By BILL SNIER
CUYAHOGA FALLS — Sixty four players started the day, with everyone making the cut.
But it took 10 more games to determine the two “survivors” to bowl for the title.
Just how difficult was it to get to the finals of the Kreative Touch March Madness bowling tournament Sunday at Clutch Lanes and Sports Center?
“I like bowling this because it’s so hard … I won a bunch of matches shooting 190 or 200,” said 42-year-old Macedonia right-hander Jason Johnson, who finished second in the event for the fourth time.
“In these, if you make your spares and stay clean, 190 or 200 is really good on these (lanes) as hard as they are.”
“If you get a bad break, you just have to forget about it, make the spare and just try to make better shots and go from there,” said 29-year-old Columbus right-hander Meeco Walker, who earned his second title in the event with a 388-374 win over Johnson after a 10 1/2-hour day.
“Spare shooting can make or break you here.”
The event was bowled on the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open No. 1 oil pattern, a 41-foot one that had some devilish twists on the outside of both sides of the lane. The original field of 64 bowled three qualifying games to determine their placement in the four “brackets,” with the top four being the No. 1 seed in each. From there, bowlers bowled two-game matches to get through rounds of 64, 32, 16, eight, four and down to the final two to determine a champion.
Walker, a former East Cleveland resident and Notre Dame College graduate who is employed as a nurse, was the No. 28 seed following qualifying with a 548 series for three games.
“In qualifying, I struggled a little bit and didn’t have any games over 200. Sometimes, that happens in this,” said Walker, who also won this event during its final year at the former Sto-Kent Lanes six years ago. “Once I got into match play, I was able to make better shots and the pins fell the way I wanted them to.”
During his match-play wins, Walker shot 393, 440, 482, 482 and 395 to get to the finals — averaging 219.2 over 10 games. He used the Columbia 300 Pulse most of the day, also mixing in the Hammer Black Widow 3.0 Dynasty.
“My last two matches were the toughest for me,” said Walker, who believes his last singles win may have been this event even though he has been a member of first-place team winners in the Cleveland area. “They came down to the 10th frame and I needed to make a shot and at least mark to be able to win.”
Walker, who earned $2,000, needed a mark in the semifinal match to hold off Perry Township right-hander Troy Wilt 395-374 to reach the finals.
JOHNSON FALLS SHORT
Johnson had a much better qualifying effort, using his Storm Phaze II most of the day. He finished second overall with 652 to earn one of the top bracket seeds, shooting 245 his final game, which tied Caleb Shovestull for the third- best qualifying game of the opening round.
He then averaged 195.3 over his 10 match-play games,, shooting over 400 twice en route to the finals.
“I won a bunch of matches and was able to move on without shooting 200,” said Johnson, an Ace Mitchell Bowlers Mart employee who also works part-time at Progressive Field during Cleveland Guardians home games. “I didn’t shoot 400 until the round of eight. It was just the luck of the draw.”
His high two-game set came in the quarterfinal round against left-hander Nolan Postolka, when he had 204 and 221 to earn a 425-416 win.
“I was able to stay around the 380s and 390s until that match. But I was able to just do enough to move on,” said Johnson, whose last runner-up finish came in the 2024 event.
Johnson topped Parma two-handed righty and Strike More Pro Shop owner Scott McIntire 410-325 in the other semifinal.
TITLE MATCH
Lane 14 of the title pair, which had gone unused for about three hours during match play, was confusing to both players
“For me, 14 was just impossible,” said Johnson, who used three different balls to try to figure out the lane. “It didn’t have any kind of hook spot to throw to. I kept trying to move left to get inside, hoping the ball would just fade to the pocket. I didn’t have very good luck on that lane.”
Walker also thought he could use his same game plan on the pair, but had to add the Track Synthesis to the mix on Lane 13 and tried to use it on 14. Eventually, he also went to throwing a different ball on each, mixing in his Widow 3.0 Dynasty.
“I really thought I had it figured out with the Synthesis on that lane and then throwing it on 13,” Walker said. “But all of a sudden, it just went away.”
In the opening game, Johnson failed to convert a 1-2-4 spare in the first frame and then left a 4-6-7-10 split in the fourth. He did not throw a double until the ninth into the 10th.
