Gary Faulkner of Memphis, Tenn., and Natalie Jimenez of Rowland Heights, Calif., won national titles Friday, claiming the top spots at the 2011 USBC Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick. Both players rolled to their respective victories at Sunset Station's Strike Zone with little drama down the stretch. They came out on top against 1,648 USBC Youth bowlers who started the week. Faulkner finished with a 46-game total of 10,241 (9-7 match play record) and Jimenez had a score of 9,819 (11-4-1).
With record scholarships on the line in the 2012 North Pointe Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick will shift to a double-elimination match-play bracket for the top 16 bowlers in each of four divisions. The event, which will have $250,000 in scholarships up for grabs, is expected to draw nearly 2,000 bowlers from across the country to Indianapolis from July 14-20. In addition to scholarships, bowlers will be competing for spots on Junior Team USA.
The week started with 1,648 of the top youth bowlers in the country and now the field has been trimmed to the top 16 boys and top 16 girls for Friday's finals at the 2011 United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick. With 16 games remaining, Gary Faulkner (l.) of Memphis, Tenn., took a commanding lead in the boys division, while Holly Harris (r.) of Long Prairie, Minn., holds a slim lead in the girls division at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center.
With qualifying wrapping up Wednesday at the 2011 USBC Junior Gold Championships presented by Brunswick, the pressure was on for players to make the first cut into the semifinals. One of the players outside of the cut number coming into the day was Team USA and Junior Team USA member Scott Boyle (pictured) of Salida, Calif. Boyle entered the final round of qualifying in 181st place. The top 144 (plus ties) make the cut in the boys division, while the top 72 (plus ties) advance for the girls.
Zack Hattori (pictured) of Las Vegas proved he was one of the top youth bowlers in the country last year by finishing ninth at the USBC Junior Gold Championships. This year, he brings that confidence along with the fact the event is in his hometown. The 18-year-old recent graduate of Silverado High School has taken full advantage of the event being in his stomping grounds. He is among 1,648 USBC Youth bowlers competing in the Las Vegas area this week.
Last year, Marshall Kent (pictured left) of Yakima, Wash., entered the USBC Junior Gold Championships having never made the first cut. This year, he enters not only as the defending champion but as one of the most well-known youth bowlers in the country. Kent will once again have a large field standing in his way this year, as more than 1,700 USBC Youth bowlers from across the country are expected to descend upon three of the Las Vegas area's biggest bowling centers.
The United States Bowling Congress has seen a steady growth in the number of bowlers at the high school and collegiate level during the past few seasons, and the participation in another youth program has reached an all-time high. The USBC Junior Gold program recently set a record for most memberships sold in a season. At the end of April, Junior Gold membership stood at 3,407 and more youth bowlers are expected to join before the membership year ends July 31.
The biggest youth bowling tournaments in the nation, the USBC Junior Gold Championships and the USBC Youth Open, will return to Indianapolis in 2012. Woodland Bowl, Western Bowl and Expo Bowl will be the host centers for Junior Gold with the semifinals and finals to be contested at Woodland Bowl. Expo Bowl will be the site of the Youth Open. The three centers played host to the events in 2009 and 2010.
