Bowling: Jeremy Telford rocks Mesquite bowling with a record-setting 813 series

I know! It doesn’t seem possible given how bowling scores across the nation have been soaring into the stratosphere for almost 20 years.

And a perfect illustration of this is a bowler I know in St. George who has ten 800s by himself on his resume. However, the straight scoop in Mesquite is since the Virgin River Bowling Center opened for bowling in 1998, only two bowlers have ever pummeled that venue with a mouthwatering 800 series.

And Jeremy Telford is the latest, with a brilliant outing in the Monday Virgin River Scratch League while showcasing his talent for throwing strikes.

And a deeper dive into his eye-popping feat shows he began league play with eight strikes in a clean 255, and followed with 11 more in a 279 effort.

Next, he punctuated an electrifying performance by finishing his third game with a 9-bagger as part of 11 strikes in yet another 279 game, for a grand total of 30 strikes. Add the marks on his five spare shots, and he  finished a spectacular outing with the highest series ever bowled at the VRBC, a record-setting 813 series.

Telford’s previous personal-best series was a 792, and his resume also includes six 300 games, multiple 279 games with 11 strikes, a career-high 218 average, and a personal-best 18 straight strikes spanning two games.

And by the way, he’s another bowler from St. George who was impacted by the closing of Sunset Lanes and moved his game to Mesquite.

He grew up in Colorado where he played a ton of hockey and is a humongous Colorado Avalanche fan.

Away from bowling, Telford also plays pickleball, is an avid golfer which led to meeting both Phil Mickelson and Ricky Fowler, and he’s actually played a round of golf with Hall of Fame bowler, Walter Ray Williams.

Finally, on a related note, Scott Mattingly became the first bowler to ever roll an 800 series in Mesquite bowling after pasting the VRBC with 29 strikes in summer league action on June 29th, 2023 with a historic 809 series.

Amazingly, a teammate of Telford who also hails from St. George blistered the lanes on Monday with 24 strikes in a 710 series including a clean 267, while Sal Diaz also fired 24 strikes with his explosive strike ball for a season-high 699 set which included 10 strikes in a 267 gem, and David Newman (673-244) also throws a ball with some serious pop so look for even higher scores down the road.

And in other pin action, Koa Pak Ned tossed a 669 set which including a clean 236 and 21 strikes, Austin Finster (660-242) latest top-notch outing came on the heels of a 699 last week, and Randy Kezior continued his early season scoring splurge with 21 strikes in a 647 set with a clean 226 and raised his average to 207.

Meanwhile, southpaw bowler Larry Moultrie (640-234) continues putting up some darn good scores, while Milan Carr (639-228) no doubt was stoked by the way his Buffalo Bills kicked serious butt over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, and Mike Gentry’s (638-243 & 625-233) two good outings should mark the end of an uncharacteristic early season scoring funk.

And United State Air Force veteran Jerry Holloway (634-235) also ended inconsistent early season scoring woes in convincing fashion, Dave Houghton (619-222) merits ink for some good shot making leading to his first 600 this season, and Dylan Kesl (616-218 & 608-213) averaged 204 between a pair of competitive outings.

Jeff Harmes (616-218) threw the umpteenth 600 of his career, and look for former Virgin Valley High School baseball star Ricky Trujillo (604-215) to continue seeing his game gain altitude after a strong finish to his 2022-23 season.

In single game play, James Hartley’s (646) 257 game set the scoring pace in the Men’s Mesquite Merchant League as scores lost some altitude last week, while Bob Marget (619) who hails from “The Land of 10,000 Taxes” cruised to a 239, and Bob Ballard checked in with a 236.

Dale Davidson who’s resume sports a pair of 300s tallied a 223, Richard Long lived most of his life in Alaska and punched out a 214, Max Burgess is a retired dentist and also punched out a 214, while Mark Maguire (no, not the home run slugger Mark McGwire) smacked a 207.

