Al Gans shows he’s still one of Mesquite’s best bowlers

Al Gans was well known in bowling circles in The Evergreen State for his outstanding bowling talent and numerous standout achievements compiled over many years competing in in Washington state before changing his zip code to one in Mesquite in 2018.

And ever since he’s been blistering the lanes at the Virgin River Bowling Center with some top-notch scores, and even some in Sin City. Now it’s true last season his game slowed down a tad because of a balky knee issue on his slide foot.

However, he took care of that issue with knee replacement surgery on July 18th this past summer, and last week tossed his first 700 of the 2022-23 season with a clean 708 set on games of 258, 235 and 215 which included 22 strikes and marks on a perfect 11-of-11 spare attempts.

His eye-popping resume includes a career-high 826 series, 13 300 games, a career-high 218 average and over a dozen games of either 290-plus or 11 In a Row. And once in a doubles tournament in Olympia, Washington he rolled 28 consecutive strikes over three different pairs of lanes.

And in a doubles tournament in Las Vegas with Matt Surina, Gans averaged 250 over four games including a 298.

He’s also bowled with former PBA bowler, Jeff Mattingly, and also competed in tournaments against PBA Hall of Famer Brian Voss when Voss was in serving at one of the military bases located in Washington state.

In high school, Gans competed in track and basketball, and he’s a fan of the Seattle Seahawks.

In other riveting pin action, Mike Saldivar enjoyed a great night on the lanes as he bookended a 217 with games of 255 and 248 in a clean 720 series with 23 strikes and marks on all 10 of his spare shots.

James Hartley ushered in 2023 after the holidays with a red-hot strike ball good for 20 strikes in his first two games of 267 and 256 giving him a legit shot at taking out his career-high 742 series. However, he ran into a rough patch with three nasty splits and an open frame in a 165 game for a still good season-high 688.

And without much fanfare, Sal Diaz is having such an outstanding breakout season in his sophomore year of bowling that a 700 series suddenly seems doable. After all, he’s had multiple 600s this season, and last week eclipsed his 660 series from November with a 670 set on games of 249, 236 and 185 with 23 strikes.

Meanwhile, Logan Hendrick is another promising young bowler who’s latest scoring splurge was a season-high 661 series on games of 210, 204 and a 6-bagger in a clean 247.

Dean Baum (661-226) did a great job on the lanes in Salt Lake City, and he’s doing the same at the VRBC, and talking about doing an excellent job. Dean Sheppard did exactly that as he launched his second half of the season with a top-notch 646 set including a clean 256 game on 10 strikes and two spares, while Wayne Donnafield (645-222) should soon see his scores rip even higher in the weeks ahead. By the way, he’s one of a small group of bowlers with bragging rights to a 300 game at the VRBC.

Bruce Hooley (641-234) looked headed for a strong second half of the season, John Hollaway (639-218, 215, 205) was a pillar of consistency, and Michael “Smurffzz” Ramirez (625) fired eight strikes in a 228 as part of another one of his very competitive outings this season.

Larry Willis (611-214) was back in 600 territory, and Dylan Kesl (604-209, 200, 195) is another one of the young guns winning accolades in local bowling circles.

And Bob Morgan who will turn 90-years-old when this baby goes online merits ink for darn nice 579 and 224 scores in his first return to the lanes after not bowling for three weeks.

In single game play, Bob Robbins (601) led all scoring with a season-high 269 gem which included a 6-bagger and 10 total strikes, Scott Mattingly (639) smacked a 258, Doug Love (644) booked a 246, and Brian Collins fired six strikes in a clean 241.

Red Powell navigated the lanes for six strikes in a clean 236, Harold Hendrick is a military veteran who chalked up a 231, Frank Ferreira tossed a clean 219, George Huston bagged a 214, and senior softball player Jimmy Web tallied a 213.

Mark Maguire rolled a 211, Ricky Trujillo who was a terrific baseball player at Virgin Valley High School tallied a 210, Dave Cirbo pocketed a 202, and Steve Robert’s who made his first entry into the world on a Christmas Day, and wasn’t happy seeing his Packers lose to the Detroit Lions on Sunday also racked up a 202.

In women’s league action, LoriJo Turner (594) set the scoring pace with an efficient outing, and Ashlee Yakoyama-Kesl’s (548-222) scores continue gaining altitude in her freshman season of bowling.

Her 222 included a 5-bagger and only one open frame, and in a 180 game picked up two splits with again only one open frame, and over her last 18 games she’s averaged 173.

Debbie Hansen had 14 strikes in a 541 set, LeeAnn Harmes delivered a 531 with a 209 game, and Reiko Schultz (525) had a good outing.

And Jane Burgoyne (507), Bobbie Robbins (506), Mary Posey (505), and Nancy Egge (504) collectively KO’d, 2,022 pins.

In single game play, Sandy Sheppard (544) popped a 206, Bev Cormani (518) tossed a 205, and Charlene Heiden racked up a 203 in Ladies Trio League play on Friday.

Kathy Bussman of the popular Gutter Girls team in the T.G.I.F. Mixed League picked up the 5-7-8-10 split. By the way, she does superior work putting together some really exceptional handcrafted personalized gift ideas which can be seen on her website at kathyskreationsnv.com … Jan Wellman merits ink for picking up the 4-7-10 split in a season-high 162 game, and it’s the second time she’s picked it up since moving to Mesquite from Chochilla, California … Linda Curtis sports a 105 average and was stoked after throwing a season-high 147 game, and before moving to Mesquite, she lived in Anchorage, Alaska … Erika Christensen grew up near New York City, loves pets, and also loved it when she picked up the 9-10 split … Cheri Erhart converted the 1-9-10 washout and away from bowling she’s continues doing outstanding work with her involvement with girls golf at Virgin Valley High School … Kenny & Kolette Heath do many things together, and one of them took place last Friday when both left the 5-7 split in the very same frame, and both also picked up the splits … Nancy Kleinhan’s 178 game was a nifty 51 over her 127 average … Debbie Oldham’s 179 was 57 sticks over her 122 average … Sherri Serrano’s 178 game was 53 over her average.

Darren Simonds 642-237; Mike Rogers 620-219; Jim Lytle 618-224; Dave Harris 604-237; Mike Yoder 232; Doug Heiden 229; Jim Lytle 224; Jeff Branche 221; Mardon Connelly 221; Frank Addamo 217; Mike Gentry 216; Ernie Kala 215; Steve Kenyon 215; George Huston 214; Dan Erhart 213; Jan Kusy 210; Randy Henderson 208; Dave Maves 206; Harry Uncles 206; Jerry Holloway 205; Dave Pershing 205; Gary Moore 204; Dave Johnson 204; Ed Hoepfner 203; Michael Donovan 203; Ken Riswick 202; Jeff Harms 202; Jon Fjeld 201; Lynae Page 513.