Defending Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) World Champion Parker Bohn III of Jackson, NJ, rolled a pair of 300 games Saturday on his way to earning the top qualifying position for the PBA Cheetah Championship finals at South Point Bowling Center while Colombia native Clara Guerrero became the third woman in PBA history to qualify for a nationally-televised stepladder final.
The Cheetah Championship is the first of five tournaments on the PBA World Series of Bowling V program which continues through Nov. 3.
Bohn, who won the 2012 World Championship during PBA World Series of Bowling IV, fired his 91st and 92nd career 300 games (one behind all-time leader Walter Ray Williams Jr., who has 93 perfect games in PBA competition) for a 14-game total of 3,503 pins and a 250.21 average. The 33-time PBA Tour champion won the top berth in the Cheetah stepladder finals by 49 pins over fellow PBA Hall of Famer and 37-time Tour champion Pete Weber of St. Ann, MO. Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, qualified third with 3,452 pins and Guerrero finished her climb from 10th place to claim the fourth berth in the finals with a 3,446 total.
Guerrero will join Kelly Kulick of Union, NJ, and Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, NY, as the third woman to reach the championship round of a PBA Tour event. Kulick went on to win the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions to become the only woman to capture a PBA National Tour title.
The Cheetah Championship finals will be conducted on Saturday, Nov. 2, on lanes installed in South Point’s Exhibition Hall B and will air on ESPN on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 1 p.m. ET.
Bohn, who started the semifinal round in fifth place, found his comfort zone and ran away from the field.
“I don’t have many issues with the Cheetah lane condition,” Bohn said. “My speed allowed me to play it comfortably. The lanes were a little tighter than they were in practice, but once I got my speed dialed in, the ball did what it was supposed to do.
“I’m very, very happy,” he added. “Now I get to bowl one game for the title, which is always a good thing. Even better, I’m way ahead of last year when I didn’t have one top 16 finish in any of the animal pattern events, but I still won the World Championship.”
Guerrero’s charge out of 10th place was a surprise to everyone but her. Earlier in the day, she became the second woman in the five-year history of PBA World Series competition to finish among the top 24 in the 238-player, male-dominated event. Kulick finished 15th in the 2010 Shark Championship, seventh in the 2011 Chameleon Championship and 21st in the 2012 Viper Championship. Guerrero also joined an elite group of women who have won a PBA Regional title when she won her first PBA Southwest Region title in Austin, Texas, last October.
“It would be very nice to win a title here, too,” she smiled. “I’d like to finish history the right way.”
Guerrero started her final seven-game round with a 189 game, an ominous total in the high-scoring Cheetah contest, but followed with games of 244, 289, 213, 267, 278 and 277 to complete her stunning rally.
“I was a little stiff from the layoff between the first and semifinal rounds, but then I got my rhythm and made better shots,” the former Wichita State University All-American said. “After the 189 start, I didn’t think I could make it, but after a couple of big games, I saw I had a chance and in the last couple of games, I really went for it. Things came my way. I finished strong. It was great.”
Guerrero, who has been a member of Colombia’s national bowling team since 1995 when she qualified at age 13, is now a U.S. citizen, married and living in Pflugerville, Texas.
Earlier Saturday, National Football League all-pro wide receiver Terrell Owens made his professional bowling PBA debut in the Cheetah Championship, and struggled to finish with a 1,178 total, a 168.29 average. But he said he wasn’t terribly disappointed.
“I got better as I bowled,” Owens said. “I had 194 my last game, which was decent, and I didn’t come in last.
“These are best bowlers in the world. By no means did I expect to come in here and crush the lanes,” Owens added. “Obviously I have a lot of learning to do. But tomorrow is another day and I can only get better.”
World Series competition continues Sunday with the Viper Championship presented by PBA Bowling Challenge. Qualifying squads will bowl seven games at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. PT, with the top 24 advancing to the seven-game semifinal round at 7:30 p.m. The final two animal pattern events – the Chameleon and Scorpion Championships – will be held on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
All qualifying rounds from the World Series are being covered live on PBA’s Xtra Frame online bowling channel, and via “live scoring” on pba.com. For daily, monthly or yearly subscriptions to Xtra Frame, click on the Xtra Frame link on the pba.com home page.
