One of the more interesting aspects of the event was having established Senior Professional Bowling Association players hit the lanes with the younger bowlers of the area. Gary Dickinson, a PBA Senior Tour Hall-of-Famer and former PBA Senior Player of the Year, bowled with three East County teenagers. Those three - Ashley Jones, Blake Paris and Richard Torres - were three of the four winners of the Junior Division. Toni-Ann Lupo, 10, was the fourth.
"What was really fun to watch was they bowled with some very prestigious senior bowlers who are not only in the Senior Hall of Fame, but also in the PBA Hall of Fame," said Natalie Paris, the Youth Director at Harvest Park Bowl. "They're seasoned veterans and the seniors were giving the kids pointers and it was just really neat to watch the interactions between the seniors and the kids."
For the 19-year-old Torres, this was his second consecutive year of terrorizing the pins - he was also a winner last year. The tournament was Lupo's first big win, according to Paris.
The professional bowlers shifted lanes after each game, so the junior bowlers got to line up with three different high strikers over the course of the event. Dickinson himself put on quite the show, bowling a perfect game in one of his three games.
The Junior Division winners were able to strike a trophy and $100 in scholarship money. Paris and fellow competitor 15-year-old Ben Keisic also received a bowling ball and some other equipment from Dickinson. The other two winners, Ben Jacobs of the Adult Division and Alan Pedreira of the Senior Divison, netted $400 and $350, respectively.
The tournament is held every summer at Harvest Park Bowl and is open to all East County residents. For more information about the tournament or any other events, contact Harvest Park Bowl at 516-1221.
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