Faces of Tenpins

CLEVELAND WINS IN Overtime AT HIGH SCHOOL BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Cleveland High bowlers are celebrating their unexpected win over defending 5A state champions, Rio Rancho High in the NMAA High School State Championships at Tenpins & More over the weekend. Cleveland, relegated to the loser's bracket after round two, bowled from 11am until after 7pm to claim their first state title, first beating the Rams 2-1 on strings of 171-166, 160-185 and 226-163 to tie it up at one loss each. In the replay, they won the first 198-172, lost the next 163-188, then drew the decider at 147-147, before winning the "sudden death" ninth and tenth frame tie-breaker 40-34. High scorer for the 5A qualifiers was Cody Mansfield of La Cueva with 214, 278, 225 (717) on a demanding "sport" lane condition. East Mountain High won their third consecutive state championship in 1A-3A beating McCurdy High. Trevor Crombie, a graduating senior had the high game with 266, that included eight strikes in a row. In 4A, Del Norte won a thriller, by two pins over Volcano Vista High for their second title in three years. Teams represented 28 different schools from Farmington, Las Cruces, Gallup, Artesia, Los Lunas, Pojoaque and the Albuquerque metro area.

* The house team for Tenpins & More, comprising Stephanie Merrell, Connie and Mike Scheer and Billy Grant won Sunday's 9th annual Bowlathon for the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber, beating defending New Mexico Gas Co by 73 pins. Third place went to Hewlett-Packard #2 who beat Don Chalmers Ford by two pins. The event raised about $3,000 for funding the Chamber's local community activities.

* Rio Rancho bowlers have fared well in the recent City Championship tournaments.
In the 71st Open City events, Bob Dillman, Dianne Goode, Kevin Richardson, Bob Helmick and Ron Michel all had victories in singles and all-events scratch and handicap categories. Dillman fired a 300 game in his 823 singles win, at an average of 274.3 per game. Richardson carded 2,165 in all-events, at a clip of more than 240 per game, with Dillman third, while Goode won both the handicap singles and all-events with near-record scores. Michel won handicap all-events, whilst averaging a personal best 225.5, with Ken Goode third. Goode and Bob Helmick finished second in the 359/Under handicap doubles, ahead of Dianne and Katie Goode in third, while Michel took second in the senior all-events.

At the 60th Women's City Championships, Judy Raster won two titles in the handicap singles and all-events (140-159 average) and the local team called "Thrown Together" beat out a quintet from Sandia Park by 24 pins to win the handicap teams crown (775-over combined average).

* The next two weekends, women bowlers hit the lanes again at Tenpins & More and Holiday Bowl in the New Mexico Women's State Championships.

* Tenpins & More has free Wi-Fi available throughout the bowling lanes and snack-bar areas since last weekend.

* Upcoming calendar:
- Sat Mar 6: NMAA State High School Bowling Championships from 8am
- Sun Mar 7: 9th annual Rio Rancho Regional Chamber Bowlathon at 1pm
- Sat-Sun Mar 13-14: NM Women's State Teams Championships
- Mon-Fri Mar 15-19: Spring Break! Early Openings & Morning Open Play Specials!
- Mon Mar 15: Color Pin Cash at 8pm
- Sat Mar 20: NM Women's State Teams Championships at 9am & 2pm
- Sun Mar 21: NM Women's State Teams Championships at 9am & 2pm
- Sat Mar 27: Central NM Youth Bowler-of-the-year at 12:30pm