Staff
Jeff Watts once again led the Fort Frances contingent of bowlers vying for a trip to the Northern Ontario Open championship later this spring in Timmins.
Watts totalled 5,228 over 20 games (a 261 average) to finish second overall among the men at the zone roll-offs over the weekend in Dryden.
Darryl Rollins (Dryden) led the way with a 5,281 total while Kevin Savoury (Dryden) was third overall with a 4,893 total.
Rounding out the Sunset Country men’s team are Dryden bowlers Jeff Hazlewood (4,816), Chris Gadd (4,319), and Bill Luchka (4,199).
By finishing in the top three, Rollins, Watts, and Savoury also will compete in the men’s singles competition at the provincials in Timmins.
Meanwhile, Times editor Mike Behan overcame a 150-pin deficit over his final five games Sunday afternoon in Dryden to land a spot on the Sunset Country mixed team.
Behan finished seventh overall among the men with a 4,194 total—just six pins short of making the men’s team.
Dryden bowlers Ed Bates (4,181) and Ralph Potter (4,165) were the other men to make the mixed squad.
Rick Stamarski and Jordan Sokoliuk of Fort Frances also were in Dryden over the weekend but came up short in their bids to qualify for the provincials.
Stamarski wound up 12th overall with a 4,069 total while Sokoliuk, a 19-year-old competing in his first zone Open roll-off, was 18th at 3,881.
Stamarski will be going to Timmins, however, after being voted to coach the Sunset Country mixed squad there.
In women’s action, meanwhile, Toni Benning of Fort Frances totalled 4,063 to finish seventh overall, which earned her a berth on the mixed team.
Alexis Hamilton of Red Lake (3,989) and Dryden’s Lisa Sanders (3,833) also made the mixed team.
Shelley Petsnick of Dryden led the women with a 4,520 total over 20 games.
Rounding out the Sunset Country women’s team are Charlotte Hazlewood (4,495) and Jackie Miner (4,475) of Dryden, Terri Hamilton of Red Lake (4,382), Pauline Kressal of Dryden (4,363), and Kenora’s Cheryl Stefanik (4,198).
Petsnick, Hazlewood, and Miner also will compete in women’s singles action at the provincials in Timmins, which run April 16-19.
Arnie Rollins and Terry DeLaronde of Dryden will coach the Sunset Country men’s and women’s teams, respectively.
The other zones competing at the provincials include Thunder Bay, Cambrian North (Sudbury), Nickel District (Sudbury), Gateway (North Bay), and host Gold Belt (Timmins).
