BOWLING: St. George bowler Dalton Smith throws 28 straight strikes in a record-setting 845 series in Mesquite bowling

Dalton Smith turned the Virgin River Bowling Center into his own personal highlight reel in a performance for the ages.

His epic and electrifying outing began the way it ended, that is, with a tsunami of strikes. So, right from the get-go he began his first game of the night with a pair of strikes before leaving a 10 pin in the third frame which he missed for his sole open of the night.

However, after beginning the fourth frame with a strike, he continued mowing down pins like an unrelenting buzz saw tattooing the 1-3 pocket with a nine-bagger for a 267 first game.

Next, he continued a breathtaking run of strikes with12 more in the second game for a 300, and at that point he thrown 21 consecutive strikes. So, was he finally done throwing strikes? Nosiree! He continued a staggering run with the front seven in his third game which marked the end of a jaw-dropping string of 28 straight strikes. Next, in the 8th frame he spared a four pin leave, followed by a turkey and nine pins on his fill ball for a 278 game paving the way for the highest series ever bowled at the VRBC since it opened in 1998, a gargantuan 845 and a mind-boggling total of 33 strikes out of a possible 36. Bay-Bee!

And it should be noted, with his 845 series, the only other 800s bowled at this venue in its 25 years of bowling were booked by Jeremy Telford’s 813 on 9-18-2023, and Scott Mattingly’s 809 on 6-29-2023.

Smith’s resume now sports an 814 and 804 in St. George bowling and his 845 in Mesquite, along with a trio of 300 games. His resume also sports a career-high 217 average, and a pair of pretty darn rare 900 pin no-tap series scores.

Smith is an alumnus of Dixie High School in St. George where he was a three-sport athlete, is a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys and Utah Jazz, and he’s also won pickleball tournaments in California, Florida, Utah and Washington State.

In other sizzling pin action, Austin Finster also delivered a week of stellar bowling as he averaged an eye-popping 245 over his three outings of 744, 737 and 709 with a 280 and 265 his two best games. Additionally, his 744 raised his City High Rollers League average to a lofty 220.

Finster’s a barista at the Starbucks located next to Smith’s, has a career-high 827 series and played on both his Hawaii high school’s football and bowling teams.

As regular readers of this column know, in this spot we’d normally run the next best series below the scores Smith and Finster barbequed the lanes for. However, we’re making an exception this week to mention that arguably the next most impressive score of the week which merits ink in this spot is Del Cammack’s 608 series.

What? Well, in light of a 140 average, and a 490 average series score, coupled with the fact he’s never even had a whiff of a 600 this season in his 9:30 a.m. Wednesday Early Risers League, I’d say his 608 is a heckuva terrific score which merits ink right here. He also received a 250 Game Award pin for a 257 game.

Meanwhile, in the Monday Scratch League two days ago, Randy Brown, fueled by 23 strikes including the front nine in a 267 finished with a terrific 712 set, and Dave Harris, an avid Dallas Cowboys fan fired 19 strikes in his highest Mesquite series to date, a standout 689 on games of 266 with an eight-bagger, a 233 and 190 which raised his Mesquite Merchants Men’s League average to 195 from 191. And Harris no doubt wasn’t happy with the way the Cowboys lost their game on Monday Night Football this week.

And two-handed bowler Ricky Trujillo, a huge L.A. Dodgers fan and former baseball standout at the high school in Mesquite uncorked a 681 series including 11 strikes in a 279, and Darren Simonds (680-235) had 19 strikes in a darn good outing, and Jeremy Turlington’s first-rate 673 series included 24 strikes and an eight-bagger in a 257.

Meanwhile, Logan Hendrick tossed 19 strikes in a 671 series with a clean 224, Al Oliviera IV thumped the lanes with a 663 increasing his Kings & Queens League average to 194, and Mike Dunlop is a golfing whiz who’s really elevated his bowling game this season with his latest scoring production, a 662 with a 257 game and 21 total strikes helping raise his WMM League average to an impressive 191 from 188.

And in other competitive outings, Michael “Smurffzzz” Ramirez tossed a 662 with 19 strikes including 11 in a 279, Bob Marget’s (658-258) 22 strikes helped lift his MMM League average to 200 from 198, and Tim McNees (653-224) is a top-notch metal fabricator and classic car collector and upped his CHR League average three pins to 184.

In other action, Dale Davidson raised his Early Risers League average two pins to 189 with a 637 outing on games of 234, 203 along with a 200, while Dale Knight was a pillar of amazing consistency in a 633 effort on games of 212, 211 and 210, and Dean Sheppard’s scores have really gained altitude lately like in his 631 series with 18 strikes in Monday’s Scratch League.

Robin Drury climbed back into 600 territory with a 608 set which included 13 strikes and clean 206 game, Larry Moultrie is a first rate bowler in the ER League and spanked the lanes with a 607 and 237 game, Angel Hernandez (605-212) continues piling up the 600s, and Doug Heiden (604-208) is having a darn good season.

