Cut to final round made at 2024 USBC Senior Championships

COMPLETE STANDINGS

CINCINNATI – The field of 411 competitors in the 2024 United States Bowling Congress Senior Championships was reduced to the final 72 on Thursday at Western Bowl Strike and Spare.

The top six bowlers across two divisions – Open and Women’s – in six age-based classifications – 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75 and older, have advanced to Friday’s championship rounds. The national event features men’s and women’s bowlers age 50 and older who qualified through either a state or province (Canada) senior tournament.
 
Qualifying scores will not be carried over to the championship rounds, but bonus pins will be awarded to each player based on his or her qualifying position. The top qualifier in the division will receive 50 bonus pins, while the second seed will receive 40. Bonus pins will decrease by 10 pins for each spot, with the sixth qualifier receiving zero bonus pins.

The championship rounds, which are set to begin at 9 a.m. Eastern on Friday, will feature three games, and the bowlers authoring the highest totals, including handicap and bonus pins, will earn titles.

Below are the top six in each classification that have advanced to the championship rounds:

WOMEN’S DIVISION:

50-54:
Amy Cole of Scappoose, Oregon, and Karla Keller-Rook of Centertown, Missouri, were first and second after Round 1 and remain in those spots heading into Friday’s final round.

Cole led the group with an overall total of 1,394 (896 scratch, plus 498 pins of handicap) and Keller-Rock was second at 1,367 (905 scratch and 462 handicap).

A 216 game during Round 2 helped Christina Van Aert of Mill Bay, British Columbia, Canada, grab the third seed with 1,324.

Seeds four through six were separated by a mere 10 pins.

Joleen Jensen of Pilger, Nebraska, qualified fourth at 1,317; Karin Kehlenbeck of Huguenot, New York, is fifth with 1,314 and Mary Kruse of Kalispell, Montana, earned the sixth and final spot with 1,307. Kruse finished just three pins ahead of seventh.

Sheleen Polash of Hellertown, Pennsylvania, had the high scratch six-game total in this group with 1,183, but finished 14th. Polash was remarkably consistent as all six of her games were between 191 and 202.

55-59:
Lelia Hamilton of Hazel Crest, Illinois, moved up one spot from Round 1 and will enter Friday’s finals as the No. 1 seed. Hamilton put up a scratch total of 948 for her six games and added 414 pins of handicap to finish at 1,362. She is looking to defend her title in this age classification.

Nancy Cote, of Granby, Massachusetts, followed up a 610 scratch series on Wednesday with games of 218, 238 and 226 for a 682 scratch series. Her 1,301 scratch total was the best in this group and, when her 54 pins of handicap were added, Cote checked in at 1,355, good for the No. 2 seed. Five of Cote’s six qualifying games were over 200.

Tonya Jarkiewicz of Lapeer, Michigan, posted games of 198, 211 and 236 on Thursday and moved into third position with an overall total of 1,342.

Jarkiewicz was just two pins better than both Debra Fitzpatrick of Claremont, New Hampshire, and Mindy Tracy of Leadore, Idaho, who tied for fourth at 1,340.

Grabbing the final spot for Friday was Anna Howard of Norman, Oklahoma, at 1,337. Howard finished two pins better than first-round leader Suzanne Spates of Troutman, North Carolina, who finished seventh.

60-64:
First-round leader Sharon Jones of La Junta, Colorado, will be the No. 1 seed heading into Friday’s championship round. Jones combined a 1,127 six-game scratch total with 306 pins of handicap for an overall total of 1,433.

Jill Friis of Mount Brydges, Ontario, Canada, did not roll a game under 201 in her six games of qualifying and ended with an overall total of 1,416 to claim the second spot. Friis’ 1,362 six-game scratch total was the best in this group.

Beth Owen-Cipielewski of Bradenton, Florida, had the second-highest six-game scratch total in the group at 1,300 and finished in third place with 1,402. Her 265 game on Thursday was the best in Round 2 for this group.

The rest of the top six in this group were Beth Morris of Oxford, Pennsylvania (1,379); Carolyn Cota of Essex Junction, Vermont (1,331) and Donna Ryan of Smithtown, New York (1,325).