Meanwhile, Humberto Urais throws a ball with lotsa revs helping lead to a 206, Ken Schloman makes a weekly trek from St. George to bowl in the 9:30 a.m. Early Risers League and chucked a 204, and Dave Cirbo’s 203 was his first deuce of the young season, but more will surely follow.

Finally, Raul Macias is in his sophomore season of bowling and posted a 202, Brian Rasha returned to bowling this season and tossed a 201, and Gary Grunwald is a young man who hails from Casper, Wyoming and moved to Mesquite to escape the snow. And  he’s competing in his first year of league bowling and popped his first-ever deuce game, a 201 which included an impressive 5-bagger and seven total strikes.

On the women’s side of the ledger, it was a vintage Bev Cormani performance with her explosive strike ball punching out 16 strikes while also getting marks on 15-of-16 non-split spare attempts which paved the way in setting the scoring pace for the week with a 620 series, and the highest game in women’s action at this juncture of the season, a 242.

And not surprisingly, Sandy Sheppard had another good week with a 617 series and 221 game. And this outing continued a pattern so far this season that when she brings her A-game she’s been really good. So good in fact, that here’s thinking given her formidable game and top-notch skill set, topping her 182 average of last season is certainly doable. And so is topping her best series (645) and game (246) from last season.

LeeAnn Harmes (587-220) is off to a great this season and could be a harbinger of even better scoring days ahead, Georgia Godfrey merits ink for one of her best outings in two years with a terrific 580 series, and Diane Marget (570-210) consistently puts up nice scores, but she also has the game that’s very capable of launching some really seriously impressive scores.

Bobbie Robbins checked in with a 534, Krista Kilpatrick captured her first ink in this column for a 533 set, and Frances Harper (517) is the exceptional secretary of the Early Risers League and she literally emails the league standing sheet within hours after her league is finished, and she lives 70-miles away in Apple Valley, Utah.

In single game play, Evelyn Hooley (542) pocketed a 214, Debbie Hanson (540) also bagged a 214, Cathy Ritchie fired a 206, and huge Chicago Bears fan Gayle Parson smacked a 205, while Gayla Ruesch (500) registered a 200.

Oh, BAY – BEE!

Jane Barrett received a 175 Game Award for a 179 game … Francine Gasteleum tossed a nice 190 game which is some 50 pins over her average … Shaun Edwards picked up the 4-10 split in a 197 game … George Huston’s 199 game was exactly 50 over his average.

Mike Yoder 696-267; Dennis Craft 687-239; Jeremy Telford 676-280; Mike Saldivar 674-245; Al Gans 655-245; Dale Knight 654-233; Dan Aslin 647-255; Dave Castro 645-236; Gil Niimi 645-245; Angel Hernandez 640-235; Sal Diaz 640-222; John Hollaway 634-225; Mike Rogers 632-233; John Martin 628-236; Robin Drury 628-249; Orlyn Meyer     622-227; Jim Lytle 618-245; Larry Moultrie 614-226; Randy Brown 614-214; Jacob Martinez 611-224; Rob Hartman 246; Steve Serrano 246; Jack Baker 237; Jeff Branche 234; Jack Northover 233; Rob Cormani 227; Bruce Hooley 225; Darren Simonds 225; Logan Hendrick 224; Alan Jacobson 223; Bill Funk 223; Harry Uncles 223; Ted Mickelson 223; Larry Willis 222; Tim McNees 222; Russ Marshall 221; Fred Emmons 218; Allen Vallenueva 217; Adan Lemus 216; Josue Mendoza 214; Dean Sheppard 213; Ken Meacham 212; Gary Smith 210; Paul Sullivan 207; Dean Baum 205; Mitch Fletcher 205; Jon Fjeld 203; Martin Corrillo 202; Nick Paul 202; Red Powell 202; Brian Collins 200; Steve Cominski 200; Jamie Turlington 555-204; Reiko Schultz 534-193; Autumn Telford 521; Pam Bartlett 516; Cheryl Rogers 511; Mel Ray 506-196.