Aug/Sep 2017 -
37
California Team Takes U12 Title At 2017 USA
Bowling National Championships
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WICKLIFFE, Ohio -
Four young friends from California put together a bowling
team because they wanted to hang out and have fun doing something they all
enjoyed.
Now, they are national champions after capturing the 12-and-under title at the
2017
The title match aired on CBS Sports Network.
A combination of hard work, good chemistry, the support of their coaches and
local bowling community and a little extra time together on the lanes gave the
members of Cloverleaf Strikers the tools they needed to defeat Georgia All
Stars, 3-1, in the best-of-five modified Baker finals at Game of Wickliffe.
In the unique format, the first two bowlers in the lineup each bowl three frames
per game (1-5-9 and 2-6-10, respectively), while the other two team members
bowl two frames each (3-7 and 4-8).
The winning team included 2016 NorCal Bowling Centers Youth Bowling As-
sociation All-Stars Nihal Mareedu and Diego Jara, Harley Shene and Joey Irvin.
Cloverleaf Strikers, representing the Pacific Southwest, squeaked out a 169-
167 win in the opening game under the CBS Sports Network lights, when Geor-
gia All Stars anchor Jacob Ballenger failed to convert a 10 pin in the final frame.
The Strikers managed just one strike in a 206-174 loss to the All Stars in
Game 2 but rallied with wins of 204-147 and 192-185.
In the finale, the Atlantic East champion All Stars closed with four strikes, leav-
ing Cloverleaf anchor Harley Shene needing a mark and three pins to secure
the title. He struck on his first shot and got nine on his second to seal it.
"This really is amazing because we haven't had a chance to bowl together all
that much as a team, so coming away with the win was something we didn't
expect," Harley said. "I knew I needed a mark. I just wanted to strike, so I didn't
end up leaving something I could miss."
All four members of Cloverleaf Strikers regularly test their skills on the Youth
Bowlers Tour, a tournament group in Northern California, co-founded by United
States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Leanne Hulsenberg and Cloverleaf
Family Bowl co-proprietor Mike Hillman.
Bowling in top-tier events on challenging lane conditions has helped the team-
mates sharpen their skills, but a few extra practices together at Cloverleaf Fam-
ily Bowl in Fresno, California, helped the group with its cohesiveness.
"It has been a great week with the kids, but, from the start, we tried to remind
them that we were here to have fun above all else," said Christine Shene, who
coaches the team with Michael Ascunsion. "The boys get along really well, and
they all work hard to get better by practicing and bowling in tournaments on
tougher patterns. They've also had a chance to practice together a few times as
a team, and it really helped."
This year's TV appearance for Georgia All Stars offered coaches Bill and Ellen
Johnson the opportunity to win titles in both editions of the USA Bowling Na-
tional Championships, which debuted in 2016.
A victory also would've meant redemption for two Georgia All Stars bowlers,
Ballenger and Bryant Griffith, who were runners-up in the U12 division in 2016,
while the Johnsons helped the South region's The Strikers to the U15 champi-
onship.
Ballenger and Griffith were joined in this year's second-place finish by James
Armendariz and Riley Stewart.
"We were just incredibly grateful to be coming back again because that in itself
was an accomplishment to be proud of, since this program is growing and the
competition in each region is getting stronger," Bill Johnson said. "Anytime you
lose, it's hard, but we try to emphasize the importance of sportsmanship and
learning from each loss, along with the wins. That's part of what USA Bowling is
about. We love all the kids, and we'll keep doing everything we can to help this
great program grow and succeed."
The 2017 USA Bowling National Championships included two divisions - 12-
and-under and 15-and-under - each with its own TV show.
The 2017 USA Bowling National Championships started with 32 teams - 16 in
the 12-and-under division and 16 in the 15-and-under division - which bowled
five and six one-game Baker matches, respectively, at Yorktown Lanes in
Parma Heights, Ohio, on July 19, with their win-loss records determining the
seeding for their respective double-elimination match-play brackets.
The schedule originally called for 15 matches, but a citywide power shortage
forced the day to be cut short. Ties were broken by total pinfall.
Match play took place July 20 at nearby Freeway Lanes of Parma and fea-
tured best-of-three Baker matches to see who advanced.
CBS Sports Network is televising the final of both divisions for the second con-
secutive year.
On the way to the TV show, Cloverleaf Strikers averaged 205 en route to a 5-0
record and earned the top seed for match play. They rolled through the bracket
with a 4-0 mark. Georgia All Stars was 2-3 during qualifying, earning the No. 10
seed for match play but reached the final unscathed.
All rounds of qualifying and match play leading up to the televised finals were
broadcast on BowlTV.
The USA Bowling program was introduced at the regional level in 2013 and
grew to include the first USA Bowling National Championships last year in Indi-
anapolis.
The 32 teams competing in the Cleveland area all earned their spots at the
national event by winning one of 16 regional tournaments held across the coun-
try throughout the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017.
USA Bowling is a product of the Youth Education Services (YES) Fund, a joint
initiative of the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America and United States
Bowling Congress supported by top bowling brands including Bowling.com,
Columbia 300, Ebonite, Hammer, QubicaAMF, Roto Grip, Storm and Track.
