Jay Heinzelman defeated Todd Kjell 214-205 to win the Survivor finals at Rock River Lanes in Fort Atkinson Sunday, earning him his eleventh career MAST title. Heinzelman qualified fifth at 947, and held on to the fourth & final spot at 212 to advance out of the first round of survivor play en route to the win.
Heinzelman earned $436 for the win, with Kjell taking home $298 for second. The other survivor-round payouts Sunday were $201 for 3rd-4th and $156 for 5th-8th. Heinzelman also won $100 from the Bet to Win pot.
Thirty-two bowlers competed on the 2018 USBC Open Championships Minors pattern. The cut after four games of qualifying was 906. Brent Ritchie finished qualifying with a 290 game to climb from fourth to first at 999, earning him an additional twenty-five points in the M & J Truck and Auto Points Race. Several other bowlers made big moves late; Jon Schalow closed with games of 245 and 298 to jump from 15th to third, Chris Pounders shot 280 to climb from sixth to fourth, and Jermey Wolfe chained games of 269 and 300 to vault from 25th up to sixth. There were four honor counts in total Sunday, with 300 games by Wolfe, Pat DelFiacco, Wade Staude, and Derek Eoff.
Tour co-sponsor Matt Maly and M & J Truck and Auto added $300 to the prize fund for this event. Tour co-sponsor Bob Holzbauer and Phoenix Pro Shop donated a Storm IQ Tour Ruby bowling ball at cost, won by Todd Kjell. Host center Rock River Lanes added three $10 gift cards, won by Kjell, Joe Johnson, and Mark Newkirk. Total proceeds resulted in an additional $447 for this event. MAST extends a huge Thank You to M & J Truck and Auto, Phoenix Pro Shop, and Rock River Lanes for their generosity.
This was the final regular-season event of the 2022-2023 MAST season. Our two-day Year End invitational event will be at Ten Pin Alley in Fitchburg on April 1st & 2nd, with 11:30am start times both days. There will be eight games of qualifying Saturday, and the top twelve bowlers advance to round-robin match play and stepladder finals on Sunday. That event will be contested on the Kegel Mercury oil pattern. We hope to see you all there.