PBA Regional Recap: Keven Williams Wins First Regional Title

July 6, 2023 Chase Kaufman

There were points aplenty to be had over the past two weeks, but more specifically, in the last week of June. Seven of the latest nine events transpired between June 23 and June 30, including a triple-header in Norfolk, Virginia. Players desiring to qualify for the RPI took their chance at the thousands of points awarded in the previous handful of days, along with the opportunity to bring home some cash and a regional title.

PBA Norfolk PBA Booster Club Of Hampton Roads Open

Beginning with the triple-header in the South Region, it felt like a PBA PTQ with the players that emerged in the single-elimination bracket. The likes of Trevor Roberts, Dwight Adams, Pete Vergos, Ryan Lane, and Nate Garcia headlined the final hopefuls, so it was sure to be an exceptional remaining 16. But in the end, Zachary Tackett of Virginia Beach stood tall above them all. After losing with a 199 in his very first game, Tackett won his next eight straight contests. He defeated Colin Champion, Adams, Roberts, Lance Morris, and finally Connor Pickford, 267-192, to claim his second career regional title.

PBA Norfolk PBA Booster Club Of Hampton Roads Open Final Standings

Zachary Tackett, 2,500 Points, $3,000
Connor Pickford, 1,500, $1,610
Lance Morris, 1,150, $900
Matt Taylor, 950, $900

PBA Norfolk PBA Booster Club Of Hampton Roads Open Full Results

PBA50 Ed Tenan Memorial Norfolk PBA Booster Club of Hampton

Next up in the PBA50 division, Darryl Bower, Peter Dohan Jr., Jeff Campbell, and James Winterfield all bowled well enough to earn themselves a double-bye for the bracket play, including the top 16 from qualifying. But double-bye or not, nothing was powerful enough to stop Darryl Bower over the weekend. After qualifying first, Bower ate an extra scoop of Wheaties and a Flintstones Vitamin and powered through the bracket. Bower shot a 236 and 244 to defeat Rob Kuntz, beat Steve Hollandsworth 258-232, and wrapped up the tournament by taking down Joe Scarborough 278-184.

PBA50 Ed Tenan Memorial Norfolk PBA Booster Club of Hampton Final Standings

Darryl Bower, 2,500 Points, $2,000
Joe Scarborough, 1,500, $1,400
Jeffrey Campbell, 1,150, $805
Steve Hollandsworth, 950, $805

PBA50 Ed Tenan Memorial Norfolk PBA Booster Club of Hampton Full Results

PBA Women's PBA Booster Club of Hampton Roads Open

Twenty-one ladies entered the regional event in Norfolk, and the top six advanced to bracket play. Elise Bolton dominated qualifying to earn the one-seed and a first-round bye, but she fell in the semifinals to Ashley Scott, 221-168. Jenna Williams, the two-seed who also possessed a bye, dropped in the semis to Kaylene Bishop 224-170. In the final battle between Bishop and Scott, Bishop couldn't get anything to fall her way as Scott cruised to a 207-144 victory to earn a cool $1,000.

PBA Women's PBA Booster Club of Hampton Roads Open Final Standings

Ashley Scott, $1,000
Kaylene Bishop, $800
Elise Bolton, $700
Jenna Williams, $700

PBA Women's PBA Booster Club of Hampton Roads Open Full Results

PBA Edmond Southwest Open

Moving over to Oklahoma, precisely 100 bowlers entered the Edmond Southwest Open and 1 in 3 moved into advancer’s round number one. After advancer’s rounds one, two, and three, François Lavoie, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Trey Ford III, and Kris Koeltzow settled into the top four for the stepladder. Koeltzow produced a 257 in game one against Ford’s 216 but fell to Lavery-Spahr 245-244 in the second match after needing nine on his fill and getting just seven. In another rousing match, Lavoie needed strike, strike, nine, and aced each of the three shots for his eighth regional title and first since 2019.

PBA Edmond Southwest Open Final Standings

Francois Lavoie, 2,500 Points, $2,800
Sean Lavery-Spahr, 1,500, $1,900
Kris Koeltzow, 1,150, $1,500
Trey Ford III, 950, $1,175

PBA Edmond Southwest Open Full Results

PBA Beehive Open

The plan was to compose a terrible segue here on how to remove a beehive, but everything online says to call a professional, so off we go. Ryan Burton led qualifying in Lehi, Utah, at the Beehive Open by over 70 pins on the Del Ballard pattern. Burton held onto the lead to claim the one seed in the stepladder, while Brody Chatterton, Tim Ursillo, and Ramsey Basurto earned the following three seeds. After Ursillo beat Basurto, Chatterton squeaked past Ursillo to set up a sensational final. After a tie at 257, the two faced each other in a roll-off that took five shots apiece to determine the winner. Burton struck on shot five while Chatterton rocked a glued seven-pin to give Burton the win.

