Saturday, March 21, 2015
HUBBARD
Tips, advice, photo-ops and autographs were plentiful during a one-hour clinic prior to the P&P Trucking high school pro-am at Bell-Wick Bowl on Friday night.
Fresh from his first-ever regional win a month ago in Lynwood, Ill., Kyle Bigelow of Troy, Ohio was quite animated around his high school troupe of bowlers from Brookfield.
“It was a Challenge, a non-champions event, so if you don’t have a title, you can bowl in it — and now I can’t anymore, which is a good thing,” he said of Lynwood, which is part of the PBA’s Midwest Region. The 39-year-old Bigelow’s previous best regional finish was as runner-up in Monroe, Michigan in Nov., 2014.
He’s hoping to win the $2,500 first-place prize at this weekend’s Hubbard Open.
“I work all the time, but I decided to come here because I’m throwing the ball really well. I’m looking forward to some more wins from here on out,” he said of the taste of Lynwood’s $1,500 winner’s earnings. “Anytime I can get more, I’ll take it.”
Bigelow was paired with Brookfield bowlers Kayla Curry, Kayla Haywood, Samantha Neral and Christine Lowers and their coach, Jim Haywood.
Brett Spangler, an Indiana native who has lived in Niles the last six years, was with a foursome of Fitch bowlers Alexis Hunter, Justin Achten, Maddie Glavic and Kyle Scott. The 33-year-old Spangler has bowled in the previous four Hubbard Opens, cashing in all but one, but never reaching Sunday’s round.
He doesn’t bowl in many regionals because of work on the PBA national tour for MOTIV, the bowling ball equipment company out of Muskegon, Mich.
Spangler does product development for MOTIV and also works on the PBA national tour.
From pro Brian Nicodemus of Akron, Ind., Fitch High’s Brianna Protain got some advice.
“He told me to slow down,” Protain said of similar words of wisdom she’s heard from her coach, Matt Clipse.
“He tells me the same thing – that I’m throwing too hard on oily lanes like this.”
Protain had a 157 average as varsity bowler for Fitch, which placed ninth at the Lorain district, while she was 25th individually.
As a guest entry and PBA non-member, Josh Solomon of Bluffton, Ind. will bowl in his first pro event today at 3 p.m. in hopes of fulfilling a promise — and a dream.
“It’s surreal, but I’m excited to go up against the PBA guys,” said the 30-year-old Solomon, who was on Fitch’s back-to-back state championship teams in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Solomon has been living in Indiana for the last six years while working in a Kroger distribution center.
“I told my parents, who passed away not long after I graduated from high school that I’d chase my dream of being a pro. I’m an amateur now, but I’ve got to start somewhere.”