BOWLING: Jeff Harmes Takes His Game To New Heights With a 300 Game

Jeff Harmes began his King & Queens League outing with a 215, and began his second game by running the front 10 which put him on the doorstep of his first-ever 300 game.

However, that same impressive run of strikes also put him in unchartered territory in terms of dealing with the nerve-racking pressure knowing all he needed was two more strikes to finally reach the pinnacle of bowling success.

Yet, seemingly unfazed by the additional added pressure of knowing all eyes were also riveted on him as he stepped on the approach, he threw a rocket to the 1-3 pocket for his 11th strike.

And within a nanosecond of his final ball hitting the 1-3 pocket, a thunderous applause told the story, and what followed were lotsa high-fives and words of congrats from fellow bowlers.

So, with a 300 and 215 in his pocket, he next fired seven more strikes in a 225 and a total of 26 strikes for a season-high 740 series which also eclipsed a previous career-high 722, and his 300 blew away his previous personal-best 279 game.

Additionally, with his 300, and he’s gonna love this, he can also remind his father in law, “Mr. 800” AKA Bob Field that he’s no longer the only member of the family with bragging rights to a 300.

Away from bowling, he’s an avid fan of the Denver Broncos and Nuggets, is a computer whiz who also enjoys fishing, camping, and being in the great outdoors at his cabin in Duck Creek,Utah.

Harmes is also a terrific cook. In fact, he’s the best cook in the family according to his wife, Lee Ann.

In other sizzling pin action, Michael “Smurffzzz” Ramirez thumped the lanes with the next best score two nights ago in the Monday Gamblers 4 Aces League with a 737 set on games of 279, 258 and 200 which included 24 strikes and marks on 8-of-9 spare shots. He also rolled a 700 on the nose in Early Risers League play which raised his average to 222 from 220.

And Al Gans joined the 700 party in Monday’s Scratch League action two days ago with super consistent games of 246, 244 and 242 for a 732 series, and Larry Willis blistered the lanes with 25 strikes while throwing impressive step ladder games of 243, 244 and 245 for a season-high 732 series which also raised his City High Rollers League average to 204.

Others who joined the 700 scoring feast included John Hollaway’s 716 with a 279, Dylan Kesl’s 713 included a 268, and Scott Mattingly’s umpteenth 700, a 704.

And James Hartley’s 25 strikes also earned him a ticket aboard the 700 train with a 704, Doug Love who grew up on a dairy farm in the Keystone State uncorked 21 strikes in a 685, and Sal Diaz averaged 221 between his two top outings, a 678 & 661, and while not a slam dunk, seeing him roll a 300 before the clock runs out on the 2023-2024 season is a legit possibility.

And Chicago Cubs fan Dale Knight fired a first-rate 670 set by throwing 18 total strikes and going a perfect 11-of-11 on his non-split spare shots, and as the grind of a long season unfolds he’ll be looking to eclipse both his 2023-24 season-high 777 series and 298 game.

And Al Oliveira IV cruised past his previous high 610 series with a highly competitive 651 effort on games of 227, 221, 203 which featured 19 strikes and marks on 13-of-14 non-split spare shots, while John Martin’s 640 keeps him entrenched with the numero uno average of 221 in the Mesquite Merchants Men’s League (MMML), and Brent Schlesinger (612-225) merits ink for a really solid outing.

And sports bettor extraordinaire, Ed Hoepfner who’s loved sports all his life relished beating up on pins in a season-high 616 and also ran the front six in a 232 game. New bowlers over the last may not be aware of it, but he was a high school teammate of Gary Williams who went on to win the NCAA National Championship in 1982 as the basketball coach at the University of Maryland.

Amazingly, Hoepfner has been a spectator at the NCAA National Championship basketball game three times, and each time, Bobby Knight and his University of Indiana Hoosiers won the National Championship.

Jerry Bundy was a pillar of consistency with games of 207, 200 and 192 en route to a 605 set with 14 strikes which raised his Early Risers League (ERL) average to 174 from 170, and Bill Rife raised his ERL average to 183 from 181.

In single game action, Kelly Williamson in Monday’s G4AL two nights ago punched out a 11 strikes in a 287 gem in a 698 series, Mike Foote continued a run of great games with a 267 last week coming on the heels of a 289 two weeks ago, while Doug Heiden continued a hot hand with a 259, and Alan Jacobson a retired postal worker and a heckuva baseball player in high school logged a 255.

Air Force veteran Jerry Holloway (641) put together a seven bagger in a 255, Jedd Fisher’s season-high 244 cruised past a previous high on the season, a 220, while Dave Pershing (623) tossed a 241, and Nick Medina checked in with a 237.

