Team 6 kingpin among juniors

By PHIL GULICK

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 11, 2000

Team 6 owned a two-point lead on Back for Seconds entering Wednesday's season finale of the Junior Scratch Classic at Countryside Lanes.

The 14-week regular season ended Aug. 2, and Wednesday's competition was a position round to determine the final standings and overall individual winners.

Team 6 is led by Shawn Ryan, the overall league points winner with an 83.5 percentage. Ryan lost only 15 of 91 points and averaged 219 for the season.

His teammates are Scott Meredith and Billy Kitchens.

Back for Seconds features Cliff Barnes, Jason LeBlanc and Ben Zold. The squad has been hovering around first place all season. Teams and individuals will receive scholarship money based on their finishes.

High scores turned in last week were a 300 game by Raymond Arrazcae, an 804 series by Stephen Rodriguez, 279 games by Zold and Nick Gates and a 235 game by Jessica Robinson.

League directors Bill and Cheryl Bedford said the league will resume action this fall with the USA Gold program as its focus.

REEVES PERFECT:Largo's Melissa Reeves became the 19th woman to roll a perfect game in Pinellas County last week when she fired a 300-726 at Liberty Lanes.

It was the third women's 300 at the center. Responsible for the others are Judy Allen and Debi Kidd, whose 300-826 series is a state women's record.

Linda Peak was the first Pinellas woman to roll a 300 game (May 1968) at the former Major League Lanes, now AMF Kenneth City Lanes. It was almost 20 years later that Robin Conley completed the second one at Largo's Twedt's Lanes.

80-GAME GRIND:The Suncoast Vietnam Veterans Association and Sunshine Bowl will play host to an 80-game scratch marathon with stepladder finals Aug. 18-19.

The event is open to all men and women, and proceeds go to the Suncoast Epilepsy Foundation. For more information, call Mike Vitel, 545-8995.

Tampa's Tom Daugherty won the 30-game Iron Man marathon recently, defeating Clearwater's Steve Kenyon in the five-man stepladder finals and earning $1,000.

Daugherty led after 10 games at Sunrise Lanes and 10 at Seminole Lanes, but Kenyon took over the lead after the final 10 qualifying games at Sunshine Bowl.

St. Petersburg's Bill Hicks finished third.

OFFICERS WORKSHOP:The Suncoast men's and women's associations and the Clearwater Women's Association will join forces 8 a.m. Saturday to conduct the annual league officers workshop at Tarpon Springs' Elks Lodge.

The workshop aids officers in understanding procedures and clarifying policies and duties of their positions. Changes in the ABCWIBC bylaws and the dues increase will be covered.

The Suncoast men's and women's associations oversee centers in upper Pinellas and Pasco counties.

SEE, MADDEN TOPS: Stephanie See, the 1998 women's champion, and Tony Madden head the field into today's first round of double-elimination competition in the Florida Ladies and Men's All-Star Match-Play Tournament at Sunshine Bowl.

Eliminations continue Saturday and Sunday, with the finals Sunday at 1 p.m.

The men's division drew 134 entries, so the winner earns $1,200. Only 14 women showed, so the purse hasn't been determined.

NABI WINNERS:St. Petersburg's Patrick Pruitt and Palm Harbor's Kate Heil won NABI tournaments the past two weekends as the club resumed weekly play after the big NABI week in Las Vegas. Pruitt defeated Palm Harbor's Sean Bailey 173-139 for his first NABI win and $335 at AMF Kenneth City Lanes.

Dale Barber took the Platinum Division and $175.

Heil's second NABI title came after she stopped Clearwater's Ruth Ochocki 270-254 to claim the $335 payoff at Countryside Lanes.

NABI will be at Sunrise Lanes 2:30 p.m. Saturday with the first squad.

AROUND THE LANES: Chris Swee fired a 300-709 at Tarpon Lanes. ... Darryl Dempsey rolled a 299-826 at AMF Kenneth City Lanes.

- Phil Gulick can be reached at Xerxes6@aol.com or Xerxes6@Juno.com.

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