PBA CHEETAH CHAMPIONSHIP
South Point Bowling Center, Las Vegas, Saturday
SEMIFINAL ROUND STANDINGS (after 14 games; top 4 advance to stepladder finals on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. PT for ESPN telecast on Dec. 1 at 1 p.m. ET)
1, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,503.
2, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,454.
3, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 3,452.
4, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 3,446.
5, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 3,426, $4,000.
6, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 3,416, $3,500.
7, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 3,413, $3,000.
8, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 3,410, $2,500.
9, Mike Fagan, Ft. Worth, Texas, 3,390, $2,200.
10, Joe Findling, Mesquite, Texas, 3,351, $2,000.
11, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 3,350, $1,800.
12, Bryan Viator, Friendswood, Texas, 3,341, $1,700.
13, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 3,325, $1,650.
14, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 3,311, $1,600.
15, PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., 3,305, $1,550.
16, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 3,290, $1,500.
17 (tie), Dom Barrett, England, and Mike Moore, Oviedo, Fla., 3,256, $1,425.
19, Kevin Gallagher, Torrance, Calif., 3,226, $1,350.
20, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 3,207, $1,300.
21, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 3,184, $1,275.
22, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 3,171, $1,250.
23, Travis Anderson, Washington, Ill, 3,141, $1,225.
24, Jacob Heger, Spring, Texas, 3,004, $1,200.
300 Games (9): Bryon Smith, Lonnie Waliczek, Parker Bohn III (2), Anthony Colosimo, Tom Hess, Eugene McCune, Eric Forkel, Pete Weber.
FIRST ROUND STANDINGS (after 7 games; top 24 advance to semifinal round)1, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 1,780.
2, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 1,762.
3, Mike Fagan, Ft. Worth, Texas, 1,754.
4, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,752.
5, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,749.
6, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 1,744.
7, Kevin Gallagher, Torrance, Calif., 1,738.
8, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 1,732.
9, Mike Moore, Oviedo, Fla., 1,730.
10, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 1,728.
11, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 1,718.
12, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 1,711.
13, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 1,689.
14 (tie), PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., and E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 1,688.
16 (tie), Joe Findling, Mesquite, Texas, and Jacob Heger, Spring, Texas, 1,686.
18, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 1,685.
19, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,684.
20, Dom Barrett, England, 1,681.
21, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1,677.
22, Bryan Viator, Friendswood, Texas, 1,675.
23 (tie), Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., and Travis Anderson, Washington, Ill, 1,674.
Other cashers (after 7 games)
25, Fumihiro Yoshida, Japan, 1,670, $800.
26, Mik Stampe, Denmark, 1,667, $770.
27, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,665, $850.
28, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,663, $740.
29, Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Chatsworth, Calif., 1,662, $730.
30, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Denton, Texas, 1,659, $720.
31, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1,657, $710.
32, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 1,656, $700.
Failed to cash33, Craig LeMond, Jasper, Ind., 1,655.
34, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 1,653.
35, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,649.
36 (tie), Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., and Todd Book, Russells Point, Ohio, 1,643.
38, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,640.
39, Kris Koeltzow, Wheat Ridge, Colo., 1,633.
40, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 1,632.
41 (tie), Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., and Gregory Thompson Jr., Dublin, Calif., 1,630.
43 (tie), Brad Miller, St. Charles, Mo., and Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 1,626.
45, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 1,621.
46, Kim Bolleby, Sweden, 1,617.
47, Paul Moor, England; William Keenan Jr., Orlando, FL, and Jake Peters, Decatur, IL, 1,609.
50, Jon VanHees, Charlestown, R.I., 1,608.
51 (tie), Stuart Williams, England, and Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 1,605.
53 (tie), Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., and Will Garber, Modesto, Calif.,
1,602. 55, Brian Nicodemus, Akron, Ind., 1,601.
56, Tetsuya Kobayashi, Japan, 1,600.
57 (tie), Luis Rovaina Jr., Venezuela; Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, and B.J. Moore III, Apex, N.C., 1,597.
60, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 1,594.
61, Craig Auerbach, Sunrise, Fla., 1,590.
62, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 1,588.
63 (tie), Mike Keily, Golden, Colo., and Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,585.
65, Patrick Girard, Canada, 1,584.
66, Tim Mack, Indianapolis, 1,583.
