FAIRLAWN — Only four players remained after 20 of the top junior players descended on Brookgate Lanes in Brook Park for the match-play portion of the PBA Jr. Tour’s National Championships.
And, Friday afternoon at AMF Riviera Lanes, the two survivors in both the boys and girls divisions squared off for national titles — and a little bit more.
Kaitlyn Stull, 15, of Raleigh, N.C., and Jakob Robertson of Oxford, Miss., emerged with titles as the PBA Jr. program concluded its season.
Stull, the No. 2 seed entering the stepladder finals at Brookgate, stopped Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Ga., 223-193 in the semifinal to earn a spot in the final against top-seeded Bella Love Castillo, 13, of Odessa, Texas. Castillo, who went 8-2 during Thursday’s match play, defeated Stull 229-215 in their position-round match to earn the top seed.
But during Friday’s title match, Stull put together three strikes in a row twice, including in the 10th frame, to stop Castillo 226-205 to win the title and a $7,500 scholarship.
Castillo, a two-handed right-hander, had a pair of doubles but failed to convert a 7-pin spare in the eighth.
On the boys side, the top-seeded Robertson, who rolled a 300 during Thursday’s match play at Brookgate, met No. 2 seed Zach Andresen of Princeton, Minn., in a battle of two-handed righties. The two had tied at 234 during Thursday’s position round match, with Robertson earning the top seed by just five pins.
Anderson reached the finale with a 266-237 win over No. 5-seeded Devan Skridla of Rockford, Ill.
During Friday’s title match, Robertson ran off three strike from the eighth into the 10th frame to hold off Andresen 217-213 to claim the title.
“I didn’t even know I needed it,” Robertson said of his seven-count on the second ball in the 10th to clinch the win. “I was just so into the moment.”
PROS GET INVOLVED
Following the two title matches, a pair of doubles matches were conducted with PBA pros EJ Tackett and Kyle Troup teaming up with Robertson and Andresen and Castillo and Stull teaming with PWBA pros Dasha Kovalova of Ukraine, now living in Michigan, and Danielle McEwen of Stony Point, N.Y. The two female pros have combined for 12 pro titles.
In the doubles matches, which were run in Baker System style with the pros leading off, the team of Stull and McEwen stopped Kovalova and Castillo 116-110 in a five-frame battle with the former team trowing four strikes, including three in a row.
In the male match, Troup teamed with Andresen to top Tackett and Robertson 146-96, striking on every shot except the final ball when Troup left a 4-6-7-10 split.
The two winners then had a a regular Baker game battle for the overall title, with the junior players leading off. Victory went to the women, as McEwen and Stull earned a 227-206 win by striking on five straight shots despite an open frame in the first.
The PBA Jr. National Championship will air at 7:30 p.m. March 25 on FS1.
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