By BILL SNIER
NEW PHILADELPHIA — Carleton Chambers and Jeremy Dixson couldn’t scoreboard watch because they really couldn’t tell what their final score would be.
Even after the remainder of A squad during Saturday’s PBA Wabash Lanes Member-Non-Member Doubles Central Open had completed play.
The pair, along with Michael Schlabach and Jason Flaugh, were in Game 3 of the eight-game qualifying block when an electrical short on Lane 19 forced the two teams to delay the remainder of that game. They bowled the final seven frames after qualifying was completed.
It didn’t mean much, as Chambers and Dickson, a pair of Detroit right-handers who work at Next Level Pro Shop inside Thunderbowl Lanes, home of this year’s PBA World Series of Bowling, torched the field with 3,660 total pinfall, finishing 112 pins ahead of Samuel DeWitt III and Jared Shaner.
“I’ve known him for about 25 years. I watched him grow up,” said the 49-year-old Chambers. “He’s a very good bowler and a nice young man. I just sent him a picture of the event and followed that with some question marks. And here we are.”
Chambers, who owns one career PBA title (2009 in Cincinnati), finished seventh individually with 1,769 while Dixson, who was making his first pro appearance since the 2018 U.S. Open, finished second individually with 1,891, an average of 236.38.
“(Michael) was seeing a lot of hook on the whole lane and I wasn’t seeing that,” Chambers said. “My game plan was going straighter in and throwing it a bit harder. I just sort of jumped on (Dixson’s) back.”
Dixson said the” front of the lane hooked more” and he had to play the proper angles.
“You had to keep the ball in play … keep it in front of you,” the 34-year-old Dixson said. “I made some bad shots. But it was a lot of fun and there’s always room for improvement.”
DeWitt, who led individuals with 1,911, an average of 238, shot 246 in Game 8 to top Dixson by 20 pins. He said the tips he overheard after A squad aided his run on the second squad.
“I basically took notes from what the first squad was saying,” said Dewitt, a 36-year-old non-winner from Pittsburgh who works as a material handler at the Veterans Administration Hospital.
“They said they had a little out of bounds outside of 10 (board) and that urethane wasn’t the play. I still tried urethane in practice being me and it didn’t look good. So I jumped left and I kept moving left and kept balling down the rest of the day. I didn’t have to deal with as much transition and it made my brain a lot easier. There wasn’t much thinking involved.”
Shaner, a 27-year-old surface grinder from Ford City, Pa., won the Pennsylvania state doubles title with DeWitt in 2019. He has bowled only a handful of pro events since 2019.
“I was just following in his footsteps, listening to him,” said Shaner, who averaged just 204.63. “I just took a ride in his backpack a little bit.”
The event is sponsored by Infinity Representatives.
HOME LIFE, GAME CHANGE
Over the past three weeks, 27-year-old Wakarusa, Ind., right-hander Schlabach has won his fifth PBA regional title, qualified through the pre-tournament qualifier (PTQ) for his first PBA Tournament of Champions (he finished 55th) and sat fifth with partner Jason Flaugh after qualifying during Saturday’s event.
What has led to the surge?
“What’s been going good is my relationship with my wife. We got into a really good stride these past six or seven months,” said Schlabach of his wife, Elizabeth.
“We know where we’re going and what we’re doing. Me, I’m just out here having fun. I just have a blast doing this and knocking down pins, especially with someone like Jason, who is just lake back and enjoys the game. It makes coming out here real easy.”
The pair have known each other for about 15 years. But while Schlabach bowls regularly in PBA regional events, Flaugh has rarely done so over the past 10 years.
“I used to bowl two or three a year, but nothing too serious,” said Flaugh, a 44-year-old Avilla, Ind., right-hander. “I’m more a weekend warrior.”
Flaugh currently is unemployed after working for the past 20 years running a press as a printer. Schlabach still works full-time as as lab technician for Accessa.
“He has a steady head to keep me level-headed out here … keep my on my toes,” said Schlabach of Flaugh. The pair crossed all morning with Chambers and Dixson.
But Schlabach was playing a different line, lofting the ball far down the lane with a severe angle.
“I went the first three games with the same urethane, but I began making moves thinking the lanes were more blended and they were not. They were hooking out of the building,” Schlabach said. “So I aimed for a dot that was right near the break in the panels about 10 feet down the lane and tried to drop it on the dot. I got there in Game 4 and stayed there the rest of the way.”
“It was pretty good bowling with Mikey,” Flaugh said. “Of course, I can’t line up off of him.”
Schlabach will be seeking his second title in the event. He won in 2022 with Bailey Mavrick.
