Bowling fans will be seeing a lot of four-time PBA Tour champion Sean Rash (pictured left) on ESPN this season. Rash continued his unprecedented PBA World Series of Bowling streak Tuesday, qualifying for his fourth consecutive television final at South Point Bowling Center.

With his third-place finish in the GEICO Shark Open, the Montgomery, Ill., resident has qualified for the ESPN-televised finals in all four animal pattern tournaments - Bayer Viper Open, Chameleon Open, Scorpion Open and the Shark Open.

Rash finished the tournament with a 3238 14-game pinfall (231.3 average) and had games of 243, 222, 209, 230, 214 and 247 in Tuesday’s six-game final round to secure his berth in the TV finals.

“I have everything working together right now,” Rash said. “Physically and mentally I’m in the right place and Brunswick has given me great equipment.”

Asked about the challenge of competing on four different conditions over four days, Rash said it’s all in the preparation.

“Every day is a different day and having a game plan for each day really becomes important in the World Series,” he said. “That’s going to help put yourself in a position to win and it has worked great so far.”

Thirteen-time Tour champion and defending PBA World Championship winner Chris Barnes (right) of Double Oak, Texas, led the Shark qualifying and will be making his first World Series television final after posting a 3297 pinfall total (235.5 average). He had games of 226, 290, 268, 176, 227 and 268 Tuesday night.

“I really haven’t been bowling up to expectations,” Barnes said. “I’ve been way off the pace and needed to get out of the block much better. It was important for me to make this show and get some momentum going into the last round of the World Championship.”

Also making the Shark Open finals was Australian two-hander Jason Belmonte (left), who finished second with a 3251 pinfall. Belmonte, who was looking for his second top seed after finishing first in the PBA Chameleon Open qualifying, dropped from first to second place due to a 203 in the last game.

PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi (left), a native Finn who lives in Hartland, Mich., beat out Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y. for the fourth and last place to advance by just one pin, 3190 to 3189, thanks to a 280 last game to Jurek's 238.

The Shark Open finals will be taped by ESPN on Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. PT.

After the conclusion of the GEICO Shark Open qualifying, five Americans - Rash (4), Barnes, Mike Fagan, Dave Wodka, and Patrick Allen - and six international bowlers - Belmonte (2), Koivuniemi, Ildemaro Ruiz (2), Stuart Williams, Osku Palermaa, and Dom Barrett a - have split the 16 spots for the WSOB "Animal Pattern" TV finals.

 

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Geico Shark Open

Standings after 14 games; top 4 advance to ESPN finals.

1, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,297
2, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3,251
3, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 3,238
4, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 3,190

Did not advance (after 14 games)
5, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 3,189, $2,500
6, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 3,131, $2,400
7, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 3,127, $2,300
8, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, 3,119, $2,200
9, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,083, $2,150
10, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 3,073, $2,100
11, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 3,063, $2,050
12, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,060, $2,000
13, x-Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3,030, $1,950
14, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 3,027, $1,900
15, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 3,022, $1,850
16, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 2,927, $1,800
x-Duke defeated Williams, 236-161, in a one-game roll-off after they tied for 16th place

