Staff
One more bowler from Fort Frances will join the Sunset Country contingent competing at the P.O.A. (pins over average) provincial championships Feb. 22-24 in North Bay.
Mike Behan advanced after capturing top spot in the President Division of the Executive portion of the tournament at the zone roll-offs held over the weekend in Balmertown.
Behan finished the five-game block at +121 over his entry average of 200 even.
He opened with a 148 but then rebounded with scores of 293, 216, 265, and 199 to qualify for North Bay.
It will mark Behan’s third-straight trip to the provincials in the President Division–having won the silver medal in Dryden in 2016 but then finishing last among the six-bowler field last February in Sudbury.
“I’m hoping for a little redemption from last year,” Behan quipped while also conceding his entry average is quite a bit lower this time around.
“It was a tough first half of the season for me,” admitted Behan, who is president of both the Fort Frances Bowling Club and the Sunset Country zone.
“I started out in the low 170s for average and just now have managed to finally crack the 200 plateau.”
Kyle Hamilton of Balmertown finished second at +71 above his 184 entry average, followed by Trisha Lundstrom of Dryden (+44 above her 155 average), Norm Sanders of Dryden (+4 above his 186 average), and Chris Rollins of Balmertown (minus-35 below his 219 average).
In the Secretary Division, Toni Benning of Fort Frances wound up in fifth place after finishing at minus-97 below her 214 entry average.
Jenn Rollins of Dryden topped the division at +58 above her 140 average, followed by Brad Lavers of Dryden (minus-2 below his 180 average), Sherry McCoy of Balmertown (minus-51 below her 143 average), and Ted Lake of Dryden (minus-62 below his 165 average).
And in the Treasurer Division, Kathy Bois of Fort Frances–battling a nasty cold–just missed advancing to North Bay after finishing at minus-51 below her 188 average.
Robert Keeper of Dryden took top spot at minus-37 below his 199 average while Melanie Morris of Dryden wound up third at minus-200 below her 148 average.
Meanwhile, eight Fort Frances bowlers took part in the Hi-Lo Doubles portion of the tournament in Balmertown although none of the local two-person teams qualified for the two provincial berths up for grabs.
The duo of Caitlyn Townson and Cody Brown came closest, finishing third overall out of the 17 teams trying out with a +111 combined total (Townson was +99 above her 169 average while Brown was +12 above his 191 average).
The team of Jordan Sokoliuk (minus-203 below his 209 average) and Mike Gervais (+101 above his 156 average) wound up in 12th place at minus-102 combined.
Rich Walton (minus-144 below his 184 average) and Rick Stamarski (minus-13 below his 180 average) finished in 14th at minus-157 combined.
And Alysha Shields (minus-15 below her 157 average) and Dallas Gervais (minus-233 below his 233 average) were 16th at minus-248 combined.
Andrew Patterson and Greg Barton snagged the first provincial berth by finishing a combined +238 while Catherine Dashnay and Darryl Rollins took the second berth by finishing a combined +167.
Cody Brown and June McNally of Fort Frances already qualified for the P.O.A. team portion of the provincials in North Bay at the zone roll-offs held in Dryden back in November.
Brown is on Sunset Country #1 along with Kyle Hamilton (Balmertown), Jessica Scott (Kenora), and Kailee Ernewein (Dryden), with their coach being Terry Delaronde of Dryden.
McNally is a member of Sunset Country #2 along with Dryden bowlers Bill Luchka, Ralph Potter, and Michelle Rostek, with their coach being Terri Hamilton of Balmertown.
The provincial round also will feature contingents from the five other zones that make up Northern Ontario: Thunder Bay, Gold Belt (Timmins), Cambrian North (Sudbury), Nickel District (Sudbury), and host Gateway.
Up next for local bowlers is the zone Open qualifier–a two-day, 20-game roll-off (scratch scoring format) slated for Jan. 27-28 at Plaza Lanes here.
Bowlers are vying to make up the Sunset Country men’s, women’s, and mixed teams that will compete in the provincial round March 28-31 in Azilda (Sudbury).
