace/Crouse got 3rd, and Bilanin/Longacre came home 4th.   Neuer/Runk won the top prize of $200 scholarship/$150 prize and the awards from Crown Trophy.

In Handicap, Brian Belles Jr & Sr captured the title.  Belles Jr & Sr got 83 pins a game during qualifying.  They shot scratch games of 389, 363, 313, 326,  and 333.  This had them leading the field after 5 games of qualifying.  10th place first cut was -79.  In Round 2, Belles shot 317, 387, and 349 to maintain the lead of the event entering the finals.  In the 1 game final, Belles Jr & Sr were joined by #2 seed Mackenzie & Rashunda Yuhas, #3 seed Aspyn & Jim Chisesi and #4 seed Shania & Rob Jennings.  This match, similar to Scratch, came down to the 10th frame.  Jennings finished 1st and shot 393.  This was good for a 3rd place finish.  The Chisesi’s finished with 363 and placed them 4th.  It was down to Belles/Belles and Yuhas/Yuhas.  Yuhas finished 1st and posted a score of 415.  It was down to Belles….they needed to fill the tenth frame to shut out Yuhas and win.  That is what they did….they finished with 421 and took the title 421-415-393-363.  Belles Jr & Sr won a $200 scholarship/$150 prize and awards from Crown Trophy.

Our only honor score of the day came from an adult bowler, Rob Jennings….who shot an 11 in a row 298 during Round 2 of qualifying.  Congrats Rob!