Did not advance (after 8 games)
17, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,786, $1,300
18, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 1,783, $1,250
19, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,781, $1,200
20, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,779, $1,150
21, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 1,778, $1,120
22, David Beres, Waukesha, Wis., 1,771, $1,100
23, Floyd Raymond, Gaylord, Mich., 1,767, $1,090
24 (tie), Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., and D.J. Archer, Mineral Wells, Texas, 1,765, $1,075
26, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,762, $1,060
27, Yousif Falah, Bahrain, 1,759, $1,050
28, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 1,754, $1,040
29 (tie), Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, and Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 1,752, $1,025
31 (tie), Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, and Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 1,751, $1,005
33, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 1,748
34, Patrick Allen, Baltimore, 1,747
35, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 1,744
36 (tie), Martin Larsen, Sweden, and Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,742
38, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 1,741
39, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 1,737
40, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,735
41 (tie), Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,732
43, Kasey Normandin, Canada, 1,730
44, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,728
45, Paul Moor, England, 1,727
46 (tie), John Nolen, Waterford, Mich., and Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 1,725
48 (tie), Tommy Gollick, Oberlin, Pa., and Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., 1,724
50, Jaime Monroy, Colombia, 1,723
51, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,722
52, Paola Gomez, Colombia, 1,721
53, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 1,719
54, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 1,713
55, Matthew O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., 1,711
56, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,710
57 (tie), Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, and Robert Piroozshad, Ranch Santa Margarita, Calif., 1,708
59, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 1,707
60, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,706
61 (tie), Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., and Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 1,705
63, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 1,703
64, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1,698
65 (tie), Patrick Girard, Canada, and Zack Hattori, Las Vegas, 1,697
65, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 1,697
68, Stuart Williams, England, 1,695
69, Joseph Hostetler, Minerva, Ohio, 1,693
70, James Wallace, Hicksville, N.Y., 1,689
71, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 1,683
72, Billy Rohde, Marietta, Ga., 1,680
73, Jerry Johnson Jr., Las Vegas, 1,678
74, Daniel Falconi, Mexico, 1,677
75, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 1,675
76, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,672
77, Andy Mortensen, Tulsa, Okla., 1,666
78 (tie), Juhani Tonteri, Finland, and Hyun Bum Kim, South Korea, 1,665
80, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 1,663
81 (tie), Dom Barrett, England, and Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 1,660
83 (tie), PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., and Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., 1,658
83, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,658
86, Jason Poli, West Des Moines, Iowa, 1,655
87, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,653
88, Jake Peters, Decatur, Ill., 1,652
89, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif., 1,647
90, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 1,646
91, Mathias Arup, Sweden, 1,644
92, Ray Eddy III, Saginaw, Mich., 1,638
93, Billy Rogers, Dallas, 1,637
94, Jim Horan, Oakley, Calif., 1,635
95, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,634
96 (tie), Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., and Adam Monks, San Diego, 1,631
98 (tie), Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., and Ji-Hyun Cha, South Korea, 1,630
100, Ricky Schissler, Henderson, Colo., 1,629
101, Paul Gibson, Brunswick, Ohio, 1,628
102 (tie), Brett Cooper, Fort Worth, Texas, and Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,624
104, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.V., 1,621
105 (tie), Eddie Graham, Centerville, Ohio; Jesper Agerbo, Denmark; Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., and Julio Cesar Blancas, Mexico, 1,618
109, Erik Andersin, Sweden, 1,617
110, Noel Vazquez, Sacramento, Calif., 1,616
111, Jimmy Mortensen, Denmark, 1,611
112, William Guszczo, Orland Park, Il., 1,610
113, Martin Paulsson, Sweden, 1,606
114, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 1,605
115, Dennis Eklund, Sweden, 1,604
116, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 1,602
117, Frank Guccione, Castle Rock, Colo., 1,601
118, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., 1,598
119, Jong Soo Park, South Korea, 1,597
120, Manuel Otalora, Colombia, 1,595
121, Tony Campagna Jr., Hendersonville, Tenn., 1,594
122 (tie), Jon Brandon, Santa Clarita, Calif., and Rocio Restrepo, Colombia, 1,592
124, Steve Cook, Granite Bay, Calif., 1,590
125, Chris Cundiff, Lake Station, Ind., 1,589
125, Will Wells, New Zealand, 1,589
127, Joshua McBride, Wichita, Kan., 1,586
128, Eric Malone, Brewster, N.Y., 1,580
129, Howard Partell, Las Vegas, 1,577
130, Travis Celmer, Wernersville, Pa., 1,575
131, Andre Eubanks, Los Angeles, 1,570
132, Carlos Cottone, Venezuela, 1,565
133, Richard Horsley, Morrisville, N.C., 1,563
134, Antonio Medina, Louisville, Ky., 1,561
135 (tie), Andrew Cain, Phoenix, and Siu Hong Wu, Hong Kong, 1,558
137 (tie), Toni Palermaa, Finland, and Jaime Gonzalez, Colombia, 1,557
139, Santiago Garcia, Colombia, 1,549
140, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 1,548
141, Chris Hayden, Las Vegas, 1,544
142 (tie), Michael Ciardulli Jr., Valley Stream, N.Y., and Jason Miller, Portland, Ore., 1,539
144 (tie), John Furey, East Windsor, N.J., and Kevin Gallagher, Torrance, Calif., 1,538
146, Adrian Anderson, Roseburg, Ore., 1,535
147, Kurt Bogner, Longview, Wash., 1,528
148, Dennis Horan Jr., Temecula, Calif., 1,523
149, Chuck Tillson, Rohnert Park, Calif., 1,520
150, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 1,516
151, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 1,515
152 (tie), John DeBenedetta Jr., Las Vegas, and Adam Miller, Charlotte, N.C., 1,513
154, Hameed Taqi, Bahrain, 1,511
155, Alan Mojado, Pala, Calif., 1,510
156, Matthew Thornton, Montgomery, Ill., 1,508
157 (tie), Kyung-Shin Park, South Korea, and Craig Auerbach, Sunrise, Fla., 1,502
159, Rachel Vaughn, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 1,499
160, Glenn Morgan, Carson City, Nev., 1,493
161, Matt Freiberg, Somerset, N.J., 1,490
162, Bubba Harrison, Citrus Heights, Calif., 1,488
163, Fawaz Abdullah, Bahrain, 1,485
164, David Peterson, Plano, Texas, 1,482
165, Sean Mamlok, San Jose, Calif., 1,480
166, Chuck Galaviz, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1,477
167, Jimmy Smith, Puyallup, Wash., 1,472
168, Yong-Jin Gu, South Korea, 1,470
169, Robert McBride, Plano, Texas, 1,468
170, Ernest Lukacs Jr., Manville, N.J., 1,466
171, Brett Spangler, Niles, Ohio, 1,459
172, Jorge Tello, Colombia, 1,457
173 (tie), Mike Armstrong Jr., Tucson, Ariz., and Mahd Assad, Bahrain, 1,451
175, Mohammed Al Swawoosh, Bahrain, 1,449
176, Adam James, Redmond, Wash., 1,435
177 (tie), Krzysztof Olesinski, Poland, and Glen Nakagawa, Highland Village, Texas, 1,434
179, Frank Boyer, Lebanon, Pa, 1,426
180, Isaac Amkie Amkie, Mexico, 1,424
181, Jeff Toyne, Columbia, S.C., 1,421
182, Sam Grihm, Portland, Ore., 1,419
183, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 1,409
184, Mark Fennell, Seattle, 1,401
185, Masoud Saberi, Bahrain, 1,400
186, Carl Labayan, Long Beach, Calif., 1,398
187, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 1,391
188, Darrell Gilbert Jr., Valparaiso, Ind., 1,390
189, Chris Helton, Fountain, Colo., 1,387
190, Kenneth Bland Jr., Germany, 1,375
191, Chad Lusche, Arvada, Colo., 1,371
192, David Meadows, Houston, 1,357
193, Miroslaw Pajak, Poland, 1,344
194, Steve Ford, Seaside, Ore., 1,335
195, J.T. Jackson, Tarzana, Calif., 1,330
196, Rickey Smith, Gulf Breeze, Fla., 1,318
197, Kevin Prior, Allen, Texas, 1,310
198, Tyler Johnson, Surprise, Ariz., 1,307
199, Travis Thomas, Lumberton, N.C., 1,294
200, Courtney Miller, Charleston, S.C., 1,277
201, Mathew Tabor, Cooperstown, N.Y., 1,225

