The bantam boys from Nechako Lanes were on target all day long. By the time the last pin had fallen, they had themselves a sweep of the top three spots at the Youth Bowling Canada zone finals.
Sunday on their home floor, Tyler Strizich, Ryder Darin and Spencer Ponto rolled to gold, silver and bronze respectively in a field of 16 bowlers. Strizich, with a five-game total of 971, qualified for the YBC provincial championships, March 2-3 in Vernon. Strizich locked up the berth in the B.C. finals when he posted a score of 265 in his last game. Darin finished with a total pinfall of 794 and Ponto ended up at 708. Aidan Hartford of Nechako (615) placed eighth, while Black Diamond Lanes bowler Jordan Simunac was 16th (415).
In the junior boys division, Jordan Arnett and Gage Reimer of Black Diamond claimed the top two spots and were followed by Brett Mero of Quesnel's Rev Bowling Lanes. Arnett advanced to provincials in Kelowna with a five-game score of 1,056. Reimer totaled 999 and Mero finished at 993. In the 20-player group, Ryan Kennedy and Nigel Thompson of Black Diamond were sixth and seventh with scores of 856 and 847. Will Peters of Nechako Lanes (839) placed eighth, while fellow Nechako members Dean Florell (691) and Ben Hendrickson (663) finished 15th and 18th.
In the senior boys competition, which featured 11 bowlers, Bryce Towgood (1,257) and Ryley Dumaine (1,123) took the top two spots and Sasha Letendre of Hypertension Escape in Dawson Creek was third with a five-game score of 1,082. Alex Webber and Nicholas Day of Black Diamond were sixth and 10th respectively with totals of 888 and and 796. Towgood will be in Kelowna for provincials.
In bantam girls competition at zones, Black Diamond's Jadyn Arnett struck for gold on her home lanes and clinched a spot in provincials in Vernon. Arnett's 758 total placed her ahead of Rev's Kiana Mero (730) and Black Diamond's Jesslyn Arnett (717). Other local results for the bantam girls included an eighth-place finish for Black Diamond's Holly Thurston (578) and an 11th-place finish for Jocelyn Meise, also of Black Diamond. Meise's five-game total was 525. Fourteen players were on the lanes in the bantam girls category.
In the 17-player junior girls roll-offs, Aiyana Basi of Rev grabbed gold with a score of 1,082. Lezzyl Aquino and Kassidy Johnson, both from Black Diamond, were second and third with totals of 1,002 and 995. Basi will represent the zone at provincials in Kelowna. Also in the junior girls division, Paige Meise of Black Diamond placed fourth (975) and Traci Rafferty of Black Diamond was 12th (759).
In the senior girls category, Ryley Lopushinsky of Terrace established herself as the zone champion with a five-game score of 1,160. Black Diamond bowlers Tiana Tecson (1,147) and Deanna Montgomery (952) rounded out the top three. Lopushinsky will travel to Kelowna for the provincial tournament. Anna Day of Black Diamond was eighth at zones with a total of 672.
Tecson rolled the highest single-game score at zones, a 304.
