Jack Jurek rolls 299 to win 2024 Super Senior Classic
June 02, 2024
Group Stepladder | Main Stepladder
LAS VEGAS – Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, New York, left nothing to chance in his return trip to the championship match at the Super Senior Classic, winning the 2024 event Sunday by rolling 299 in the finals to secure the title for the top players age 60 and older.
The 61-year-old right-hander posted 11 strikes at Sam’s Town Bowling Center before a 10 pin remained on his final delivery against Chris Warren of Plano, Texas, to record a 299-220 victory and take home the $8,000 top prize live on BowlTV. Warren earned $6,550 for the runner-up finish.
Jurek has been the top seed for the stepladder finals in both of his appearances at the Super Senior Classic, but things did not go his way during the title match in 2023 as St. Louis’ John Marsala rolled to a 244-168 victory at Sam’s Town.
The championship pair gave Jurek trouble in 2023, and Lanes 19-20 at Sam’s Town continued to slow him down early on in his run in 2024. He found the right look on the pair in a 268-247 win in match play against Professional Bowlers Association and United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Saturday, but he quickly saw the pair wasn’t going to allow him to do the same thing Sunday during the stepladder finals.
“My original thought after yesterday on that pair was to move right, play straighter and just roll it,” said Jurek, who collected his first PBA60 Tour victory. “Warming up before the show started, I knew that look just wasn’t there today. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to go about it.
“I think the final key was in the second match, when Chris Warren started with a shinier ball and was having trouble getting it to roll up to the pocket and went back to a stronger and more aggressive ball and tried to hook the lane a little more. That made (Storm bowling ball representative) Jim Callahan suggest I try the (Roto Grip) Magic Gem I had down there. I tried it for a shot or two, and it started seeing the lane pretty well.”
Jurek, a two-time winner on both the PBA and PBA50 Tour, saw the pins falling his way early in the championship round, and back-to-back hits in the fourth and fifth frames suggested things might be aligning in his favor.
In the fourth, the 8 pin nearly stood on his first delivery before toppling over. In the fifth, the 9 pin was the last to fall.
“I would say they definitely let you breathe a sigh of relief,” Jurek said. “Those are the kind of moments – when they happen for you – that let you think it might be my time for a change.”
Although the final score resulted in a 79-pin difference in the title match, Warren kept the pressure on Jurek through the majority of the match. After Jurek stepped off the approach in the ninth frame, Warren still had a chance to get to 265 after delivering strikes in seven of his first eight frames. Warren’s lone miss during that stretch was in the third frame, when he left a 2-8-10 he was unable to convert.
Warren recorded a spare after leaving a 10 pin in the ninth frame, and a split in his final frame assured that the only pressure Jurek would feel during his victory lap was whether or not he could close out the perfect game.
“That would have been the cherry on top of the sundae for sure,” Jurek said. “At that moment, knowing that I finally won again – I tend to be an emotional person – it was hard not to get a little choked up. But, all things considered, the shots in the 10th were pretty good. The last one – if that struck – I was going to play the lotto or something.”
The emotions were high for Jurek after securing the victory, and he has worked hard to keep his game and body ready to compete at the highest levels.
Adding a win at the Super Senior Classic to go along with his runner-up finish from last year shows Jurek it has all been worth it.
“Being 61 now, I’ve done my best to stay fit and I don’t feel my age – I still have a hard time saying I’m 61 because it just doesn’t seem right yet,” Jurek said. “I think everything I’ve done in the last 10-15 years to keep myself up is paying dividends, especially now at this level. I’ve been very fortunate that my body is holding up very well so far. It’s a hard format, a tough field and to be able to lead two years in a row is special.
“You go through stages where you don’t win for a long time, and you start to wonder if your skills aren’t just there anymore. To lead this event two years in a row, I guess I still got a little game left in me.”
Warren, the owner of six PBA Tour titles and winner of the 2018 USBC Senior Masters at Sam’s Town, earned his spot in the finals after a pair of hard-fought victories over Skip Pavone of San Jose, California, and Boresch.
In the semifinals against Pavone, Warren bounced back from a slow start through his first four frames. After making a ball change to start the match, Warren opened the first frame and followed with three consecutive spares, including a 3-4-6-7 conversion in the fourth.
Pavone, a 68-year-old left-hander, had started the match with strikes on four of his first five deliveries to build an early advantage, but a missed 7 pin in the sixth frame allowed Warren to start his comeback.
Warren made another ball change in the fifth frame, which resulted in a strike, and he got to the pocket again in the sixth but left a 9-10, which caused the crowd at Sam’s Town to buzz in confusion. He converted the spare, however, and delivered strikes in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames to tighten the match.
