PRODIGY BOWLERS TOUR -- 2024 KCO May Point Tournament Division 1

[Music] you are looking at Bennett van djk he and Tashan Clark are in a rolloff for the fifth spot in the step ladder today these two completed qualifying tied for fifth place so we're having to break the tie to determine which one of these young Fells gets into the stepladder finals and which one will finish as the alterate in sixth place this two-frame rolloff like bowling a ninth and 10th Bennett started with a strike so his possible score is 60 to Shawn leaving the four pin can go spare and then three strikes in the 10th for 50 and he covers the [Applause] spare both of these players came came from way back in the pack to get to fifth place to have this opportunity but only one of them gets to go on and compete in the step ladder finals today in division one oh that one doesn't get up and a six count on that spare is not going to be helpful and that's without even talking about the difficulty of the bucket the 2458 I'd have to say there's more ways of missing this than there are of making it but he covers it and that'll give him one more throw and a possible 36 for his final score here in the rolloff with Bennett working on a strike you would have to say that Bennett has the advantage here oh he almost leaves it again that would have been disastrous another six count but he gets nine out of that for a 35 so it's pretty simple Bennett needs a spare or a strike but a spare at least and six pins on his fill Ball but he must mark oh no Town Clark was so certain that he had lost the roll off he walked out of the building he doesn't even know that Bennett has left the 46 Bennett has to make it or Tashan will win the rolloff it's been made once on prodigy by Antonio Miranda at The Prodigy Toc last year oh a great effort but somebody needs to go get to sha Clark he has won the rolloff and will advance to the step ladder from America's Heartland it's Prodigy Bowlers tour celebrating Junior bowling and elevating Junior Bowlers today episode 169 the 202 24 Kansas City open May Point tournament five players have qualified for the TV finals but only one can claim the division 1 Championship today here are the five finalists you just saw tasan Clark win the rolloff to claim the five seed in The Opening match he'll Bowl the number four qualifier Dylan Hunt of Topeka making his first appearance on Prodigy the winner will face Donovan Courtney the three seed that winner will challenge the two seed Cody Spangler coming off a strong showing last month on Prodigy and that winner will Bowl for the title against PJ dois he's our tournament leader and the reigning Prodigy Toc Champion one of these five talented young people will claim the division one Crown at today's kco and will sign the coveted trophy pin on Prodigy Bowlers tour we welcome you one last time this bowling season to Revolutions lanes and fund Center in St Joseph Missouri for the 2024 Kansas City open May Point tournament as with all kco tournaments five divisions competed for points and scholarship Awards and today we're bringing you the stepladder finals in division 1 the group of players with averages of 200 and higher this is the group that bowls scratch and as you saw in our opening we've got some very talented young Bowlers in our five player field today but the one they're all gunning for is our tournament leader PJ dois who's going for his second win of the season in a late season bid to make the player of the year voting a little more interesting we've also got Town Clark who's been knocking on the door for much of the season but is still looking for his first win on Prodigy Bowlers tour and the Lefty from Topeka who nearly ran the stepladder last month Cody Spangler in the number three position Donovan Courtney who had a chance to win in February but couldn't quite close the deal he's back with another chance and Dylan Hunt who's in our first match he's making his first appearance on Prodigy today here's how the qualifying round went down in division 1 Donovan Courtney made his presence known right from the jump when he offered up a little 279 in his first game and then PJ doas answered him with a 289 in the second game Cody Spangler held strong with back-to-back games in the 230s Eli kinkin put up a strong bid for a spot in the step ladder as he found himself inside the projected cut line in the morning block Bennett van djk was hanging around in ninth place and Tashan Clark seemed like he was floundering trying to find his way back but he was in 14th Place after the morning block and Kaden white one of the contenders for Player of the Year struggled mightily after a strong first game he was in 16th after the morning block but then in the afternoon some big moves PJ doas Uncorked another big game to kick off his afternoon set with a 278 in his fourth game Cody Spangler kept putting up solid numbers in the afternoon but the three players who really made the big move in the afternoon where Dylan Hunt those back-to-back 240 games helped cement his spot in the top five but Bennett van djk went from ninth to a tie for fifth on the strength of a 678 in the afternoon but the biggest move of all was made by Tashan Clark he vaulted up the leader board nine places from 14th to a tie for fifth setting up that rolloff with Bennett that you saw in the opening of the show but aside from Bennett van djk who I know was disappointed with losing the rolloff for the fifth spot in our step ladder no one in the field was more disappointed than Kaden ball he paced Up and Down The Concourse of the bowling center throughout the afternoon block watching and calculating who needed what to knock him out and sure enough he missed out on making it a three-man rolloff by just 14 pins so so here's how it lays out for the championship round one of these five players will grab the title today in division 1 at the 2024 kco May Point tournament well there's no time like the present to get this party started in match one it's the Survivor of our rolloff and the five seed today T sea Clark who takes on the number four qualifier Dylan Hunt Deshawn's been close before but has never seemed to quite have the right stuff to win on Prodigy and Dylan Hunt is making his first appearance