Brianna Mester and Brandon Handog advanced the furthest among the 15 Island competitors in the Junior Gold Championships. (Photos courtesy of the Mester and Handog families)
By Staten Island Advance Sports Desk
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INDIANAPOLIS — Youth bowling’s version of the Little League World Series was contested last week when the USBC Junior Gold Championships were rolled in Indiana.
Staten Island was well represented as 15 Islanders, most hailing from Rab’s Country Lanes, were among the more than 2,900 youth bowlers who competed for titles, spots on the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Junior Team USA 2022 and the largest scholarship prize fund in the event’s history ($502,100).
The 23rd installment of the USBC Junior Gold Championships took place across six bowling centers in the Indianapolis area. The event features top USBC Youth bowlers ages 7 to 18 from around the United States as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S. military zones. Each participant qualified to enter by advancing through local USBC Junior Gold qualifying leagues and tournaments.
Competition officially started Monday July 12, with bowlers rolling a total of 16 games in the qualifying rounds before advancing to the Advancer Rounds and Finals which were live-streamed on BowlTV.
While competition came to an end after the Qualifying Round for most, Islanders Brianna Mester and Brandon Handog continued on to the Advancers Round in their respective divisions.
Mester, competing in the U15 Girls division, finished 34th in a field size of 298 girls with a 21-game, 3,743 pinfall, averaging 178.24 for the week. Mester fell shy 57 pins from the Final Advancers Round earning a $250 scholarship prize for her finish.
Handog finished the week in 90th place amongst a field of 868 in the U18 Boys division. He finished with a 4,146, 21-game series, averaging 197.43 for the competition. Handog finished 47 pins shy of the top 64 cutline. Brandon received a $300 scholarship for his performance.
The 2022 event should be stronger and will take place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Some Staten Island youth bowlers have already started qualifying for the event.
Complete Results below:
Qualifying Round:
U12 Division – Field Size: 93 Girls
GIRLS – 14 Advance to Final Advancers Round (cut: 2451)
74 – Kiara Lombardi 1948
U15 Division – Field Size: 631 Boys / 298 Girls
BOYS – 90 Advance to Advancers Round (cut: 2937)
478 – Joseph Guarnieri 2492
583 – Jeremy Vasquenz 2243
589 – Paul Cherry 2219
GIRLS – 43 Advance to the Final Advancers Round (cut: 2831)
13 – Brianna Mester 2987
U18 Division – Field Size: 868 Boys / 560 Girls
BOYS – 167 Advance to the Advancers Round (cut: 3097)
101 – Brandon Handog 3170 | 198.13 average
784 – Frank Koppie 2686
887 – Steven Souffrin 2632
1009 – Luciano Spagnuolo 2531
1083 – Victor Guastella 2450
1087 – Zachary Lababneh 2441
1124 – Patrick Taverner 2337
1131 – Enrique Rodriguez 2308
GIRLS – 80 Advance to the Advancers Round (cut: 2909)
298 – Maya Avilez 2634
530 – Su Denizer 2212
Advancers Round
U15 Division – Field Size: 298 Girls
28 Advance to the Final Advancers Round (cut: 3800)
34 – Brianna Mester 3743
U18 Division – Field Size: 868 Boys
BOYS – 64 Advance to the Final Advancers Round (cut: 4193)
90 – Brandon Handog 4146
Youth bowlers took to the lanes on Sunday November 22 to compete for titles in Rab’s Gold Shootout and their shot at advancing to the 2021 Junior Gold Championships to be held in Indy, next summer.
The final qualifying round of the 2018 Junior Gold Championships concluded Thursday with the final 4 games of competition.
Anthony Mastroianni lead the group of competitors from Rab’s with a 3045 16-game series and a 57th place finish in the U15 Boys Division. He will advance to Friday’s Advancer Round.
Rab’s Last Chance for Gold
Rab’s Junior Prestige Classic