Published: March 27, 2006 11:03 pm      

Youth to take center stage for tourney

The Ladies City Tournament has passed the halfway point and will conclude this weekend. Once again, ladies, please make sure you know the day and times you are scheduled to bowl and be at the lanes at least thirty minutes prior to the start of each shift.

Next week our local youth will take to the lanes for their annual city championships. Doubles and Singles will take Saturday at 10 a.m. while the Team event will be held Sunday at

1 p.m.

Two weeks after that the Knights of Columbus will be bringing their state tournament to Meridian for the second time in three years.

Congratulations go out to several of our local youth bowlers who participated in the recently held SSJBA Scholarship Tournament. Ten of our local youth took the plunge, most taking part in the tournament for the first time. Nevertheless, each of our young bowlers performed well and several of them made the cut and returned the next day to compete in the Match Play semifinal in their respective divisions.

Sarah Terral and Amanda Rickles found themselves facing each other in the step ladder finals of the Minors division where Sarah used a miracle or two in the tenth frame to capture the third place spot. Amanda finished the tournament in fourth in the same division. Other bowlers making the cut in their divisions were Colton Dooley, Danny Shannon, Matt Alawine, and Ashton Johnson. Randi Allen and Albert Edmonds each just missed making the semis which both of them taking the Alternate spot in their divisions. Also taking part in the tournament were Olivia Taylor, Logan Tucker and Spence Baucum.

We were proud of all of our local youth who took part. They all bowled well and each of them has said how much they enjoyed the experience. Some are even making plans to take part in other SSJBA events around the Southeast. We congratulate all of our local youth and give them a pat on the back for a job well done.

In local league action several of our bowlers had big weeks of their own. Melina Terral and Melette Samuelson each were found in the clouds after recording their first 200-Game, a 204 for both of them. Marilyn Allen found the mark for a 205, which, while it was not her first 200, it was her highest. And Kim Shirley proved that blondes have more fun by leading all the ladies with a fine 627 in the Bowlerettes league. Beth Shannon’s 25 was just a couple of pins higher than Denise Rutledge to capture the high game of the week for the ladies. In the process, Beth picked up a nice 617 Series.

Jim Broderick Jr. led the guys with a 697 effort. M.A. Copeland celebrated his seventy first birthday a day late by pounding out a 690 set in the Hucklebuck league while Barry Woods grabbed the high game of the week with a 269. Mike Cothern had a big week with a couple of 250-plus games and 673 and Bruce Warner returned to the lanes after not bowling for several years and showed he still had a little magic left by firing off a 254 in the Wednesday Night Mixed league.

That’s all for this week, good luck and good bowling.