Two Morgan Hill bowlers hit the lanes hard in Cleveland and came away with fantastic success.
Diego Jara and Justin Aboud both out lasted a large number of contenders at the Junior Gold national championships.
Jara took 37th out of 243 bowlers in his individual competition. Aboud took 52nd out of 602 bowlers in the U15 competition.
He also took 62nd in the Youth Open, which took place right before the Junior Gold.
Meanwhile, Jara appears to have found a four-leaf clover.
His team, the Cloverleaf Strikers, took first place in the USA Bowling U12 national team tournament.
“It was awesome,” Jara said. “It was awesome because we won, for sure, and because I got to go to another state to bowl. That was a good experience.
As a team, the Strikers dropped just two games in the tournament—one in the lead up to the championship and one in the championship itself.
Jara said there was a bunch of pressure as he got further along in the tournament.
“In the semi finals you could feel that pressure,” Jara said. “There were great teams going against us. There was no room for error in that either.”
In the semis, Jara and his team held a lead in the 10th frame of one of the games but he and his teammate split on their rolls.
Then the other team struck out in the 10th to pull away with a one-pin victory.
And a week later, Jara bowled his first perfect game ever, when he recorded a 720 series getting better with each game he bowled.
He started with a 194, improved to a 236 and finished off with a 300 game.
Under the lights
The unique aspect of the tournament is it wasn’t at a static location and there wasn’t a singular tournament being held.
The duo went around the city bowling in six different locations, all the while having to get used to the light, the markers and oil of the lanes.
Jara said the change in oil makes the lanes slicker compared to what they are at his home ally.
The result was if he missed his mark, the ball would not do what he would expect it would if he were at home.
“The ball doesn’t hook as much. If you miss your target it will go straight or not hook right. Basically, there’s less room for error,” Jara said.
Jara said he never really got used to the lights and lack of music being played.
“There was so much pressure because everyone is quiet and you can just feel everyone staring at you,” Jara said.
Jara said he’d rather having the chaos of a normal bowling ally than the intense quiet of the tournament.
Jara said he just slowed himself down and tried to focus on where his marks were and didn’t want to think about the pressure.
Aboud said he shared the same experience, especially going around the city and never really getting accustomed to where he was at.
“Obviously it’s hotter because it’s hotter in Cleveland,” Aboud said. “Since we bowled at so many places, each house different and there was more variety. I usually bowl one house here instead of eight houses over there.”
For Aboud, this was his best finish in the Junior Gold.
After each round, the tournament would post scores, including who would be advancing to the next round.
A year ago, Aboud missed the first cut and saw his tournament end early. This year, he didn’t have that experience.
“After each day, they would put standings up and when I saw my name as high as it was, it was pretty surreal,” Aboud said.
Both bowlers have also qualified for an All-Star tournament in Reno, the fourth time the duo have been invited to the tournament.
“Expect same things as the last years,” Aboud said. “I’m glad I am able to hang out with friends and bowl again.”