Josue Mendoza (621) was back in action on Monday night and fired a 234, Robert Melendez (634) put together a five-bagger in a clean 233, while Steve Serrano also posted a 233, and Allen Pearson dialed up a 226 and he’s still optimistic his University of Illinois football team can get to nine wins this season.

Brian Collins racked up a 223, Steve Roberts felt good about his 222, but not about seeing his Green Bay Packers losing to the Detroit Lions this past Sunday.

And Ken Kaylor is a truly talented artist who racked up seven strikes in a 217, while teammate Frank Burdett, a former race car driver who also enters his classic cars at shows booked a 216 with seven strikes, and Jake Swingler tossed a 210 and has some great stories about former major league baseball player he knew well, Dick Allen who retired with 351 career home runs.

And Dick Lonick is an avid hockey fan from Colorado who smacked a 204, and Gage Hughes is a young bowler who took up the sport this year, bowls in the ERL on Wednesday mornings and popped his first deuce game, a 200 with seven strikes and only one open frame. He uses a two-handed delivery, is working hard on improving his game, and in practice has already rolled an eye-popping 279 with 10 strikes.

Finally, John Windberg navigated the lanes for a season high 200 game eclipsing a previous 188 high game, and his 509 is also a season-high. He hails from the Windy City where he had a career in law enforcement and has been bowling in the Wednesday morning league since 2017 when he changed his zip code to one in Mesquite.

In women’s bowling, Sandy Sheppard has been a scoring juggernaut turning out bowling highlights since her inaugural 2015-16 season when she first vaulted onto the Mesquite bowling scene, and one season later set a Mesquite all-time high average record for women with a mouthwatering 195 average over 81 games.

Well, all these years later she’s still heating up the scoring monitors with her latest standout effort a stellar 683 series which she began with a clean 237, followed with a 222, and punctuated a stellar outing with a clean 224 and a total of 19 strikes and marks on 12-of-13 spare attempts.

And Diane Marget, no slouch on the lanes herself and with an exceptional bowling resume peppered the lanes with a 642 which included a 249 game, Autumn Telford narrowly missed a 600 with a 598 and 229 game, while Reiko Schultz had 12 strikes in a nice 588 set on games of 205, 202, 181, and Mary Posey raised her ERL average a point to 178 with a 551 outing which included seven strikes in a 226.

Jeanne DeSchepper merits ink for a 532 and 205 game in Ladies Trio League action, Charlene Heiden tossed a quality 532, and Cheryl Rogers booked a 510 and if you’ve never tasted her chocolate chip cookies, you have missed out one heckuva tasty cookie.

In single game play, Bev Cormani (553) ran the front six in a 215, Jamie Turlington (507) tallied a 212, while Evelyn Hooley threw six strikes and had only one open in a 210, and Pam Jacobson registered a 203.

TUESDAY WOMEN’S TRIO SPLIT CONVERSIONS

Toni Gans 3-10, Kathy Anderson 3-10, Sheila Green 6-7-10 and Margaret Baron 3-10.

SUNDAY SCRATCH SPORT SHOT SCORES

Alfred Oliveira IV 617-215; Al Oliveira V 597-234;l Michael Ramirez 209; Sal Diaz 302; Dale Knight 201.

MEN’S HIGH SCORES

Milan Carr 681-238; Mike Yoder 678-267; Darren Simonds 664-243; dave Johnson 664-234; Dave Harris 661-234; Jeremy Telford 635-238; Bob Wells 632-237; Jim Bice 621-226; Ernie Kala 619-224; Bruce Hooley 618-258; Jared Bundy 618-258; Britt Kesl 617-226; Dean Shepard 605-231; Harry Uncles 604-208; Bryan Pierce 601-211; Logan Hendrick 601-235; Max Snyder 253; Ryan Baeza 235; Rob Cormani 234; Angel Hernandez 233; Dean Baum 233; Jace Scott 224; Al Legan 223; Brian Collins 223; Paul Sullivan 222; Mike Gentry 222; Bill Smith 221; Chris Scott 220; Mike Dunlop 220; Jeremy Turlington 216; Mike Rogers 216; Steve Helbig 216; Harold Hendrick 214; Jeff Branche 213; John Gerger 213; Johnny Harper 213; Gil Niimi 212; Bill Finnegan 211; Jimmy Webb 211; Max Baarz 211; Gary Smith 210; Tyler Martin 210; Dale Davidson 208; Dave castro 208; Orlyn Meyer 208; Dennis Craft 205; Jose Martinez 203; Philip Oyler 203; Tony Zaccheus 203; Sharun Edwards 201; Dave Cirbo 200; Adan Lemus 200; Ken Schloman 200.

WOMEN’S HIGH SCORES

Lee Ann Harmes 570-211; Georgia “GG” Godfrey 512; MaryAnn Davis 512; Molly Gomes 506.