The 23rd Annual NDBowling.com Classic was held in Moorhead, MN this past weekend. Following 3 years of struggling entries, the tournament made a move from the end of January to the first weekend in March. The date change was welcomed by many as 89 bowlers entered for a chance at a $2000 top prize and the Glen Hains Memorial Trophy.
Qualifying started on Saturday where the rather strong field of 89 bowlers bowled 8 a games across the 24 lane center. The lane pattern of choice was the 2016 USBC Open doubles and singles condition. This condition allowed bowlers to get to the pocket from multiple angles. As the condition started to break down, many bowlers were required to chase the pattern much earlier than anticipated.
At the end of the qualifying round, Barry Zimmerman of Grand Forks, ND lead the way with an 8 game total of 1784. Barry received a free Ebonite Gamebreaker 2 for being the qualifying leader. The cut to the top 24 was -8 and that was a number shared by Travis Hersrud and Chris Charles. Charles and Hersrud bowled a 9th and 10th frame roll off on Saturday evening to decide the last qualifying spot. Chris Charles emerged victorious and would advance to Sunday’s second round.
On Sunday, 24 bowlers returned to bowl 12 games of match play with the top 5 advancing to the finals on NDBowlTV. Leading the way was Nick Heilman of La Crosse, WI. Heilman used a 232 in the position round to vault himself into the top spot for the NDBowlTV Finals. Joining Heilman in the finals were Clayton Mohr, Douglas Wagner Jr., Mike Morris and Barry Zimmerman.
NDBowlTV Finals:
Morris def Zimmerman 210-177
Wagner def Morris 248-162
Mohr def Wagner 171-171 (60-36)
Heilman def Mohr 203-199
You can watch the entire NDBowlTV show HERE
With the victory, Heilman claims his first NDBowling.com Major Title. The will also gives the city of La Crosse, WI it’s third Major this season. (Andy Mills – Manitoba/CMA)
I would like to thank everyone who bowled the 2016 NDBowling.com Classic. The support for the website and the High Plains Bowling Network has been amazing. I invite everyone back out to Sunset Lanes for the 2017 NDBowling.com Classic on March 4th and 5th next year.
I would also like to thank the folks at Ebonite for sponsoring NDBowlTV this season. The company has been great to work with and I hope to continue working with them in the future.
Complete standings will be posted once I get them from Sunset Lanes.
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