 65-69:
First-round leader Carmen Baeckel of Oxford, Pennsylvania, grabbed the top seed for the finals with an overall total of 1,442. Baeckel combined a six-game scratch total of 1,022 with 420 pins of handicap. That was good enough to lead second place Priscilla Byrom of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, by 51 pins.

Nalini Nauth of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, who was second after Round 1, put together another consistent round and grabbed the No. 3 seed for the finals with an overall total of 1,359.

Diane Marget, who had the group’s high scratch game in Round 1 (244), qualified in fourth place with 1,347. Marget of Mesquite, Nevada, finished six pins ahead of No. 5 seed Cheryl Bachelder of Pembroke, Maine.

Claiming the sixth and final spot in the championship round was Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado (1,331). Powers put together games of 268, 225 and 208 (701 scratch series) on Thursday and grabbed the last spot by a mere 10 pins. Her 268 game and 701 series were the highest in her group on Thursday, and her 12 pins of handicap for her six games of qualifying is the lowest in the Women’s 65-69 classification.  

70-74:
The top two seeds for the finals in this group were also first and second after the first round of qualifying.

Susan Wanner of Bowman, North Dakota, shot 708 scratch for her six games and combined that with 648 pins of handicap to lead the group with a total of 1,356. Janice York of Clarendon, Arkansas, stayed in second place with an overall total of 1,343 (803 scratch, plus 540 pins of handicap).

Climbing into the third spot was Paulette Latta of Bloomington, Illinois, with 1,331. Latta was six pins better than Annie Long of Millbrook, Alabama, who qualified fourth at 1,325.

Barbara Demorest of Bellingham, Washington, rolled the best six-game scratch total in his group (1,163) and added 156 pins of handicap to qualify fifth at 1,319.

Grabbing the sixth and final spot for Friday was Zandra Cousino of Bristol, Vermont. Cousino posted 1,304, 15 pins better than the seventh-place finisher.

75 and older:
Sandra Wince of Somerset, Ohio, moved up from third place after the first round and grabbed the No. 1 seed for Friday’s finals with an overall total of 1,430 for her six games (986 scratch, plus 444 pins of handicap).

Nabbing the second seed was Pauline McEntee of Wagner, South Dakota, at 1,378 (814 scratch, plus 565 handicap).

Jinnie Henry of Hixon, Tennessee, rolled the only 200 game in this group on Thursday (234) and used that to help her secure the No. 3 seed (1,344). Henry’s six-game scratch total of 1,188 was more than 200 pins better than anyone else in the group (Wince was second at 986).  

Rounding out the top six are Donna Koernke of Tenino, Washington (1,316); Evelyn Dillingham of Columbia, Kentucky (1,301) and Jo Thompson of Beggs, Oklahoma (1,296), who grabbed the final spot by one pin over Barbara Whitehead of Bennett, Colorado.

First-round leader Judith Strukel of Hamilton, Missouri, ended up ninth (1,283).

OPEN DIVISION:

50-54:
William Cron of Matamoras, Pennsylvania, rolled games of 195, 225 and 237 on Thursday to help him into the lead in this group. Cron checked in with a six-game scratch total of 1,250 and added 174 pins of handicap for his leading total of 1,424.

Jeffery Harris of Yorktown, Indiana, and Jeffrey Shaver of Anniston, Alabama, were first and second after Round 1, but each slipped one spot in Round 2 to earn the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively. Harris finished at 1,375 overall and Shaver checked in at 1,351.

Harris’ 267 game on Thursday was the best in Round 2 for this group and his 1,279 six-game scratch total also led the group.

Completing the top six were Michael Sparks of Ovid, Idaho (1,332); Shaun Seeley of London, Ontario, Canada (1,331) and John Sayalounce of Scottsbluff, Nebraska (1,328).

55-59:
Pradip Saha of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, moved from third place to the No. 1 seed on Thursday with an overall total of 1,378 (1,066 scratch and 312 pins of handicap).

