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Qualifying for Vegas Enters Final Two Weeks

West and Southeast Regions Still Too Close to Call

Mitch Clark is looking over his shoulder. So is Ardell Lewis. They’re a bit nervous right now and the reason is clear: they have miniscule leads for the 8th and final playoff spots in their respective regions.

"Clark is leading by 24 pins in the West and Lewis is 31 sticks ahead in the Southeast," said Dan Schrementi, tournament director for the inaugural Silver Strike Bowling National Tournament. "As close as it is in the West and Southeast, nobody is taking anything for granted in any of the regions. Everyone is trying to lock up a Vegas spot."

Everything is pointing to a wild and wooly final two weeks. The top 32 qualifiers have shot an astounding total of 57 perfect games and the averages keep going up and up.

The top shooter in the country is Matt Kisling of Cedar Rapids Iowa. Matt’s amazing average of 280.14 is all the more incredible when you realize that he’s a full 9 pins ahead of the second-best average.

"Clearly Matt’s determined to be the guy to beat in Vegas," said Schrementi. "To be 900-plus pins ahead of the field at this point is an accomplishment that no one could have predicted. It will be interesting to see if this great shooting carries over to Vegas."

Midwest Region

There was no change at the top in the Midwest where Kisling holds a huge 902-pin lead over Chris Pioske of Minneapolis, but Ben Pilgreen of Brookfield Wisconsin is the new bubble boy in the Midwest. Pilgreen holds a 476-pin lead over Ozcur Acar of neighboring Sheboygan.

Northeast Region

Ron Hammersley of Beach Grove Indiana still leads the Northeast but now it’s over new second-place challenger, Del Flecker of Indianapolis. Flecker trails Hammersley by 469 pins, dropping Charles Whalley of Indianapolis to third. The battle for eighth finds Telly Rogers of Avon Indiana still trailing Morton Pennsylvania’s Jeff Broadbelt. Broadbelt increased his lead over Rogers to 434 pins.

Southeast Region

One week can make a huge difference. Just seven days ago Josh Myers of Largo Florida led Chris Beverly of Conway South Carolina by only 69 pins. But Myers put the hammer down and as of today (Monday) leads Beverly by 585 pins! Two new players are fighting it out for the final qualifying spot. Ardell Lewis of Wilmington North Carolina leads Michael Muse of West Columbia South Carolina by a slim 31 sticks.

West Region

The West continues to change every week. First it’s Kevin Bonney. Then it’s James Krull. Now it’s Bonney again! Bonney of Omaha leads Vancouver Washington’s Krull by the smallest margin of any regional – 41 pins. And the battle for the bubble has Mitch Clark of Lynwood Washington leading Pouria Amiraslani of Escondido California by only 24 sticks! It’s clear that the West will definitely go down to the wire!

300 Clubbers

13 more 300 games were rolled by the top 32 this week bringing the tally to 57 perfectos!

Make sure to check back here everyday for updates and news as we wrap up online qualifying and get ready for the live finals in Vegas!