Pavone stepped up first in the 10th frame needing the first strike for the opportunity to shut out Warren, but a 7 pin remained standing. Pavone converted the spare and got nine on his fill ball, meaning Warren would need a double to advance to the finals.
He rolled the two strikes he needed and got eight pins on his final shot for a 221-215 victory.
In the opening match of the main stepladder, Warren held a two-pin advantage after nine frames over Boresch after both players posted spares in the foundation frame.
Boresch, making his third consecutive appearance in the stepladder finals at the Super Senior Classic after a runner-up finish in 2022 and third-place performance in 2023, started his 10th frame with a strike. His second offering also got to the pocket but left a 7-10. He got one on the spare attempt to finish at 213.
Warren left a 10 pin on his first shot of the 10th frame and covered the spare. He left another 10 pin on his fill ball to record a one-pin victory with 214.
The 2024 Super Senior Classic started with 204 players bowling 12 games of qualifying over Thursday and Friday to determine the top 52 competitors for Saturday’s cashers’ round.
The advancers bowled six more games, with 18-game totals determining the 12 players for match play.
The match-play finalists were placed into one of two groups. Group A consisted of the qualifiers who placed as an odd seed after the cashers’ round (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11), while Group B featured the even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12).
Each competitor in match play bowled six head-to-head games, including a final position round, and 24-game totals – including 30 bonus pins for each victory – determined the top two seeds for the main stepladder finals.
Jurek earned the top seed by winning Group A with a 5,877 total, while Pavone claimed the No. 2 seed by taking the top spot in Group B with 5,855.
The second-, third- and fourth-place finisher in each match-play group still were in contention to advance to the finals through a group stepladder that took place Sunday prior to the main stepladder at Sam’s Town.
Boresch and Warren each punched their ticket to the main stepladder as the second-place finisher in their respective groups.
Boresch earned the spot from Group A by defeating Canada’s Michael Snow, 235-214, while Warren advanced out of Group B with a 259-223 win over PBA Hall of Famer Pete McCordic of Katy, Texas.
Snow won the opening match of the day in Group A with a 206-193 victory over James Campbell of Loudon, Tennessee. McCordic posted a 214-191 win over John Conroy of Mahopac, New York, to advance to face Warren in Group B.
With the conclusion of the Super Senior Classic, the top bowlers age 50 and older will take to the lanes at Sam’s Town for the USBC Senior Masters.
The Senior Masters is the first major championship on the 2024 PBA50 Tour schedule and will be held from June 3-9 with livestream coverage provided by BowlTV.
LAS VEGAS – Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, New York, left nothing to chance in his return trip to the championship match at the Super Senior Classic, winning the 2024 event Sunday by rolling 299 in the finals to secure the title for the top players age 60 and older.
The 61-year-old right-hander posted 11 strikes at Sam’s Town Bowling Center before a 10 pin remained on his final delivery against Chris Warren of Plano, Texas, to record a 299-220 victory and take home the $8,000 top prize live on BowlTV. Warren earned $6,550 for the runner-up finish.
Jurek has been the top seed for the stepladder finals in both of his appearances at the Super Senior Classic, but things did not go his way during the title match in 2023 as St. Louis’ John Marsala rolled to a 244-168 victory at Sam’s Town.
The championship pair gave Jurek trouble in 2023, and Lanes 19-20 at Sam’s Town continued to slow him down early on in his run in 2024. He found the right look on the pair in a 268-247 win in match play against Professional Bowlers Association and United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Saturday, but he quickly saw the pair wasn’t going to allow him to do the same thing Sunday during the stepladder finals.
“My original thought after yesterday on that pair was to move right, play straighter and just roll it,” said Jurek, who collected his first PBA60 Tour victory. “Warming up before the show started, I knew that look just wasn’t there today. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to go about it.
“I think the final key was in the second match, when Chris Warren started with a shinier ball and was having trouble getting it to roll up to the pocket and went back to a stronger and more aggressive ball and tried to hook the lane a little more. That made (Storm bowling ball representative) Jim Callahan suggest I try the (Roto Grip) Magic Gem I had down there. I tried it for a shot or two, and it started seeing the lane pretty well.”
Jurek, a two-time winner on both the PBA and PBA50 Tour, saw the pins falling his way early in the championship round, and back-to-back hits in the fourth and fifth frames suggested things might be aligning in his favor.
In the fourth, the 8 pin nearly stood on his first delivery before toppling over. In the fifth, the 9 pin was the last to fall.
“I would say they definitely let you breathe a sigh of relief,” Jurek said. “Those are the kind of moments – when they happen for you – that let you think it might be my time for a change.”
Although the final score resulted in a 79-pin difference in the title match, Warren kept the pressure on Jurek through the majority of the match. After Jurek stepped off the approach in the ninth frame, Warren still had a chance to get to 265 after delivering strikes in seven of his first eight frames. Warren’s lone miss during that stretch was in the third frame, when he left a 2-8-10 he was unable to convert.