67 (tie), Ashley Warren, Australia, and Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 1,580.
69, Randy Pedersen, Clermont, Fla., 1,579.
70 (tie), Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, and Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,577.
72, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 1,576.
73, Pat Nolan, Japan, 1,575.
74, Dale Coleman, High Springs, Fla., 1,574.
75, Curtis Woods Jr., Santa Rosa, Calif., 1,573.
76 (tie), Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., and Timothy Tripp, Santa Clarita, Calif., 1,571.
78, Jeff Roche, Dearborn, Mich., 1,570.
79, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,568.
80, Mike Williams II, Montgomery, Ala., 1,567.
81, Stephen Pavlinko Jr., Sewell, N.J., 1,566.
82, Carsten Hansen, Denmark, 1,564.
83, Dan MacLelland, Canada; Julio Cesar Blancas, Mexico, and Tim Gillick, Milford, CT, 1,563.
86, Chad Pojas, Wahiawa, Hawaii, 1,561.
87, Manuel Otalora, Colombia, 1,560.
88, Eric Forkel, Henderson, Nev., 1,559.
89, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,558.
90, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,557.
91 (tie), D.J. Archer, Friendswood, Texas, and Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 1,556.
93, Brian LeClair, Albany, N.Y., 1,554.
94, Vinny D'Ambrosio III, Staten Island, N.Y., 1,553.
95, David Knight Jr., Folcroft, Pa., 1,552.
96, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,551.
97, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 1,548.
98 (tie), Anthony Colosimo, Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,547.
100, Andre Eubanks, Los Angeles, 1,546.
101 (tie), Myles Duty, Modesto, Calif., and Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,545.
103, Travis Celmer, Wernersville, Pa., 1,538.
104 (tie), Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., and Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 1,537.
106 (tie), Hernan Ramirez, Venezuela, and Brett Cunningham, Clay, N.Y., 1,535.
108 (tie), Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., and Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., 1,533.
110, Hadley Morgan, England, 1,530.
111 (tie), Calvin Sellers, Stratford, Conn., and James Wallace, Hicksville, N.Y., 1,526.
113, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,522.
114, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,521.
115 (tie), Tommy Berish, Cordova, Tenn., and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,520.
117, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 1,517.
118, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 1,516.
119, Clint Land, Richmond, Texas, 1,515.
120 (tie), Lee Rathjen Jr., Naples, Fla., and Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,514.
122, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 1,512.
123, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 1,511.
124 (tie), Bob Markiewicz, San Diego, and Clarence White, Tracy, Calif., 1,510.
126 (tie), Douglas Yu, Canada, and Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,509.
128 (tie), Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., and Joonas Jehkinen, Finland, 1,508.
130, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,507.
131 (tie), Chris Cundiff, Lake Station, Ind., and Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 1,506.
133, Robert Lee, Japan, 1,505.
134, Gabriel Sanchez, Puerto Rico, 1,501.
135 (tie), Matt Villegas, Phoenix, and Austin Hunt, Kennewick, Wash., 1,500.
137 (tie), Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla.; Gary Haines, West Babylon, N.Y., and Mike Armstrong Jr., Battle Ground, Wash., 1,498.
140, Jim Pratt, Glendale, Ariz., 1,497.
141, Jeremy Mooney, West Palm Beach, Fla., 1,496.
142, Alan Mojado, Pala, Calif., 1,494.
143, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 1,493.
144, Mike DeVaney, Winchester, Calif., 1,491.
145, Alejandro Reyna, Costa Rica, 1,490.
146, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 1,489.
147, T.P. Peterson, Evergreen Park, Ill., 1,482.
148 (tie), Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash.; Shota Kawazoe, Japan, and Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,480.
151, David Beres, Waukesha, Wis., 1,479.
152, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 1,478.
153 (tie), Meen Woo Kim, Korea, and David Stouffer, Lehigh Acres, Fla., 1,476.
155, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 1,475.
156, Raymond Watts, Orange, Calif., 1,474.
157, Kelvin Wiggins, Rocky Mt., N.C., 1,472.
158, Gustavo Viramontes Jr., Mexico, 1,471.
159, Keith Laing, Culver City, Calif., 1,468.
160 (tie), Gary Baker, England, and Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,465.