PBA Beehive Open Final Standings

Ryan Burton, $2,400
Brody Chatterton, $1,600
Tim Ursillo, 1,150 Points, $1,350
Ramsey Basurto, 950, $1,100

PBA Beehive Open Full Results

PBA Buffalo Wild Wings Central Open

Boneless or bone-in is the ultimate question (and I won’t accept any boneless slander, bone-in is just too much work), but the ultimate question here is how high can scores be on the Viper pattern? The answer: very high. It took +191 for eight games to make the cut, which led to some intriguing bracket matches. In the first semifinal matchup, Brendan Salo put away a first-game loss to Zac Tackett, and came back to win 2-1 to move onto the finals. His opponent was a scorching Chris Via, who just went 300-279 against Tom Sorce. Salo claimed the hot hand in the finals, winning 2-0 for his first career title.

PBA Buffalo Wild Wings Central Open Final Standings

Brendan Salo, 2,500 Points, $2,700
Chris Via, 1,500, $1,375
Zac Tackett, 1,150, $1,100
Tom Sorce, 950, $1,100

PBA Buffalo Wild Wings Central Open Full Results

PBA First State Doubles Classic presented by Anchor Buick/GM

In a matinee event if you will, 36 teams fought to the end in Middletown, Delaware, on the Cheetah pattern. Anthony Pepe and Alex Cavagnaro led at +691, but with a single-elimination bracket in the wings, nobody was guaranteed a spot at the top of the mountain yet. Ethan McDonald and Jonathan Kleer made a run to the finals, defeating Zach Gentile and Sam DeWitt in the semifinals. They would face Joe Paluszek and John Furey in the finals, who just wrapped up their match against Jake Rollins and Jason Sterner. In the last bout, a pair of 236 games would be enough for Paluszek and Furey to take down McDonald and Kleer to claim the title.

PBA First State Doubles Classic presented by Anchor Buick/GM Final Standings

Joe Paluszek/John Furey, 2,500 Points, $4,000
Ethan McDonald/Jonathan Kleer, 1,500, $2,000
Zach Gentile/Sam DeWitt, 1,150, $1,600
Jake Rollins/Jason Sterner, 950, $1,600

PBA First State Doubles Classic presented by Anchor Buick/GM Full Results

PBA Rita Justice Classic presented by Bally's Dover Casino Resort

Continuing in The First State, after a dominant individual performance in the doubles tournament averaging just a shade under 260, Tim Foy Jr. continued his prominence in the singles portion, qualifying in first place at +262. He made it out of the advancer’s round but fell in his quarter of the bracket to Tom Sorce. In the stepladder featuring each quarter’s winners, Ryan Galli took down Malik Grove in match one, 209-202, but Sorce then crept past Galli 211-210. Jason Sterner owned the one-seed after a dominant 4-0 bracket performance, but the winner-take-all final match went the way of Sorce as he claimed his first regional title in over 15 years.

PBA Rita Justice Classic presented by Bally's Dover Casino Resort Final Standings

Tom Sorce, 2,500 Points, $6,000
Jason Sterner, 1,500, $3,200
Ryan Galli, 1,150, $2,300
Malik Grove, 950, $1,500

PBA Rita Justice Classic presented by Bally's Dover Casino Resort Full Results

PBA Contra Costa County Open

PBA Regional Recap: Keven Williams Wins First Regional Title

For the final contest of the fortnight, a full field entered the Contra Costa County Open, where Keven Williams qualified in the top spot with seven games over 230. It’s not always the case that the chalk holds throughout the tournament, especially in a bracket setting, but in this tournament, it did. Williams, the one-seed, and Nickolas Freiberg, the two-seed in the running for Rookie of the Year, faced off in the final match. Williams struck out for a 216 to force Freiberg to strike to win or spare, strike to tie. Freiberg first converted a ten-pin but left another ten on the fill to lose by one as Williams picked up his first career regional title.

PBA Contra Costa County Open Final Standings