Provided photo From left: Artie Fink and Jackie Meister won the boys' and girls' championships, and Beth Monahan and Eric Burkett took the girls' and boys' runners-up in the Altoona Miller Bowler of the Year tournament.
Written by John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
New Enterprise's Jennifer Meister made her first appearance in the Altoona Miller 2024 Bowler of the Year Tournament held at FA Gerhard Lanes at Bayern Hall on Thursday night, winning the women's championship. .
Conversely, Altoona's Artie Fink Jr., the 2024 tournament's boys champion, has earned bowling honors throughout his career.
Meister won the women's championship with a four-game score of 860 in 244-189-181-246 games over veteran bowler Beth Monaghan, who finished runner-up with a total of 834.
Fink, who was inducted into the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame last month for a lifetime of combined bowling and golf accomplishments, won the Altoona Miller Bowler of the Year male title for the second consecutive year. Fink scored 1,056 points in four games (262-278-279-237), surpassing second-place finisher Eric Burkett's 1,024 points in four games.
The past two years have been two great years for Fink, 54, a former Pro Bowling Association member who achieved 300 career perfect games 90 times and will be inducted into the Pennsylvania Bowling Hall of Fame in 2023.
Fink is debating whether to play in this year's Bowler of the Year tournament as he has been suffering from pain in his left knee, which has gradually worsened over the past few months.
“I hadn't bowled in over a month before tonight, but (my knee) was holding up pretty well,” Fink, 54, said. He said he will see a doctor in two weeks to have his knee checked in preparation for the next tournament. local golf season.
A versatile athlete who played football and baseball at Altoona High School and placed third in both the USBC and Cincinnati Open bowling tournaments in 1994, Fink led by a sizable 819 overall score through his first three games. , and in the final game he turned on cruise control and won.
Drew Saylor took third place with a total score of 1006 and Bryson Holzlander took fourth place with a 931.
After three matches, Meister and Monaghan were tied at the top of the women's leaderboard, with Monaghan actually holding a narrow lead.
But Meister posted a score of 246 in the fourth and final game, while Monahan threw a score of 211, and that was the difference.
“This is a huge accomplishment for me because I had never bowled in this tournament before tonight,” Meister said. “After (Monaghan) took the lead in that third game, I was determined to get it back.”
Meister said it's important to stay calm and focused.
“I stayed focused and did what I knew how to do,” Meister said. “I slowed down, focused on my mark and made sure to follow through.”
In the women's category, Jess Troutman placed third with a total of 791 points, and Nikki Watt placed fourth with a total of 763 points.
male
1, Artie Fink, 262-278-279-237-1056; 2, Eric Burkett 1024; 3, Drew Saylor, 279-246-268-213-1006; 4, Bryson Holzlander, 236-280- 190-225-931
woman
1, Jennifer Meister, 244-189-181-246-860; 2, Beth Monahan, 221-190-212-211-834; 3, Jess Troutman, 188-177-258-168-791; 4 , Nikki Watt, 191-192-202-178-763.