on Prodigy today both players have won a few tournaments before Dylan won a kco in division three back before he moved up to division one and tashawn is looking for his first title at the kco Dylan Hunt being the higher qualifier of the two players had the option and he has elected to lead off Dylan gives it the big Loft off his hand and that ball Cuts sharply on the back end through the nose and now he faces a tricky spare to start the match the 3610 very chopp got to be careful with this he's moved to the left as we recommend and that's how you make the 3610 nicely done and now to sha Clark who didn't think he was going to be here for this match he was certain he had lost the rolloff but here he is [Applause] and that's how you like to start a match a solid strike right in the pocket take another look at it we've seen tan a number of times on Prodigy he's got that ball close to his ankle through the release and that one just swept the pins right off the deck beautiful way to start that one didn't quite make the corner and so he leaves a flat 10 when we say make the corner we mean the ball just didn't finish hard enough at the very end to have the entry angle you need for the ball to go through the pins away you want to see it but he covers the spare no mus no fuss and now Dylan Hunt making his first appearance on Prodigy Bowlers tour today this young man 15 years of age he is the youngest player in our five player field today in the step ladder finals BS of West Ridge Lanes in Topeka Just A Pinch high with that one and he leaves the four now you will notice players to our left there's Kaden darling near on Lane 10 the players on nine and 10 today are the division 2 group and we will summarize how their step ladder played out when when we get to the end of the show after we visit with our eventual winner Dylan with a spare says he got started bowling when his grandma got him lessons well if you're going to bowl you might as well learn how from the get-go lessons are a good way to start well that ball just didn't quite come off his hand the way he had intended so it doesn't get up to the pocket and he's left himself a difficult spare the wash out the one two10 here's how you make it put the ball on the left side of the headpin like you cross over to the Brooklyn side and throw that head pin over into the [Music] 10 oh he just over hooked it a little bit good try but that's an open frame and gives to sha Clark an opening to pounce early tashon just turned 18 toward the end of April so this is his final year of youth bowling eligibility cunch puts that one right where you want it deep in the pocket let's take a closer look at Tan's game at the bottom of his swing that ball not only under his head but a little left of that which is good look how close it is to his ankle that is excellent excellent position and he is very rarely out of balance at the foul line there is much to like about tashawn's game Oh I thought he'd pull it just a little bit he might have but he got away with it as the four rolled over and got the nine watch this I believe it's going to be the four pin the second one from the left it'll get tripped over toward the nine spins around and does the damage he loves it Dylan not so much pun Dylan says I'll show you how to throw a solid strike right here this young fellow with a high game of 289 and a High series of 737 he'll improve on that before too long I would imagine look at him he's also got that ball not only under his head but a little left of that and right next to his ankle if it was any closer he might hit that little bone on the inside of his left ankle and boy you'd do that once and you'll never forget it but see how his fingers are right at the equator of the ball not much below it he would get more revs if he could get those fingers more under the ball and I'd love to see him keep his hand a little more behind the ball instead of so much on the side but I can't argue with the result of that shot that's as good as it can be done oh oh that's like a kick in the gut right there Stone eight you can't throw it any better than that so Dylan will stand there and think about it for a second eight pin pretty simple conversion just move your feet about two or three boards to the right of your strike position throw your strike ball right over your strike Target and down it goes for an easy spare tashawn has three 300 games to his credit and an 805 for his High series and you throw enough of those and you'll break that 800 barrier that was a good [Music] one playing so deep inside on the lane he's throwing almost over the fifth Arrow I think that one was closer to the fourth Arrow but still playing that deep looks like that might be a weak 10 but that six pin had just enough energy to pop out of the gutter and nudge the 10 out but that one didn't quite get up and somehow he got nine out of it but leaves the five as h hands go up all over the bowling center five pin just throw your strike shot easiest spare in the rack but now Dylan trailing by 35 pins up in the sixth working on a spare he needs to get busy and throw some strikes here he says when he grows up he wants to be a witchs state bowler well they only take the best down there so that's not a bad objective but that shot isn't going to get him into witas State the 3 six 710 it can be made put the ball over on the right side of the three pin the ball will get the six and 10 you'd like that three pin to go over and get the seven how about that one beautiful that is definitely worth a second look watch this nice steady head through release I like his game watch the three pin right into the seven it actually bounced off the wall to get seven but it ain't how it's How many and he got them all great shot look out well he follows a great shot with a fairly marginal one I'm afraid that one into the weeds might have slipped off his hand the 127 just let the ball hook over to the Brooklyn side it should get all three pins well it's not quite the way I would draw it up but they all went down he knocked the two into the seven whatever it [Applause] takes toan right back in the pocket again with another solid strike and I'll tell you what this is as good as I've seen Town B certainly on Prodigy bowler's tour