Walker had a double into the sixth until his first open, missing a 6-9 spare in the seventh. But he added a double in the 10th frame for a 198-172 win for a 26-pin advantage heading into Game 2.
But Lane 14 got to Walker in Game 2 as he failed to convert a 9-pin spare in the second and left a 1-2-4-10 washout in the fourth that he failed to convert. Johnson managed to stay clean throughout the game, getting his second double of the match in the fifth and sixth frames.
“I threw two pretty good shots, but then I left a couple of 7-pins that I thought were pretty good shots,” Johnson said. “My rev rate is not real high so I can’t get those light swishing hits any more.”
Walker was able to double on a high hit in the seventh and a light shot in the eighth. But a messenger failed to take out the 10-pin in the ninth, although he converted the key spare. He then doubled in the 10th for a 202-190 win and the title.
During that final game, Walker also left a pair of 8-pin spares on solid hits.
“I think the difference for me is my mental game now. I stayed mentally strong (when he got bad breaks),” Walker said. “I just made the spare. I kept my composure even when I do miss spares to make sure I throw a better shot the next time.”
It was another bitter pill to swallow for Johnson.
“I thought the lanes were pretty playable all day across the house,” said Johnson, who doesn’t bowl in league play, instead opting for practice and tournament play. “But when the lanes sit for four hours, I have to find a different strategy. I just didn’t quite match up again in another final.”
Walker works every other weekend so his tournament play is limited.
“This is pretty big for me,” Walker said. “I don’t do as much tournament bowling as I’d like, but I do get out there as much as I can.”
But he made it pay off on a difficult day on the lanes.
NOTEBOOK: North Star Pro Shop owner Don Hogue led qualifying with 704, finishing 52 pins ahead of Johnson. The remainder of the No. 1 seeds in each bracket were Tommy Gallagher (642) and Frank Riba Jr. (640). Each received a $120 bonus.Johnson was the only one to advance past the Round of 16. … High qualifying game was senior Bob Eckenrode with 256. … Defending champion Joe Bailey fell in the opening round to Ryan Trowbridge 398-393. … OHSAA State Boys Division II individual champion and Brooklyn High School senior Adam Cowper reached the Round of 8 before falling to McIntire 457-381. Along the way, he defeated his freshman brother Alex 448-393 in the round of 32. Adam Cowper also posted the high game of the tournament with 277 in the Round of 16 in a win over Canton senior right-hander Matt Coffelt. … McIntire, who also bowls in PBA Central Region events, just converted to a two-hand delivery in December. He just started shooting spares two-handed two weeks ago and made it to the semifinals. … Four of the final eight competitors in the field were Nordonia High School graduates, including Johnson. … There was a 40-minute delay due to a scoring question between qualifying and the start of match play, with the tournament ending around 7:30 p.m. … Of the final 16 competitors who earned payouts in the field, 14 were right-handers, including four two-handed righties, with just two left-handers. … Kreative Touch Property Services served as title sponsor of the event. … Our thanks to tournament director Eric Randazzo and Kim and Les Mann for their assistance with our report.
KREATIVE TOUCH MARCH MADNESS
(Sunday, at Clutch Lanes and Sports Center, Cuyahoga Falls)
Round of 16
(Two-game match play; losers each receive $150; seed before each player’s name)
49 Troy Wilt d. 32 Eric Bator 42-394; 56 Conner Novak d. 25 Chris Sayre 420-371; 52 Mark Hupcey d. 4 Frank Riba Jr. 387-310; 28 Meeco Walker d. 12 Bob Eckenrode 482-391; 2 Jason Johnson d. 15 Robby Roberts 389-378; 42 Nolan Postolka d. 39 Pat Adolph 406-391; 30 Scott McIntire d. 14 Cooper Smith 331-328; 22 Adam Cowper d. 38 Matt Coffelt 466-415
Round of 8
(Two-game match play; losers each receive $300)
Wilt d. Novak 396-360; Walker d. Hupcey 482-310; Johnson d. Postolka 425-416; McIntire d. Cowper 457-381
Semifinals
(Two-game match play; losers each receive $600)
Walker d. Wilt 395-374; Johnson d. McIntire 410-325
Championship
(Two-game match play; winner receives $2,000; loser receives $1,000)
Walker d. Johnson 388-374