First-round co-leader Martin Michaud of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, ended up as the No. 2 seed with 1,349 (899 scratch, plus 450 handicap).

Michaud was two pins better than No. 3 seed Samuel Wieand of Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Five of Wieand's six games of qualifying were better than 200.

Charles Bruff of Rising Sun, Maryland, who was the co-leader after Round 1 with Michaud, earned the No. 4 seed with 1,305, tying John Leong Jr. of Kailua-kona, Hawaii.

Grabbing the final spot for Friday was Tena Miya of Roy, Utah, at 1,302.

Jeffrey Cook of Worcester, Vermont, had the best six-game scratch total with 1,273, but only had 24 pins of handicap to finish at 1,297 and in seventh place, five pins from advancing.

60-64:
Jay Jimenez of Grant, Nebraska, parlayed his first-round lead into the No. 1 seed after Thursday’s second round. Jimenez finished at 1,422 overall (1,134 scratch with 288 pins on handicap) and is looking to successfully defend his title in this age classification.

Kevin Zilkey of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, finished Thursday with a pair of 214 games and jumped one spot from third to second (1,393).

John Smothers of Bowie, Maryland, rolled games of 207, 250 and 204 on Thursday to finish with the best six-game scratch total in this group (1,285). That total, combined with 102 pins of handicap, moved Smothers into third place (1,387).

Ronnie Carlin of Munford, Alabama, grabbed the No. 4 seed (1,347). Michael Hill of Antioch, Tennessee, and Randy Nelson of Woodward, Oklahoma, tied for fifth (1,298).

65-69:
Michael Cordes of Crofton, Maryland, and Richard Bailey of Sharpsville, Indiana, remained first and second in this group.

Cordes posted 1,156 scratch for his six games of qualifying and added 270 pins of handicap to grab the No. 1 seed at 1,426. Bailey had the best six-game scratch total for the group (1,254) and added 132 pins of handicap for an overall total of 1,386.

All three of James Monson’s games on Thursday were over 200 (224, 236, 201) and the resident of Maple Plain, Minnesota, checked in with an overall total of 1,322, good for third place.

Charles Richter of Gering, Nebraska, and Robert Linde of Duncan, British Columbia, Canada, are fourth (1,318) and fifth (1,290), respectively.

The final spot in the top six went to Ron Braaten of Ludlow, South Dakota. Braaten, who was third after Round 1, finished with 1,288, just one pin better than Dennis Mignogno of Lincoln, Delaware.

70-74:
Eugene McNeely of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, combined a six-game scratch total of 984 with 456 pins of handicap for an overall total of 1,440 to grab the No. 1 seed heading into Friday. McNeely won last year in the 65-69 age classification.

Ron Roberts of Billings, Montana, used a group best six-game scratch total of 1,209 to help him to the No. 2 seed with an overall total of 1,425. Roberts was also second after Wednesday’s first round.

Remaining in third place was Jerry Maly of Cypress, Texas, at 1,376 overall and David Long of Durham, North Carolina, was fourth at 1,312.

The last two spots in Friday’s finals went to Stephen Rosen of Toronto (1,309) and Rita Gibbs of Attalla, Alabama (1,272).

75 and older:
Max Honke of Salem, South Dakota, made his move up the leaderboard on Thursday and grabbed the No. 1 seed in this classification. Honke combined a six-game scratch total of 1,046 with 318 pins of handicap to total 1,364.

Finishing as the No. 2 seed was Sherwood Nunotani of Mililani, Hawaii, at 1,321.

Thomas Giles of Buena Vista, Colorado, slipped down spot down to third (1,293) and was followed closely by Alan Schremmer of Great Bend, Kansas, who snagged the No. 4 seed at 1,288.

Four pins behind Schremmer was first-round leader William Kozma of Hennepin, Illinois. Kozman claimed the fifth spot in Friday’s finals with a total of 1,284.

Getting the sixth and final spot for Friday was Noel Jackson of Delhi, Louisiana, with 1,283.

For more information on the USBC Senior Championships, visit BOWL.com/SeniorChamp.