162 (tie), Dustin Sherman, Petaluma, Calif., and Vladimir Sverchkov, Russia, 1,456.
164, Robert Piroozshad, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1,455.
165 (tie), Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., and Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 1,454.
167 (tie), Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, and Chad Lusche, Arvada, Colo., 1,453.
169 (tie), Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., and Kevin Kullman, Tinley Park, Ill., 1,451.
171, Aaron Ramsden, Pleasant Valley, Mo., 1,446.
172, Matt Schermerhorn, El Segundo, Calif., 1,443.
173 (tie), Kevin Beers, Reinholds, Pa., and Sandra Andersson, Sweden, 1,440.
175, Mike Bailey, Allen, Texas, 1,439.
176, Shigeo Saitoh, Japan, 1,438.
177, Rob Shepherd, Sierra Vista, Ariz., 1,437.
178, Kalani Dilliner, Las Vegas, 1,436.
179, Miguel Lopez, Wichita, Kan., 1,435.
180, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 1,434.
181, Stephen Carter, Australia, 1,433.
182, Glenn Morgan, Carson City, Nev., 1,430.
183 (tie), James McCleland, Venice, Fla., and Junia Yoshida, Japan, 1,428.
185 (tie), Marek Talpa, Czech Republic, and Josh Lewis, Asheville, N.C., 1,427.
187, Giorgio Clinaz Jr., Venezuela, 1,422.
188, Scott Halvarson, Lakewood, Wash., 1,416.
189, Kyle Paxson, Orlando, Fla., 1,410.
190, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 1,407.
191 (tie), Matthew Graham, Emeryville, Calif., and Russ Hunt, Kennewick, Wash., 1,406.
193, Joseph Costanzo, Bethpage, N.Y., 1,405.
194, Matt Watson, Australia, 1,400.
195 (tie), Jonathan Sellers, Stratford, Conn., and Brett Spangler, Niles, Ohio, 1,398.
197, Rameses Chambers, Kansas City, Mo., 1,387.
198, Hyun Bum Kim, Korea, 1,384.
199, Cameron Zacher, Australia, 1,381.
200, Mykhaylo Kalika, Ukraine, 1,378.
201, Frankie Mazzella, Staten Island, N.Y., 1,373.
202, Ryan Appel, Cinnaminson, N.J., 1,370.
203, Jonathan Hocsman, Argentina, 1,369.
204, Kenneth Bland Jr., Lorton, Va., 1,366.
205, Nick Morgan, Sacramento, Calif., 1,365.
206, Wesley Edwards, Blue Springs, Mo., 1,361.
207, J.T. "Action" Jackson, Sherman Oaks, CA, and Justin Bychkowski, Fairfield, CN., 1,360.
209, Justin Stevens, Aiea, Hawaii, 1,358.
210, Jay Hess, Ocoee, Fla., 1,356.
211, Patrick King, Yankton, S.D., 1,354.
212, Frank Guccione, Castle Rock, Colo., 1,353.
213, Adam Wilson, Reno, Nev., 1,343.
214, Jon King, Australia, 1,339.
215, Keith Bullock, Moscow Mill, Mo, 1,338.
216, Richard Lupo, St. Charles, Mo., 1,336.
217, Mark Milasinovich, Macomb, Mich., 1,335.
218, David Maycock, Bermuda, 1,331.
219, Jon Wheatley, Australia, 1,330.
220, Gerald Marrs, Huntley, Ill., 1,322.
221, Ariachizu Kamalu, Chicago, 1,312.
222, Chris Watson, Australia, 1,271.
223, Ken Truong, Canada, 1,262.
224 (tie), Scott Dull, Cresson, Texas, and Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 1,253.
226, Jason Miller, San Antonio, 1,234.
227, J.D. Sommers, San Jose, Calif., 1,221.
228, Steve Ford, Seaside, Ore., 1,218.
229, Dave Nebe, Richmond, Va., 1,209.
230, Ed Cutter, Manassas Park, Va., 1,208.
231, Armando Santacruz, Ecuador, 1,193.
232, Alvaro Infante, Venezuela, 1,185.
233, Terrell Owens, Studio City, Caif., 1,178.
234, Paul Nilsen Sr., Murrieta, Calif., 1,148.
235, Vijay Krishnamoorthy, Kennesaw, Ga., 1,132.