BOWLING: Austin Finster sends 25 rockets to the pocket for strikes in an electrifying 756 series

Throwing a 700 series is never easy, but Austin Finster can make it look it is with his explosive strike ball.

Competing in the City High Rollers League he kicked off league play with a 236, began his second game with a five-bagger, spared a ten pin leave, and next went off the sheet with six strikes for a 279 gem with 11 strikes, and finished the night with a clean 241 en route to his highest series bowled in Mesquite, a stratospheric 756 with 26 total strikes.

The 2024-25 season is unquestionably Finster’s best in Mesquite. For example, his final CHR League average this season is 216 versus 208 last season. And his 214.16 in his Mesquite Merchants Men’s League easily tops his 206 from last year. Oh, also, this season he’s rolled a total of 16 eye-popping 700 series scores over his four leagues.

Along with playing on his Hawaii high school football team, he was also on the school’s bowling team where he took 3rd place in Singles in the HHSAA State Bowling Tournament. After high school he also played semi-pro football on a team in Richmond, Virginia.

Finster is a fan of the Las Vegas Raiders, and two of the top items on his bucket list is a trip to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the major historical sites in Rome, Italy.

Jeremy “JT” Turlington is another outstanding bowler who’s only bowling one night a week and rolled his fourth 700 of the season, a 702 with 20 strikes, including an eight-bagger in a clean 267 and finished his Monday Scratch League season two nights ago with a 211 average, and his resume sports a career-high 840 series which included a 300 and 31 strikes.

In other pin action, Doug Love continued his recent scoring blitz with another standout effort, a 702 set with 24 strikes, clean games of 259. 237 and the only open on the night for the Blitzburg Steelers fan came during a hiccup on a spare attempt in the 7th frame of a 206 game, and Michael Ramirez who can match strikes with the best with his two-handed delivery fell shy of his umpteenth 700 with a 695 on games of 253, 224 and 218 with 23 total strikes and he’s gonna finish with the high average in at least two of his leagues and second in another.

And Scott Mattingly put up the next best score, a workmanlike 685 with a clean 237, and in his high school football playing days he suffered a knee injury which fortunately hasn’t impacted his bowling game all these years later, and Larry Willis pounded out 23 total strikes with 10 coming in a 267 en route to a competitive 682 and a final City High Rollers League 198 average and his memorable year also included a 300 game and tying the knot with a gal named, Mel,  and you just know Al Gans will always end a season with a top-notch effort like his 676 set and 256 game.

And Mike Yoder finished his MS League action two nights ago by shooting a 673 with 20 strikes and spares on an impressive 12-of-13 attempts during games of 246, 216 and 211. Yoder has been a tremendous bowler over the years and in 2011 was inducted into the Vancouver, Washington Bowling Hall of Fame, and it’s easy to understand why when looking at his jaw-dropping resume which contains at least 13 300 games, five 800-plus series scores, multiple 299 and 290 games. In fact, one could get vertigo trying to count all the honor scores on his resume. And in the event you haven’t heard, he’s mighty thankful he avoided a potentially really serious facial injury after being hit with an errant golf ball while volunteering at the long drive competition this weekend in Mesquite.

John Martin’s 659 led to a final 211 average in the MMM League and his series also included a clutch turkey in the 10th frame of a clean 225 game to win a point for his team, and over the course of the season he accounted for an amazing 66 points for his team. And talking about points won by individual bowlers, only Ed Hoepfner and Tony Ariaz won more points than Martin for their respective MMM League teams over the season with 66 and 65.5 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Dave Harris continued a strong finish to the season with 19 strikes and two clean games of 234 and 216 in a 658 effort, Dave Pershing’s 653 came with 21 strikes along with a clean 214, and Randy Brown popped 16 strikes and had marks on 15-of-16 spare shots in a 653 outing.

And Bruce Hooley was a pillar of consistency with games of 224, 215 and 210 in a 649, and Jeremy Telford who’s bowling mechanics checks all the boxes put a bow on his 2024-25 season with 20 strikes in a 645 and he will always be remembered for his 813 being the first 800 series ever bowled in Mesquiten and his 226 also won the high-average crown in the 2023-24 season.

And Chad Klein is a highly self motivated individual with lotsa good habits helping pave the way for a great deal of success over the years, and in bowling, it’s beginning to look like blasting pins for a 600 series could become a habit as he followed a 626 two weeks ago with a career-high 646 last week courtesy of 22 strikes, a clean 236 and only three open frames. Additionally, Klein, a four-time Utah State Long Drive champion has averaged an impressive 203.66 over his last 12 games.

And former Alaskan Bob Robbins tallied a 639 and he also enjoys bowling in tournaments in Sin City, Dennis Craft’s 638 included a five-bagger in a 236 as he finished his CHR League season with a 196 average, and Darren Simonds is a heckuva good bowler and in a 632 his two best games were a clean 224 and a 211 with only one open, and Kelly Williamson ended his Gamblers 4 Aces season throwing 20 strikes in a 624 effort which should see him finish the season with a 208 or 209 average.

Alfred Oliveira V is an outstanding young bowling talent who pounded out 16 strikes in a 616 with games of 209, 208,199, and in back-to-back weeks, and last season while bowling in St. George he threw an 810 series followed a week later by an 820 with a 300 and ended his season with an impressive 214 average over 81 games bowling in a 2nd shift night league at Dixie Bowl. And his dad, Al Oliveira IV rolled a clean 211 along with a 209 and 195 in a 615 effort.

