Blanchard strikes gold at American Zone Youth Championships By Kevin Hazaert
06/12/06
Junior Team USA's Josh Blanchard knew he would experience nerves Sunday while representing his country in international competition for the first time. He just didn't expect them to stay away for as long as they did.
"I didn't have any nerves during the first five games, which is very surprising," said Blanchard, 18, of Upland, Calif. "But that last game, some nerves started to creep in as I got closer to gold."
Blanchard shot 1,323 over six games to take the gold medal in the boys singles event at the 2006 American Zone Youth Championships at Bol La Noria Pro and looked very comfortable in the process.
Blanchard averaged 220.5 with his only sub-200 score coming in the final game. He paced the field after opening his set with 216 and 256.
"The lanes really played to my advantage," said the right-handed Blanchard, who was playing the 10 to 4 line with his Lane Masters Mirage. "I thought they were going to break down and work against me like they did in the practice session (Saturday). Instead, they ended up favoring me -* a little oil pushed out toward me and I had a good line all morning."
Mexico's Isi Eskenazi Yaakovsky cut Blanchard's lead down to 10 after four games. However, Blanchard distanced himself by firing a 266 in Game 5. Only a stone 9 pin left standing in the sixth frame stood between Blanchard and 10 consecutive strikes to open the game.
"I just knew I had to keep striking to keep up with these guys," Blanchard said. "I got great carry that game and ended up posting a great score."
Yaakovsky took the silver medal with 1,285, while Canada's Darren Klassen earned bronze with 1,248.
A late charge from Junior Team USA's Dan Vick, Pittsford, N.Y., came up just short of resulting in a bronze medal. Vick shot 267 in Game 5 to move up from 10th place into fourth, where he finished with 1,211. Daniel Farish, Louisville, Ky., placed 14th with 1,129 and Matt O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., was 16th with 1,108.
Competition continues Monday with the six-game doubles event. The American Zone Championships features nine countries and nearly 100 athletes, consisting of five disciplines (singles, doubles, team, all-events and Masters). Individual totals from singles, doubles, and team are combined to determine the all-events winner. The top 12 in all-events also advance to Masters play on Wednesday and Thursday.
Mexico
Big games early and late seal boys gold medal in Singles event
Junior Team USA's Josh Blanchard knew he would experience nerves Sunday while representing his country in international competition for the first time. He just didn't expect them to stay away for as long as they did.
"I didn't have any nerves during the first five games, which is very surprising," said Blanchard, 18, of Upland, Calif. "But that last game, some nerves started to creep in as I got closer to gold."
Blanchard shot 1,323 over six games to take the gold medal in the boys singles event at the 2006 American Zone Youth Championships at Bol La Noria Pro and looked very comfortable in the process.
Blanchard averaged 220.5 with his only sub-200 score coming in the final game. He paced the field after opening his set with 216 and 256.
"The lanes really played to my advantage," said the right-handed Blanchard, who was playing the 10 to 4 line with his Lane Masters Mirage. "I thought they were going to break down and work against me like they did in the practice session (Saturday). Instead, they ended up favoring me -* a little oil pushed out toward me and I had a good line all morning."
Mexico's Isi Eskenazi Yaakovsky cut Blanchard's lead down to 10 after four games. However, Blanchard distanced himself by firing a 266 in Game 5. Only a stone 9 pin left standing in the sixth frame stood between Blanchard and 10 consecutive strikes to open the game.
"I just knew I had to keep striking to keep up with these guys," Blanchard said. "I got great carry that game and ended up posting a great score."
Yaakovsky took the silver medal with 1,285, while Canada's Darren Klassen earned bronze with 1,248.
A late charge from Junior Team USA's Dan Vick, Pittsford, N.Y., came up just short of resulting in a bronze medal. Vick shot 267 in Game 5 to move up from 10th place into fourth, where he finished with 1,211. Daniel Farish, Louisville, Ky., placed 14th with 1,129 and Matt O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., was 16th with 1,108.
Competition continues Monday with the six-game doubles event. The American Zone Championships features nine countries and nearly 100 athletes, consisting of five disciplines (singles, doubles, team, all-events and Masters). Individual totals from singles, doubles, and team are combined to determine the all-events winner. The top 12 in all-events also advance to Masters play on Wednesday and Thursday.
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11th American Zone Youth Championships - Boys Singles
Players with position, country, six-game total and average
1. Josh Blanchard, United States, 1323, 220,50
2. Isi Eskenazi Yaakovsky, MĂ©xico, 1285, 214,17
3. Darren Klassen, Canadá, 1248, 208,00
4. Daniel Vick, United States, 1211, 201,83
5. Steven Uchikata, Canadá, 1205, 200,83
6. Jose Salinas Villarreal, MĂ©xico, 1193, 198,83
7. Bruno Galli, Venezuela, 1181, 196,83
8. Luis E. Rovaina, Venezuela, 1177, 196,17
9. Juan Gonzalez Alarcon, MĂ©xico, 1157, 192,83
10. Rafael Medina, Venezuela, 1146, 191,00
11. Mathieu Vallieres, Canadá, 1138, 189,67
12. Thiago Travagini, Brazil, 1134, 189,00
13. Charles Robini, Brazil, 1131, 188,50
14. Daniel Farish, United States, 1129, 188,17
15. Renan Guerra, Brazil, 1109, 184,83
16. Matthew O'Grady, United States, 1108, 184,67
17. Manino Fernandez, Dominican Republic, 1100, 183,33
18. Christopher Bunnage, Canadá, 1097, 182,83
19. Luis A. Gonzalez, Puerto Rico, 1088, 181,33
20. Israel O. Hernandez, Puerto Rico, 1072, 178,67
21. Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 1067, 177,83
22. Rudy Quintanilla, El Salvador, 1053, 175,50
23. Fidel Marchena, Dominican Republic, 1048, 174,67
24. Juan Escobar, El Salvador, 1036, 172,67
25. Armando D. Batres Reyes, Guatemala, 1031, 171,83
26. Joel Orta, Puerto Rico, 1030, 171,67
27. Aldo Rivera, El Salvador, 1023, 170,50
28. Humberto Vazquez Morales, MĂ©xico, 1015, 169,17
29. Jorge Traverso, Dominican Republic, 1004, 167,33
30. Ricardo Perez, Dominican Republic, 995, 165,83
31. Francisco Gamero, El Salvador, 971, 161,83
32. Marcelo Suartz, Brazil, 952, 158,67
33. Jorge Samayoa, Guatemala, 949, 158,17
(tie) Javier J. Diaz, Puerto Rico, 949, 158,17
35. Brian Lopez, Guatemala, 918, 153,00
36. Andres Castillo, Guatemala, 908, 151,33
Download the game-by-game results here (pdf file)....