Yvonne Leruyet was a strike ahead of her peers once again last weekend.
The 61-year-old Special Olympic bowler earned the high game of the day Saturday at the Black Diamond Lanes during the Region 8 qualifier.
"I was getting a little frustrated in the beginning," said Leruyet. "But I just tried to stretch my arm more and not worry about it."
The strategy paid off for Leruyet who tallied a 245 in her third and final game, which gave her the high score among women and men. It was unsurprising to see Leruyet do so well to any bowler who has slid into a pair of shoes at Black Diamond since Oct. 2011.
It was on Lane 12 late last year that Leruyet bowled her best game ever, earning a score of more than 300 on Oct. 17. She is the only Special Olympic bowler to earn a high score on a lane, which consists of having it hanging overhead to all to see when they bowl on that lane.
"I was told by Thom [Ross, local coordinator for Special Olympics bowlers] I'm the first girl in Special Olympics to bowl a 300 - all the others were men," said Leruyet. "We'll see next year when I come back bowling if it's still there."
Despite Leruyet's high score her team was unable to rise to the top of the podium, finishing in third spot out of 12 teams. There was four Prince George teams, four from Quesnel, two from Williams Lake and single teams from Dawson Creek and 100 Mile House.
It was Quesnel leading after two games and it looked good for them, but Dawson Creek surprised everyone in the final game to move from sixth place to first overall.
With the regional qualifier done, Ross said now the results will be sent to Special Olympics B.C. in Vancouver where it will be determined who many teams Region 8 will have for the 2013 Special Olympic Summer Games in Langley. A mixture of athletes from each team in the region will make up the provincial team based on average and scores in the qualifier.
Ross said he was happy to see the four Prince George teams enjoy themselves. One of the toughest things for him as a coach is watching when bowlers struggle.
"I just tell them to stop getting down on themselves," said Thom. "To just go out there and bowl because this is supposed to be a fun tournament."
He was beaming with pride for his athlete, Wayne Cavenaile, after offering him some tips when his bowler couldn't find the head pin - Cavenaile went on to score three strikes in a row before punching the head pin.
Despite the up and down day Cavenaile was smiling in the end.
"I had fun bowling anyway, not matter what," he said.
