They were dominant from start to finish.
Now, as provincial champions, Kim Thompson, Kelsy Hogh, Leighanne Paull, Darci Shelke, Mary Ann Sanders and Kayla Clark will try for a repeat performance on national lanes.
The local women's five-pin bowling team rolled to top spot at the Coastal Insurance Provincial Open tournament, held Friday through Sunday at Black Diamond Lanes and Nechako Lanes. Representing Zone 8, Thompson and company were in first place after a 14-game round robin. As the top-ranked team in the stepladder playoffs, they had a bye to the championship match, where they defeated the second-seeded Lower Mainland 1,272-1,034.
"They just gelled so well together as a team," Zone 8 coach Ed Stepski said of his players. "It was really nice to coach. It was so easy for me because the girls bowled so well. It was just phenomenal.
"I was quite surprised," Stepski added. "I knew we had a good team but I didn't think that we'd actually win it all. The talent down south is so good. They've got so much more to pick from where in Prince George we have enough [players] to qualify for the ladies and the mixed and that's it."
In the stepladder final, the Lower Mainlanders -- Carole Brook, Jennifer Neff, Charlene Brook, Kim Jewell, Trisha Bodnar and Tammy Marino -- needed to win twice to take the provincial crown and national berth. But, after some tight opening frames in the first game, the Prince George ladies started to build a lead and were ahead by close to 100 pins by the end of the eighth. In the ninth and 10th frames, they cemented their victory.
While winning a provincial championship is always a great accomplishment, this victory is even more impressive because two team members -- Shelke and Clark -- were competing in the open provincials for the first time in their careers. Shelke, in fact, is still classified as a youth bowler.
"They really performed," Stepski said in reference to the two rookies. "For all the nervousness that you should have, they didn't really show it that much."
Overall, Shelke's average was 222 and Clark's was 213.
"I was definitely nervous but the team was so supportive," said the 24-year-old Clark. "They were great ladies to bowl with, and considering most of them have done this before, it was a lot easier that way. I did bowl in YBC and I went to nationals in YBC when I was younger so that gave me a little bit of experience."
Statistically, Thompson and Hogh were the team leaders at provincials. They averaged 251 and 249 respectively and made the five-player tournament all-star team.
"They were unbelievable," Stepski said. "You could tell that they were the veterans. They really held the bowlers together. They showed their talent as well as their maturity in helping the younger ones bowl."
Paull finished with a 233 average and Sanders ended with a 221.
Nationals are June 1-5 in Surrey and Langley.
"We'll be bowling against the best in Canada so if we can make the stepladder [playoffs] we'll just go from there, one game at a time," Stepski said. "They'll go and have fun and enjoy themselves and they'll bowl well, there's no doubt about it."
Added Clark: "I think we have a very good chance. All our bowlers are very strong so there's no doubt in my mind that we could come out with a win."