Jalen Mosely, who was a defending champion, teamed with Brady Adler and finished eighth to make the cut. Moseley’s 2023 partner, Jean Perez, did not participate nor did Mavrick.
GETTING HIGH SCHOOLS INVOLVED
The highlight of the weekend was the high school pro-am and draft, which was held Friday night at Wabash.
It was created by owner Aaron Shanklin a year ago during the first event as a fund-raising method for area high school bowling programs.
Nine schools, including 10 teams from Stark, Wayne, Carroll and Tuscarawas counties, participated with each team required to raise a minimum of $500 toward the sale of advertising on high school banners for each school. Anything made over that amount will be returned to the schools next week. Wooster had two teams.
“They bring in the money and then we return it to them. They go out and get $100 sponsors for these banners, and the sponsors get to put their logos on them,” Shanklin explained. “Then, they can proudly hang those banners at the schools or home centers and use it to get more advertising next year.”
All 39 pros in the field were drafted by teams, with the draft order being determined by how much money each team raised. Perry had the No. 1 pick with $1,900 total.
The $500 that was given back to Shanklin is part of the $5,000 prize package awarded to schools depending on where their pro’s doubles team finishes in the overall standings. First place is worth $2,500, $1,500 for second, $1,000 for third and fourth place being worth $500 — with the final amount donated by Shanklin.
“No team can win more than one prize. We are building a community of bowling between the pros and the high school kids,” Shanklin said.
NOTEBOOK
RACE TO CUT: John Shreve Jr. and Vincent Bellar jumped from out of the cut to sixth overall by shooting 511 the last game. Bellar, who finished third overall individually, shot 223 the final game while Shreve, who was struggling all afternoon, finished with 288 to move to minus-19 on the day (1,581). … Andrew Halvorson and Brian Locke got the final cut spot with 3,334, with 400 in the final game to finish just six pins ahead of Scott McIntire Jr. and Ryan Trowbridge,, who was bowling in his first PBA event. McIntire and Trowbridge earned the final cash spot with 3,328. … Butch Ferrell was the lone senior to finish in the top 10 individually, taking fourth overall with 1,811. He and partner Norm Loescher finished 14th with 3,326. … The big explosion for B squad came the final three games as seven teams made the cut as opposed to five on A squad.
SUNDAY LINEUP: Seeds five through 12 will bowl in opening best-of-seven Baker System matches while the top four receive first-round byes. The cut to make the top four was Kevin Bienko and Andrew Herbert at 3,434, finishing three pins ahead of Schlabach and Flauch.
The first two rounds, with the second round including those receiving byes, are best-of-seven while the final two rounds involving the final four are best-of-five. Pairs will be reoiled after the opening matches.
DATE WILL REMAIN: The tournament was moved from its original September date for two key reasons. “There were a conflict with (PBA pro) Ronnie Russell’s tournament in Indiana, so we agreed to move it up a week,” Shanklin said. The problem was that due to a variety of events in the New Philadelphia area, including baseball tournaments and a women’s motorcycle convention, no accommodations were available for the pros to as far away at Akron-Canton Regional Airport. So regional director Bobby Jakel proposed the May date, and Shanklin agreed. “Being so close to the TOC, we were hoping to draw some more headliners,” Shanklin said. “But we were full before the TOC even started. We had our least amount of headliners, but the kids climbed all over these pros. We had five local teams taken early in the draft.”
PRO-AM: Indian Valley topped the pro-am, which was bowled Baker System style, with 1,910 total pinfall, with Minerva taking second with 1,632. Complete results are listed below. Shanklin also added a twist for the event. “Since we had just 10 teams, we turned all 20 lanes on,” said Shanklin, a USBC Silver level coach. “That way, each team bowled the Baker games on one lane and the other lane of the pair could be used for warmups or instruction from coaches and the pros. It was a combination pro-am and clinic.”
NOTEBOOK: One team dropped out Friday giving the event 39 teams. … Only one 300 was thrown, by Joshua Hoffer on B squad. He and partner David Parr qualified third. … Only one woman participated. Massillon’s Ashlee Gonzales bowled with Killbuck’s Ted Kays Jr. with the pair finishing 32nd overall. … Twenty-two of the teams finished plus for the event along with 44 of the 78 individuals. … Dixson was the high nonmember, finishing 54 pins ahead of Bellar. There were 10 nonmembers finishing in the top 20. … Sunday’s play begins at 9 a.m. Admission is free. … First place will pay $5,000 for the team, with the final cash spot paying $500 per player. … The oil pattern was the PBA Earl Anthony pattern.
