May 04, 2008 12:18 am
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By Wendell Redden
sports@joplinglobe.com
Four Joplin bowlers with years of experience in league competition were inducted into the Greater Joplin USBC Association Hall of Fame Saturday night during the group’s annual awards banquet at the Joplin Elks Lodge.
The newest members of the city’s bowling shrine are Beverly Zerkel, Sonya Fort, Bill Dickens and Johnny D. Vickers.
In addition to the Hall of Fame ceremony, the association selected the city’s all-star teams in the men’s and women’s leagues, the senior leagues and the youth leagues. Winners of the Joplin Open and the Joplin USBC women’s tournament were recognized, as were the outstanding performers of the season.
In keeping with a tradition established several years ago to honor deserving youth bowlers, the association awarded scholarships to Stacia Baker, a freshman at Neosho High School, and John Davis, a junior at Carl Junction High School.
Zerkel bowls in the Hilltop Rollers League on Thursday at Bowl East and in the Prestige Seniors League on Wednesday at Fourth Street Bowl. She has competed in league and tournament competition for more than 40 years and has consistently posted averages in the 180s and 190s. She has competed in state and national tournaments, including the Senior Queens, and has logged at least two 700-plus series in her career.
Fort, a league bowler at least 15 years, carries averages in the high 190s. She’s rolled several series of 700 and has had a high game of 290. She is a past singles champion in her division in the state tournament. A member of the Joplin USBC board of directors, she has directed Joplin’s youth bowling program the last four years.
A perennial nominee for Joplin’s all-star team, Dickens has posted 25 league averages ranging from 206 through 233. He’s had five averages over 220. He has posted honor scores of 298, 299, 300 and an 800 series. He has had 14 perfect games in his career. Dickens has been nominated eight times for a berth on the all-star team, and has been selected three times.
Vickers has logged a total of 39 averages since beginning league play during the 1992-93 season. After posting averages of 169 and 174 the first season, he has improved steadily and has recorded 29 averages ranging from 200 to 215. He’s bowled 299 and 300 games and has been nominated nine times for the city all-star team.
All-Star team candidates were nominated by the three bowling centers and were selected by the Hall of Fame committee. Each bowling center had representatives on all teams, except the youth. Crown Lanes dropped its youth program at midyear due to a lack of participants.
The all-stars:
Men—Mark Howerton, Jeremy Clark, Dave Blomstrand, Shawn Beeson and David Lightle.
Women—Carol Dutton, Candy Brown, Shawna Giddens, Crystal Beeson, Robyn Laubach, Janie Walkenshaw and Tina Lightle.
Senior men—Fred Warden, James Lack, Steve Wiles, Wendell Redden and Bill Byrd.
Senior women—Bev Cochran, Gladys Gandy, Bev Zerkel, Taukia Reynolds, Bernice Cooke, Sandy Billman and Jackie Peterson.
Youth boys—Zack Calton, Paul Richard, J.J. Phillips, Justin Brisco, and Darrell Brisco.
Youth girls—Jessica Burgess, Quincy Dutton, Shayla Dutton, Katie Phillips, Teri Lankford, Stacia Baker.
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