County bowlers meet in Top Eight Tournament
Two years ago, Margate’s Chip Mountcastle competed in the Broward County United States Bowling Congress Top Eight Tournament and came up short of qualifying for the final four.
He left little doubt of his acumen this year as he cruised to the Junior Boys Championship at Sawgrass Lanes in Tamarac with a 237-132 win over Tamarac’s Austin Albarado. Mountcastle rolled a four-game qualifying score of 979, then waited out the other bowlers to ascend to the championship.
“This is my first tournament win ever so it feels really good,” said Mountcastle, 18, a freshman at Broward College who downed his former Coral Springs High School teammate Albarado for the title. “It was difficult to bowl against him, but was also good. You would rather win or lose against people that you know and that you like. This gives me a little more motivation to keep bowling.”
Albarado, 17, a senior at Coral Springs High, was making his debut in the tournament featuring the top eight bowlers from Broward County centers. There were bowlers from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties who compete locally.
“I was bowling with the best bowlers in Broward, so that feels pretty good,” Albarado said. “It is bittersweet because most of them are my friends. This gives me a lot of confidence.”
West Palm Beach’s Nichole Lewis won the Girls title as she defeated Margate’s Katarina Hagler, 182-159. It was Hagler’s second straight runner-up finish. Lewis also flirted with her first 300 game and left the four pin on her final shot in the final game of qualifying for a 299.
Plantation’s Rhoda Rodriguez, 38, was the lone bowler to repeat her championship as she downed Plantation’s Tina Smith, 233-186, for the Women’s title. Rodriguez has bowled in the event three times, winning the last two.
“It was very tough to defend because all of the women who bowl here are very good bowlers,” Rodriguez said. “It feels fantastic. This ranks pretty high because it shows all of the hard work that I have done during the season pays off, and to defend the championship is amazing. I would like to three-peat next year.”
The Broward County association also introduced a new Senior Division for bowlers 55 and older. Tamarac’s Howie Crowder topped Plantation’s Lloyd Reinhardt, 258-236, for the Senior Men’s title.
Crowder, 59, has bowled in the Top Eight for 20-plus years and won it five times. He would have qualified for the Men’s Division this year as well.
“I have bowled in the regular tournament, but once you hit a certain age, they automatically put you in the senior division,” Crowder said. “You don’t have a choice, and that’s fine with me.
“There is a lot of prestige,” he added. “This is the best of Broward County. There is no money involved and no one gets paid. Anytime you win something it’s good.”
Gary Hofer, a vice president of the Broward County USBC Assocaiation, said the new division was meant to let more seniors get in on the action.
“It was brought up at a meeting that we had enough senior participation that maybe we could include them in this,” he said. “Some of the seniors would have qualified for the normal adults [division], but we added the seniors to give more of them to bowl.”
Two Miami residents who bowl in Broward also captured titles. Miami Gardens’ Johanna LaRosa, 70, topped Miami Springs’ Robin Baker, 210-147, for the Senior Women’s title, while Miami Gardens’ Robert L. Graves III edged Dwight Jackson, 243-228, for the Men’s championship.
Hofer said there are an estimated 3,500 bowlers in the county. In order to qualify for the Top Eight, adults the opportunity had to bowl in two different houses and bowl two-thirds of the league schedule. The juniors just had to bowl one house. Bowlers won gift cards based on performance.
“The interest in this tournament is coming back again, especially adding seniors, that is a big boost for bowling,” Hofer said. “We have a lot of fun putting on tournaments.”
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