 

PBA World Championship

Qualifying after 32 games; top 53 advance to Wednesday’s cashers’ round.

1, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 7,674
2, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 7,360
3, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 7,314
4, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 7,300
5, Stuart Williams, England, 7,246
6, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 7,213
7, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 7,205
8 (tie), Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., and Dom Barrett, England, 7,191
10, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 7,167
11, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 7,165
12, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 7,130
13, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 7,107
14, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 7,103
15, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 7,093
16, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 7,067
17, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, 7,066
18, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 7,063
19, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 7,060
20, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 7,055
21 (tie), Dan MacLelland, Canada, and Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 7,039
23, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 7,032
24, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 7,024
25, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 7,016
26, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 7,009
27, Patrick Allen, Baltimore, 7,008
28, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 6,976
29, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 6,964
29, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 6,964
31, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 6,963
32, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 6,953
33, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 6,948
34, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 6,939
35, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., 6,934
36, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 6,929
37, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., 6,925
38, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 6,920
39, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 6,919
40, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 6,918
41, Patrick Girard, Canada, 6,914
42, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 6,907
43, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 6,903
44, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 6,901
45, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 6,897
46, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 6,889
47, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif., 6,888
48 (tie), Matthew O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., and Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 6,885
50, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 6,867
51, Kim Hyun Bum, South Korea, 6,862
52, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 6,858
53, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 6,857