A dozen Greater Trail five-pin bowlers will join another 250 of B.C.’s best high-rollers at the provincial championships in Langley and Surrey this weekend.
After turning in top results at the Zone E Kootenay playdowns, two teams and four “singles” bowlers will head to the B.C.’s.
The senior and junior boys teams from Glenmerry Bowl advanced after taking first at the zones in Castlegar two weeks ago.
For the senior team: Tim Flack, Jeffrey Horan, Devon Fulton and Joshua Mack will make the trip while Dakota Campbell, Mitchell Isenor, Cole Thatcher and Brice Paugh will compete for the junior team.
The bantam boys team of Steven Ross, Spencer Simister, Ryan Clark and Reese Smith narrowly missed advancing as they came up 50 pins short in team-pins total.
The singles representatives qualified in Trail in December and include Tessa Andersen (bantam girls) from Beaver Valley Lanes, and from Glenmerry Bowl - David Plett (junior boys), David Langille (senior boys) and Kennady Keraiff (senior girls).
The competition will be tough for the junior bowlers but according to Glenmerry Bowl’s Ron Sandnes, the team has already surpassed expectations.
“With kids that age, we didn’t expect them to win the zones but everyone of them bowled way over their average, so anything can happen,” said Sandnes.
In the senior boys division, Langille’s four-game total of 1285 is one of the best in the province and Sandnes believes he has a good shot at the podium.
“There are two other guys in the province about the same average level as him and one is a defending champion, but he’s been bowling really strong in the last month or two in our money league and men’s league, he’s been bowling some big games, so he has got a good chance and so does our senior boys team.”
Tyler McLean from Prince George and Tyce Koenig of Vernon will be Langille’s major competition. McLean won gold in the 2010 senior singles and was a silver medalist at the National championships.
The junior girls and combo girls teams from Castle Bowl in Castlegar are also competing this weekend.
Taylor Stoushnow, Tyra Medeiros, Shayla Medeiros and Kallie McIntosh bowl for the junior team and Sydney Sherstobitoff, Ashley Rubner, and Cheyanne Fergie for the Combo team.
The top 36 athletes will be declared provincial champions and will advance to the National Championships in St. John’s, N.L., May 4-6.