Harold Hendrick is a darn good bowler and his 607 should see him finish his G4A League with a 198 average, and Michael Donovan gets ink for a  604 series on games of 204, 200, 200 on the last league outing of the Early Risers League season raising his average to 172, and his other 600 this season was a 617 on the first week of the 2024-25 season.

Finally, Troy Palmer raised his K&Q League average to 163 on the final night of the season with a 602 set which included seven strikes and three spares in a clean 236, and Tyler Martin’s one-handed delivery generates lotsa revs and by cutting down on his open frames he tossed his MMM League season highs with a 598 series and 243 game.

In the single game arena, Bryan Piere (623) ran the front eight in a clean 269, Ricky Trujillo’s (670) 21 strikes included an eight-bagger in a 267 and he’s gonna finish his CHR League average at 203, Jimmy Webb’s (625) 18 total strikes included a clean 266 with an eight-bagger, and Montana’s very own Jim Lytle (601) rolled nine strikes in a clean 258.

And Milan Carr’s 658 had 20 strikes with nine in a 256, Shaun Edwards (600) put together a six-bagger in a 247, Sal Diaz (677) punched out a 244, and Dylan Kesl (637) who’s doing a great job in the pro shop checked in with a 240.

St. George bowler Bobby Dixon rolled his umpteenth deuce with a 236, Jacoby Ford threw a total of eight strikes after an open in the first frame for a 234 and he’s well on his way to becoming a strike-throwing scoring juggernaut, and Dean Sheppard put together a five-bagger in a 234, and Chuck Youngdale ran the front six in a 233.

Meanwhile, Al Legan racked up a 222, and Nick Paul bagged a 217 and he’s another bowler who can be counted on to roll at least one 200-plus game in virtually every league outing, and Phillip Oyler cruised to a 213, and Louis Dilisio logged a 210 with five strikes, four spares with only one open frame and he’s a huge fan of all Philly sports teams.

Martin Carrillo fired seven strikes including a four-bagger in a 219 and he’s a huge baseball fan, Alan Pearson fired a pair of good games, 215, 204 and he’s a super good guy who will soon be changing his zip code to one in Arizona, and Mike Foote navigated the lanes for a 205, and with the season basically over he’s gonna have to wait until next season to see if he can roll a 300 in Mesquite to go along with his perfecto bowled in St. George.

In other single game action, Jimmy Dyke grabs his first ink of the season for a season-high 203 which eclipsed his previous high 187, and Brandon Ayon’s season-high 201 blew away his previous 197 high game from back in December.

Finally, if Jedd Fisher gets any breaks from the bowling deities on more of his pocket shots his 201 would have been considerably higher, Raul Macias had a breakout season including his first 600 series and is now tossing at least one 200-plus game a week, and Ron Johnson put together a clutch four-bagger in the 8th, 9th and first two shots in the 10th and eight on the fill ball for a 188 which proved pivotal in his team winning the game in a close match.

On the women’s side of the coin, Sandy Sheppard without any doubt is having an outstanding 2024-25 season with her latest first-rate effort, a 620 performance in her MS League she began by tossing a 256 game with 10 strikes including a seven-bagger along with a pair of 182 games and a total of 21 strikes, and LeeAnn Harmes has also enjoyed a darn good season as she smoked the lanes with a 582 with games of 203, 190 and 189.

And Scenic bowler MaryAnn Davis ended her ER League season with one of her best outings, a 560 effort on games of 195, 194, 171 and if she’s healthy all next season she’ll storm back in what could easily become with a good comeback season, after all, she has a 300 on her resume and has had seasons with an average in the 190s.

Autumn Telford’s 546 included a 194 game, Jane Burgoyne’s 524 featured solid and consistent games of 180, 171, 171, and Mary Posey disposed of 524 pins.

 Finally, Cheryl Rogers booked a 513 with a 193 game, and Krista Kilpatrick KO’d 513 pins with 193 going down in her second game and she’ll be spending a good chunk of her summer in Sheridan, Wyoming.

In single game action, Pam Bartlett averages 151 in the G4A League and surprised even herself as she took high-game honors with a season-high 243, and Sonya Robinson tossed a career-high 226 which included seven total strikes and an impressive five-bagger. And newer bowlers may not be aware of it, but she was a rodeo jock on her high school team and has a great team photo on her cell phone. Additionally, Robinson also trained for, and ran in a marathon.

Finally, Georgia “GG” Godfrey (511) keeps rolling deuce games this season like her latest, a 213, and she does a nice job overall in the tournaments she enters in Las Vegas.

Michael Ramirez 610-245; Alfred Oliveira V 236; Dylan Kesl 213; Jacoby Ford 211; Javier Delgadillo 209; Dennis Craft 208; Kelly Williamson 207; Sal Diaz 203; Al Olivdira IV 193.

Sal Diaz 677-=244; Ron Vandevanter 664-238; John Hollaway 637-221; Mike Rogers 636-236; Dean Baum 621-238; Dave Johnson 618-231; Steve Uhrig 609-224; Bob Wells 606-212; James Hartley 598-235; Logan Hendrick 597-203l Jeff Harmes 596-212; Gil Niimi 592-235; Bobbie Dixon 236; Alan Jacobson 224; Mardon Connelly 216; Roman Perez215; Frank Addamo 214; Harry Uncles 214; Tony Urias 214; Rob Cormani 212; Chris Scott 210; Steve Serrano 210; Vic Reading 209; Ted Mickelson 207; Tim Brandt 206; Dale Knight 205; Doug Schaan 205; Fred Emmons 205; Jared Bundy 204; Dave Castro 203; Mike Carpenter 203; Robert Melendez 203; Bob Marget 202; Russ Marshall 202.

Georgia Gardner 500-188; Kim Marshall 522-185.