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A trio of local bowlers helped Sunset Country shine at the P.O.A. (pins over average) provincial championships held over the weekend in North Bay.
Cody Brown of Fort Frances was a member of Sunset Country #1 that finished in second place overall in the P.O.A. team competition to earn a berth at the inter-provincial championships set for late April in P.E.I.
The foursome, which also included Kyle Hamilton of Balmertown, Jessica Scott of Kenora, and Kailee Ernewein of Dryden, garnered 49 total points over the 10-game showdown to finish behind only Gateway #2 (54 points).
Scott paced the team by finishing 479 pins above her tournament entry average, followed by Ernewein (+292), Hamilton (+77), and Brown (minus-36).
Terry DeLaronde of Dryden was the team’s coach.
It marked the fourth-straight year that Sunset Country has sent a team to compete at the inter-provincials.
Sunset Country #2 wound up in ninth place overall with 24 total points.
That foursome featured June McNally of Fort Frances and Dryden bowlers Bill Luchka, Ralph Potter, and Michelle Rostek.
Rostek was tops on the team at +204 above her tournament entry average, followed by McNally (+66), Luchka (+17) and Potter (minus-26).
Terri Hamilton of Balmertown was the coach.
Times’ editor Mike Behan, meanwhile, was part of a “golden sweep” by Sunset Country in the Executive portion of the tournament.
Behan finished at +91 over his tournament entry average to top the six-bowler President Division, averaging 221 over his final four games to nab the gold medal.
Manon Gobeil (Gateway) won the silver medal by finishing +50 above her tournament entry average while Andre Bedard (Cambrian North) earned bronze at minus-50 below his average.
Marc Blais (Gold Belt) was fourth at minus-87, followed by Ray Linke (Thunder Bay) at minus-177 and Andre Bernard (Nickel District) at minus-178.
In the Secretary Division, Jenn Rollins of Dryden struck gold after finishing at +194 above her tournament entry average.
Marc Lafleur (Gateway) earned silver at +169 over his average, with Cindy Remmerswaal taking the bronze at +33.
Paul Mainville (Gold Belt) was next at minus-137, followed by John Hogarth (Cambrian North) at minus-153 and Mark Broomfield (Thunder Bay) at minus-229.
Robert Keeper of Balmertown capped the trifecta of gold by winning the Treasurer Division in a runaway at +215 above his tournament entry average.
Marlene Fournier (Nickel District) took the silver at minus-25 while Jackie Lafleur (Gateway) earned bronze at minus-93.
Rounding out the division was Lorrie Peltola (Thunder Bay) at minus-165 and Roger Givoque (Cambrian North) at minus-292 (Gateway did not field a bowler).
And in the Hi-Low Doubles portion of the tournament, Andrew Patterson and Greg Barton of Dryden combined to finish at +225 above their tournament entry averages to nab fifth place for Sunset Country out of the 12 twosomes competing.
Patterson wound up at +330 while Barton was at minus-105.
Dryden bowlers Catherine Dashnay and Darryl Rollins combined to finish at +117 over their averages to take sixth spot.
Rollins ended up at +65 while Dashnay was at +52.
Scott was the top female at the tournament, winning the gold medal with her +479 total.
Also cracking the top 10 for Sunset Country were Ernewein in fifth, Rostek in eighth, and Rollins in ninth.
Among the men, Patterson claimed bronze with his +330 total.
Keeper was the only other Sunset Country male to crack the top 10, finishing in fifth place overall.
As for the Aggregate standings, Sunset Country took second place with 48 points.
Gateway won the banner with 54.5 points while Thunder Bay finished in third place with 32.
Nickel District was fourth at 17 points, followed by Gold Belt (15.5) and Cambrian North (15).
“I couldn’t be prouder of how Sunset did at the provincial tournament,” said Behan, who is president of both the Fort Frances Bowling Club and the zone.
“It was especially great to see Sunset Country extend its streak of sending a team to the inter-provincials for a fourth-straight year.
“On a personal note, the icing on the cake for me was being part of our ‘golden sweep’ in the Executive portion of the tournament,” Behan added.
“It certainly made the long bus ride home a lot more tolerable,” he laughed.
“It was just a fantastic weekend with a great group,” Behan enthused.
“We had great coaches once again in Terry DeLaronde and Terri Hamilton, and I also want to extend my personal thanks to Sharon Troilo of Kenora for accepting the role of being our contingent manager,” he noted.
“It was a long two days at the lanes for her and I really appreciate her efforts on behalf of the zone.”