Warren recorded a spare after leaving a 10 pin in the ninth frame, and a split in his final frame assured that the only pressure Jurek would feel during his victory lap was whether or not he could close out the perfect game.
“That would have been the cherry on top of the sundae for sure,” Jurek said. “At that moment, knowing that I finally won again – I tend to be an emotional person – it was hard not to get a little choked up. But, all things considered, the shots in the 10th were pretty good. The last one – if that struck – I was going to play the lotto or something.”
The emotions were high for Jurek after securing the victory, and he has worked hard to keep his game and body ready to compete at the highest levels.
Adding a win at the Super Senior Classic to go along with his runner-up finish from last year shows Jurek it has all been worth it.
“Being 61 now, I’ve done my best to stay fit and I don’t feel my age – I still have a hard time saying I’m 61 because it just doesn’t seem right yet,” Jurek said. “I think everything I’ve done in the last 10-15 years to keep myself up is paying dividends, especially now at this level. I’ve been very fortunate that my body is holding up very well so far. It’s a hard format, a tough field and to be able to lead two years in a row is special.
“You go through stages where you don’t win for a long time, and you start to wonder if your skills aren’t just there anymore. To lead this event two years in a row, I guess I still got a little game left in me.”
Warren, the owner of six PBA Tour titles and winner of the 2018 USBC Senior Masters at Sam’s Town, earned his spot in the finals after a pair of hard-fought victories over Skip Pavone of San Jose, California, and Boresch.
In the semifinals against Pavone, Warren bounced back from a slow start through his first four frames. After making a ball change to start the match, Warren opened the first frame and followed with three consecutive spares, including a 3-4-6-7 conversion in the fourth.
Pavone, a 68-year-old left-hander, had started the match with strikes on four of his first five deliveries to build an early advantage, but a missed 7 pin in the sixth frame allowed Warren to start his comeback.
Warren made another ball change in the fifth frame, which resulted in a strike, and he got to the pocket again in the sixth but left a 9-10, which caused the crowd at Sam’s Town to buzz in confusion. He converted the spare, however, and delivered strikes in the seventh, eighth and ninth frames to tighten the match.
Pavone stepped up first in the 10th frame needing the first strike for the opportunity to shut out Warren, but a 7 pin remained standing. Pavone converted the spare and got nine on his fill ball, meaning Warren would need a double to advance to the finals.
He rolled the two strikes he needed and got eight pins on his final shot for a 221-215 victory.
In the opening match of the main stepladder, Warren held a two-pin advantage after nine frames over Boresch after both players posted spares in the foundation frame.
Boresch, making his third consecutive appearance in the stepladder finals at the Super Senior Classic after a runner-up finish in 2022 and third-place performance in 2023, started his 10th frame with a strike. His second offering also got to the pocket but left a 7-10. He got one on the spare attempt to finish at 213.
Warren left a 10 pin on his first shot of the 10th frame and covered the spare. He left another 10 pin on his fill ball to record a one-pin victory with 214.
The 2024 Super Senior Classic started with 204 players bowling 12 games of qualifying over Thursday and Friday to determine the top 52 competitors for Saturday’s cashers’ round.
The advancers bowled six more games, with 18-game totals determining the 12 players for match play.
The match-play finalists were placed into one of two groups. Group A consisted of the qualifiers who placed as an odd seed after the cashers’ round (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11), while Group B featured the even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12).
Each competitor in match play bowled six head-to-head games, including a final position round, and 24-game totals – including 30 bonus pins for each victory – determined the top two seeds for the main stepladder finals.
Jurek earned the top seed by winning Group A with a 5,877 total, while Pavone claimed the No. 2 seed by taking the top spot in Group B with 5,855.
The second-, third- and fourth-place finisher in each match-play group still were in contention to advance to the finals through a group stepladder that took place Sunday prior to the main stepladder at Sam’s Town.
Boresch and Warren each punched their ticket to the main stepladder as the second-place finisher in their respective groups.
Boresch earned the spot from Group A by defeating Canada’s Michael Snow, 235-214, while Warren advanced out of Group B with a 259-223 win over PBA Hall of Famer Pete McCordic of Katy, Texas.
Snow won the opening match of the day in Group A with a 206-193 victory over James Campbell of Loudon, Tennessee. McCordic posted a 214-191 win over John Conroy of Mahopac, New York, to advance to face Warren in Group B.
With the conclusion of the Super Senior Classic, the top bowlers age 50 and older will take to the lanes at Sam’s Town for the USBC Senior Masters.
The Senior Masters is the first major championship on the 2024 PBA50 Tour schedule and will be held from June 3-9 with livestream coverage provided by BowlTV.