The fifth annual Firecracker Shootout drew bowlers from seven states – Arizona, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, and Washington. $15,110 was awarded in scholarship this year. Scholarship awarded year to date for this tournament is $60,945.00. Scholarship money was earned through the sweeper, brackets, high games and the top 18 in Division I, top 10 in Division II and top 10 in Division III. The majority of scholarship money collected was from an opportunity drawing, silent auction and business advertisement. Thank you once again to all our sponsors, coaches and volunteers for helping to make this year’s event another success.
Congratulations to the Champions in each division. Division 3, Zachary Hattori of Las Vegas, NV winning $600.00, Division 2, Bryanna Caldwell of Tucson, AZ winning $850.00 and Division 1, Jeremy Glover of Compton, CA winning $2,100.00. These bowlers also received a patriotic championship plaque.
After 12 games of qualifying in Division 3, the top 10 went on to 10 games of match play and then top-five stepladder. Fifth seed, Jerome Jordan Jr. of Carson, CA matched against fourth seed Virgil Hilvano of Los Angeles, CA. Virgil bowled 214 to Jerome’s 169. Virgil proceeded to bowl third seed, Kaitlin Mayall of Chula Vista, CA. The match was Virgil (with his highest game during stepladder) 249, Kaitlin 180. Virgil moved on once again to challenge second seed James Hawkins Jr. of Anaheim, CA. Virgil continued to stay strong and bowled 204 to James’s 170 allowing Virgil to now challenge the top seed Zachary Hattori of Las Vegas, NV. The only thing Zachary did was throw strikes … until his last ball, which was a seven count. That’s right Zachary rolled a 297 and Virgil had a 163. So our Division 3 champion was Zachary. There were 18 boys and girls in this division. They ranged in age from 10 to 14. I know this was the first big tournament for many of you younger bowlers. I hope you had a great experience and will bring lots of friends next year.
Division 2 saw 20 girl participants and cut to the top 10 after 18 games of qualifying. The girls then bowled 18 games of match play followed by the top-five stepladder. Fifth seed Bryanna Caldwell of Tucson, AZ met fourth seed Danielle Schilling of Ventura, CA. Bryanna prevailed 223 to 189. Bryanna then bowled the third seed Alyse McGinnes of La Crescenta, CA. This was the closest match of any of the stepladder finals, 184 to 182. This allowed Bryanna to continue on to face second seed, Samantha Jimenez of Rowland Heights, CA. Bryanna bowled 235 to Samantha’s 177, moving Bryanna onto the final match against top seed Emily Maier of Sparks, NV. Well, Bryanna finished the climb to the top with a 178 to 169 and she became the champion of Division 2. Bryanna was also the Division 2 Champion in 2006 and 2004. Great bowling! I want all you girls to know that I admire the way you interact with each other – the respect and caring is obvious.
There were 49 bowlers in Division 1. After 18 games of qualifying there was a cut to the top 18 for 18 games of match play and then the top-five stepladder. Daniel Watanabe of Bakersfield, CA was the fifth seed and matched up against fourth seed Josh Blanhard of Moreno Valley, CA. Josh had 268 to Daniel’s 232, moving Josh on to compete against third seed Brian Leseberg of Ventura, CA. Brian came out ahead with 257 to 161 and Brian now met second seed Ken McElvaney of Chatsworth, CA. Ken was on and beat Brian 245 to 207. Ken now faced top seed Jeremy Glover of Compton, CA. In the end, Jeremy prevailed, 255 to 157 and became the Division 1 champion. Way to go Jeremy! The camaraderie among you Division 1 bowlers is a wonderful thing to watch. Remember, all observe your display of sportsmanship, especially the younger bowlers.
We held several Junior Gold Qualifiers during the Firecracker Shootout. Five bowlers qualified for the 2008 National Gold Event in Detroit, Michigan. Congratulations to Jeremy Glover, Paul Hogan, Daniel Wantanabe, Michael May and AJ Garcia. Have a memorable bowling experience.
Six honor scores were bowled during the tournament despite the tough lane conditions. Congratulations Theo Douthit 300, Ken McElvaney 300, Zachary Hattori 298 and 297, Emily Maier 290 and Virgil Hilvano 290. The pre-tournament sweeper winners were Daniel Hansen in Division 3, Danielle Schilling in Division 2 and Ethan Kawada in Division 1. Bracket and high game side pot participation was once again very popular and 38 participants shared $3,821.00 in scholarship money. Also the top five in each division receive a year subscription to Bowling This Month magazine and a championship shirt from Tennelle Milligan and Asher’s Embroidery. Hope to see you, and all your friends, for the 2008 Firecracker, scheduled for June 21 – 23.