They kept setting up the pins, and Nanaimo bowlers kept knocking ‘em down.
A handful of Nanaimo youths participated in Youth Bowl Canada national championships earlier this month in Ontario.
Grady Work and Corey Cooper from Brechin Lanes both won a pair of bronze medals at YBC Five-pin Nationals in Oshawa, Ont., July 10-12, while Brianna Robbins of Splitsville Entertainment won a silver medal at YBC Ten-pin Nationals in Thunder Bay, Ont., also July 10-12.
The junior boys’ duo of Work and Cooper averaged 381 at five-pin nationals and won their bronze-medal match against Saskatchewan convincingly, 393-322. Work and Cooper also teamed with Shelby Han and Mia Archeck to win bronze in the mixed team competition at nationals.
The Brechin boys qualified for nationals after winning provincials this past spring on the Lower Mainland. Also at five-pin provincials, Brechin’s junior girls team of Corri Williams and Natasha Phillips earned silver medals, as did Lornita Phillips in bantam competition.
At ten-pin nationals, Robbins averaged 155 over the course of the tournament and defeated an Alberta opponent to make the national final before falling to a Quebec bowler.
Joining Robbins in Thunder Bay was her Splitsville teammate David Swailes, who competed in the senior boys’ division.
Both Robbins and Swailes won B.C. championships earlier this spring at ten-pin provincials co-hosted in Nanaimo and Kelowna. Also at provincials, Splitsville’s Brooke Rodgers and Jordan Singer finished second and third, respectively, in senior girls competition.
Splitsville’s standout bowlers also competed at the Canadian Tenpin Federation championships in Winnipeg in May.
Swailes won a national gold medal. He won all his matches with a 205 average and then, in the national final, he rolled five strikes in a row at the end to edge a Manitoba opponent for gold. He also helped B.C. to a bronze in team competition.
Singer earned a bronze in intermediate girls’ competition and added a silver in doubles. Robbins earned bronze in doubles.
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