Meanwhile, Alan Pearson tossed 17 strikes in a season-high 603 series with a 215 game and he’s an avid fan of the University of Illinois football and basketball teams, and Jimmy Webb is an humongous Boston Red Sox fan who bagged a 600 on the nose with a 234 game and the next stop on his bowling journey is that elusive first 700.

Finally, Bob Morgan is the only league bowler in Mesquite who’s a nonagenarian and he merits some ink for a 548 series with a 223 game. He’s a huge baseball fan, coached little league baseball for years in the Seattle area, and was at a World Series game sitting in the right field seating area in Yankee Stadium when “Mr. October,” AKA Reggie Jackson went yard with a pitch he deposited in the bleachers beyond the right field fence.

In the single game scene, John Martin (648) tossed10 strikes in a 277, Gil Niimi popped a 268 in a strong 664 outing, while John Hollaway (637) also smacked a 268, and Steve Serrano (652) worked the lanes for a 250.

Bob Robbins (625) logged a 246 and for years he lived in Wrangell, Alaska where he bowled in a center with two lanes, Roman Perez (606) racked up a 244 and his game has improved an impressive tenfold since the beginning of his rookie 2023-24 season, and Stan Benally’s 247 included a five-bagger and it also topped a 214 game of his son, Myles. But here’s betting Myles comes back with at least a 248 in his next league outing tonight (Wednesday).

In other single play action, Jim Rappe (593) tossed another good game in a 240 effort, Chad Klein smacked a season-high 239 and it’s great seeing him back on the lanes again, while Dave Houghton (624) kept his continuous weekly string of deuce games alive with a 237, and Fred Emmons who also enjoys hitting the links cranked out a 225 and 214 in ER League action.

Roger Durant tallied a 224 with an impressive six-bagger and only one open frame, and Jan ‘Kooz” Kusy, along with his 216 made a bold prediction that he’ll be rolling a 700 series before the clock runs out on the 2024-25 season. And if he doesn’t, he’s guaranteed beers are on him, but only if they have a root in ’em.

And Frank Addamo had a four-bagger in a 212, Rob Biondo gets his first ink for a season-high 211 which is an impressive 80 pins over his 131 average, while Jake Swingler rolled a 206 and he’s happy the late Dick Allen who he use to run with at times was finally elected this week into the MLB Hall of Fame.

Finally, Javier Delgadillo logged a 204, Max Burgess cruised to a 203, and the amazing former Mesquite high school pitching star Jimmy Ruvalcaba booked a 200 on the nose.

On the women’s side of the ledger, LeeAnn Harmes led some really good women scores this week with a 653 series on games of 243, 222, and 188, Bev Cormani chalked up the next best score, a 626 on games of 226, 212 and 188, and Diane Marget also joined the 600 party with a 618 on games of 211, 205 and 202.

Meanwhile, Cheryl Rogers delivered another top-notch outing, a 611 with a 226 game, Sandy Sheppard is having a banner season and chalked up a 591 with a 221 game, and Bobbie Robbins was stoked after shooting a season-high 564 with games of 212,202 and 162.

Evelyn Hooley also had a heckuva good week chalking up a 566 with a 215, Gayle Parison did a great job picking up spares in a season-high 551, while Laurie Dillree led Ladies Trio League scoring with a  nice 524 series, and Sherry Williamson (515-188) captured her second ink this season for her solid scores.

In single game play, MaryAnn Davis (551) cut loose with an outstanding 245 effort, Reiko Schultz (543) had eight strikes and only one open in a 235, Mary Posey uncorked a 202, while Vickie Martinsen (577) also registered a 202, and Maria Tristan-Flynn’s (505) legion of fans at the Eureka will love the fact she had six strikes including a clutch spare in the 10th and a strike on her fill ball in a 193 game.

Kelly Williamson 584-224; Dale Knight 557-200; Alfred Oliveira V 549-204; Michael Ramirez 525-187;  Al Oliveira IV 504-186; Sal Diaz 201.

Doug Love 698-269; Dalton Smith 684-242; Milan Carr 655-234; Bruce Hooley 653-258; Steve Uhrig 653-239; Mike Rogers 648-237; Dean Baum 647-229; Dennis Craft 639-224; Jim Lytle 638-224; Jeff Harmes 621-235; Dyan Kesl 618-227; Ernie Kala 615-216; Mike Gentry 605-225; Harold Hendrick 600-202; Tony Zzccheus 245; David Walker 237; Mike Foote 232; Octavio Botello 224; Brian Collins 223; Rob Cormani 223; Shaun Edwards 223; Felix Cruz 223; Sal Diaz 221; Max Baarz 216; Steve Roberts 215; Alan Jacobson 214; Mike Saldivar 214; Bobby Dixon 213; Al Gans 212; Dave Pershing 212; Mitch Fletcher 212; Chris Scott 211; Larry Willis 208; Wally Posey 202; Nick Medina 207; Harry Uncles 206; Bob Wells 205; Dan Johnson 205; Russ Marshall 205; Byran Pierce 204; Dave Cirbo 200.

Cathy Gardner 500-184.