Many Rio Rancho league bowlers achieved top five results in the recent City Championship bowling tournament held at Starlight Bowling, Bar & Grill in Bernalillo. Tenpins & More house professional, Paul Yoder was among the best scorers with 2,130 pinfall over nine games at an average of 236.6 per game in teams of five, doubles and singles events. Yoder's team, comprising himself, his son Levi, Brian Skidmore, Sam Pinge and C J Patterson finished a close third in teams, only 29 pins behind two teams tied for first. Their scratch series of 3,395 was easily highest in the 85-team contest.
Tuesday night leaguers, Gloria Blair and Sandra Lopez were second in open doubles, while team-mates, Matthew Garduno and Jon Arevalo were fifth in the lower average grade. Tenpins' front-desk person, Carson Opela shot 825/3, an amazing 275 average to win open singles. It was one of the highest series ever bowled in the city tournament. Opela also captured open all-events with 2,137/9.
Isaac Blackston, Matthew Garduno and Crystal Espinosa, who all bowl the Wednesday night Bud Trios league finished 1-2-3 in division two singles. Espinosa won her all-events too with a stellar 1,841/9.
Other locals who finished with top five placings included Trent Irwin, Joseph LaPointe, Gary Holguin, Dan Brenning, Michael Gonzales and Becky Fisher.
J D Nance of Rio Rancho won Sunday's Ironman Challenge tournament, held over an gruelling 16 games, bowled on two different lane conditions of 37 feet and 44 feet in oiling distance. Nance led from the opening two-game set with 232 and 234 and was never seriously in trouble in the 36-person field, some of whom were hampered by their choice of equipment, which was limited to no more than four bowling balls during the six-hour "marathon". Nance produced a "coup de grace" perfect game of 300 in game 14 finishing with 3,604 pin-fall at an average of 225.25.
Flying home with 232, 247 and 288 was Santa Fe's Michael DeVore on 3,497 - a 218.56 clip - pushing Colorado Spring's Gabe Maestas to third on 3,445. Maestas threw 300 in his 13th game. Other place-getters included locals Angel Ortega 3,399, Carson Opela 3,360, Zach Harvey 3,322, Jeremiah Martin 3,285, Jacob Gill 3,263 and Amarillo's Christian Apolonio in ninth with 3,195. Highest placed female was Aileen Linares of Rio Rancho with 3,159 in 12th place, followed by former senior Bowler-of-the-Year, Karen Barcal on 3,142.
A women's bowling club - Las Ristras de Las Cruces - held an International Friendly at Tenpins & More last weekend. Eighty bowlers from Chihuahua (Mexico), El Paso and southern New Mexico, along with five Rio Ranchoans bowled an eight-hour tournament in teams of four and divisional singles events.
Marcie Fredericksen, Rose Hare, Troi Donnachaidh and Vanessa Romero topped Class A with 4,607, at an average of 191.9. Romero shot 254, 224, 236, 203, 199 and 201 for 1,317/6 ahead of El Paso's Krystal Taylor on 1,281, Alexys Benortham of Mexico 1,219 and Las Cruces High School head coach, Peggy Nix with 1,215. Winning averages in the lower grades were 165.4 in B, 152.2 in C and 144.5 in class D. Other women's and men's clubs from the south are also expected to visit Rio Rancho later this year for more "friendly" challenges.
The Women's State Championship tournament held its annual meet at Tenpins & More March 4/5, 11/12 and 18/19 with entries coming in from more than 30 Bowling Centers across the state.
Big scores highlighted the annual Valentine's Doubles bowling tournament at Tenpins & More in February. Mike Lee authored two of the best four-game sets, with 956 (189, 220, 268, 279) and 947 (245, 201, 253, 248) in finishing first and fifth in the event. He partnered Jeremiah Martin in the win (Martin, who had a 300 and 299 in back-to-back league sets during the week aided with 926 made up of 257, 265, 204, 200), then Rob Troxell in the minor placing.
Second place went to Soccoro's Teri and Joseph Paterson, 54 pins behind. Teri, whose league average is 120, included 197 and a pair of 150's assisted by her husband's closing 247. Dan Brenning shot high set of 963 (279, 212, 214, 258) as he and Bobbie Vega, who contibuted 819 finished third, six pins back.
Teresa Hope bowled her career high series of 867 (203, 214, 205, 245) which gained her and revent winner, Jon Arevalo fourth, 19 pins away.
Numerous tournaments take center-stage over the coming weekends, including a visiting squad from Las Cruces, a 16-game Ironman Challenge and the Women's State Championship tournament.
Two former high school bowlers with a combined age of 37 teamed successfully to win the Superbowl Sunday Doubles Marathon at Tenpins & More. The right-hander, Dylan Rivas threw a 244 in the tie-breaker to help him and partner, Simon Driscoll, a southpaw, to the win over Jon Arevalo and Carson Opela by 17 pins, 369-352. Interestingly, all four bowlers release the ball with both hands - a style made In vogue" by Australian world champion, Jason Belmonte, over the past decade. Rivas averaged over 217 for his regulation eight games, while Opela, a former anchorman for the Rio Rancho Rams, carded 237.
Others top score well included Dominique Muller of Estancia at a 229 average and Pete Sheridan of Albuquerque on 224 that included a closing 268, 246, 256 and 239. Muller had the high game of the tournament at 298. Theodore Springer and Andre Chavez of Albuquerque beat locals Trent Irwin and Christopher Sanders 391-342 for third and fourth place.
Father-and-son, Kenneth and Karlten Friedrich of Espanola shot 388 for fifth, ahead of Eric Stoltenberg and Duane Marcum 355 in sixth, followed by Sam Small and Muller 336 and Tanya Paris/Hector Quinones 318 in seventh and eighth respectively.
Tenpins & More hosted the Women's State Championship tournament from March 3 through March 18, with daytime squads every Saturday and Sunday until mid-afternoon. Organizers enjoyed a large entry from across the state and from bowlers in West and Southwest Texas.
