Teens Score Scholarships At North Pointe Insurance $100,000 Tournament

Teen Pair Among Largest Field To Ever Compete in Annual Scholarship Event

ARLINGTON, Texas – Marshall Kent, Yakima, WA and Heather Sharp Jacksonville, FL, survived a competitive two days of bowling to win their respective male and female divisions and become champions of the 5th Annual North Pointe Insurance $100,000 High School Open Singles (Bowling) Championship (NPI $100,000 HSOSC). The pair was among the largest field ever entered at the annual event according to the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America (BPAA).

Kent and Sharp each won $15,000 in scholarship money to cap the three-day scratch competition held July 17-19, 2010, at Hindel Bowl, Indianapolis, IN. The history-making field of competitors included 364 boys and 212 girls encompassing all-staters, Junior Gold bowlers, Junior Team USA team members as well as members of the USBC/Denny's All-American High School Championship participants.

In the Girls division, Sharp defeated Rochelle Hansen, LaVista, NE, in the final match to nail down the top prize. Hansen received $7500 for second place. Third place and fourth place finishers Elise Bolton, Merritt Island, FL, and Emily Strombeck, Durham, NC, each won $2800.

In the Boys division, Kent, who just a week earlier captured first place in the USBC Junior Gold competition, defeated Josh Burnham, Allen, TX, to win the boys division. Burnham took home a $7,500 scholarship award for his second place finish while Evan Luff, Riverview, MI, and Lance Ragland, Sunnyvale, TX each won $2000 for placing third and fourth place respectively.

In a change from previous years, students other than graduating seniors were allowed to compete. To be eligible, each bowler had to be registered with the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) as a certified youth member; have been a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior in the 2009-2010 academic year; and bowlers must have maintained a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA (based on a 4.0 GPA scale) as determined by the high school they attended.

Final standings are available on www.bpaa.com under the Tournaments link. Plans are already underway for the 2011 North Pointe Insurance $100,000 High School Open Singles Championships which are tentatively scheduled to be held at Red Rock Lanes, Las Vegas, NV. More details to follow.

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