The 2023 NDBPA State Scratch Doubles tournament returned to Paragon Bowl in Dickinson, ND this past weekend. The tournament was last held here back in 2019 where Thomas Wolf and Blake Wallstrum went wire to wire en route to their first Doubles title together. Would the return to Paragon Bowl produce a similar result?
Saturday’s round featured 12 baker games across the 12 lane house and, at the end of the day, the score sheet looked rather similar to the one from 2019. Thomas Wolf and Blake Wallstrum posted a 12 game score of 2790 giving the combo a 91 pin lead on the 24-team field. Much like 2019, Wolf and Wallstrum were the only pair to post a baker score over 2700.
On Sunday, all teams returned to bowl 8 individual games. Jeremiah Smith and Jon Breckel had closed the gap to 3 pins after the first 3 games but were ultimately unable to take over the lead. Making the biggest charge on day 2 was Jamey Kragh and Nathan Smith with a 3636 total for the 16 games. Kragh tallied a 1904 to take home the singles title and further cement his position atop the NDBowling.com Player of the Year Race. Kragh and Smith were 120 pins better than any other team on Sunday, but it was not enough to catch Wolf and Wallstrum who used a rather consistent day to maintain the lead and claim a wire to wire victory once again.
Thomas Wolf finished 3rd in singles with a 1782 total and Blake Wallstrum finished in 8th at 1734. The winning score of 6306 was just 20 pins shy of their winning total back in 2019. The win gives the pair their second NDBPA State Doubles title to go with the $1700 top prize. Great bowling!
Shout out to John Mueller and the staff at Paragon Bowl for hosting the event and adding in $500 to the prize fund. Big thank you to the North Dakota Bowling Proprietors Association for also putting in $500 towards the prize fund.
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