he's had his struggles on the show he's been close to making the stepladder finals many times and and he has made the stepladder finals a few times he qualified second last month finished third in April when Cody Spangler ran the step beat everybody except the leader oh how about that little Shaker Tashan also had uh a fifth place finish in November and a couple other two or three other top 10 he finished 7th in February 10th in October and back in September he was 6th so he'd been knocking on the door all year here but tan even though he's won a couple of other tournaments he's never won a kco man there was the big Loft by Dylan that time buddy hangs a 10 pin and covers it Dylan says his best moment in Bowling was when he won the September Kansas City open in division 3 that's right he started this season in division 3 and after that Victory he immediately got raided up and has been bowling division one ever since with mixed results little Shaker didn't quite have enough to take out the seven and trailing by 54 pins he really needs strikes not spares [Music] but I like his Pace I like his balance at the foul line love how he's got the ball nice and close to his [Music] ankle he will use this as a learning experience tan hoping to build on his performance this game finish this one off and I believe that strike ought to do it that puts Tashan into match two take another look at the shut out ball here swings that thing all the way out to about 10 not a lot of deflection when it goes through the pins you love seeing that tell you what one of the things that I like most about Tan's game is how close he keeps his right elbow to his torso even in the back swing his arm never moves very far away from his body boy I tell you what if you can do that you will maximize your leverage well tan you're not done yet buddy you got one more ball to throw well okay Dylan's I guess going to bowl his 10th Frame I guess it doesn't much matter since the outcome is already decided maybe Tashan went to uh grab another ball perhaps to see what kind of look he would have with another piece of equipment I don't know there's a spare for Dylan saw a strike on his fill ball he can finish with 173 certainly not the game he wanted but with Tashan in the upper 250s it would have taken a Herculean effort by Dylan to get pass to Shawn there's a 173 and let's see if tashawn wenton grabbed another ball I can't tell but whatever it is it strikes just like the other one and that is a 259 to 173 victory for Tashan Clark and now he's moving into match two his next opponent Donovan Courtney of Mobberly Missouri we'll have that for you next last week Brandon met a girl on a dating app one day after work he finally found the courage to ask her out no answer he started to panic was he being too pushy maybe it was too hey sorry I didn't respond I was driving I would love to go on a date how does tonight sound Brandon tried to play it cool but inside he knew a girl so smart so responsible she must be a keeper [Music] you're not going to get it all right just make sure you nail the big stuff mama like making sure your kids are in the right seat for their age and size get it right at nhtsa.gov theright [Music] seat well that's something you don't see every day a 173 game with just one open frame Dylan Hunt didn't Bowl a bad game he just never quite got lined up meanwhile his opponent Tashan Clark who wasn't even sure he'd be bowling in the stepladder finals got locked in and dropped a little 259 on him so while Dylan didn't exactly experience his debut on Prodigy Bowlers tour the way he'd hoped tashawn finally showed Prodigy land what we've seen him do in qualifying for months so it's tan Clark who is advancing to match two where his next opponent is another player who like town has had his chances on Prodigy but has never quite shown us what he's capable of doing on the lanes Donovan Courtney shows all the signs of having the kind of game you could ride all the way to the Winner's Circle and he's hoping today will be the day he does just that but I spoke with Tashan between matches and he admitted to me that he's sometimes a slow starter but if he wins his first match he said he'll be hard to beat the rest of the way now he'll get his chance to prove it these are two players who have never won on Prodigy and in the next 20 minutes or so one of them will get one step closer to doing just that Donovan wants to finish first so Tashan will lead off oh man he can't throw it much better than that stone s ouch town will go Cross Lane at it I wouldn't expect he'd have any problem with this he just get gets it all right Donovan Courtney in his fourth stepladder finals of the Season man there's another one you can't throw a whole lot better and a stone nine this time boy we've had a stone eight a stone nine a stone seven had couple of 10 pins all right we've got the back row covered let's see you make it Donovan no problem there but Donovan won his first kco of the Season he was division two at the time how he found his way down to division 2 I'm not sure but he quickly got raided back up to division one that was in September and then he finished fifth in January and second in February when he was the one seed that was the tournament in which Landon Stoddard won all four matches running the step ladder and he took out Donovan Courtney in that final match Donovan had a chance to win that day but he short counted himself in the 10th Frame right into second place solid strike there two good shots to start the match only rewarded on one of them and tan just keeps hitting the pocket he looks quite comfortable out there today good balance gets plenty on it this guy didn't start bowling until he was 13 so he's only been bowling about 5 years oh my goodness he can hit the pocket solid and he can do magic tricks too watch this watch the head pin go to the left wall and will come back at the 78 4 five and two gets them all one pin takes out out five pins amazing well Donovan seemed like he was just trying to Goose that one a little bit at the very bottom of the Swing he just kind of tried to rip the finger holes out of it and well sometimes when you do that the ball over reacts 6710 it can be made but it's about a 10 to one shot and it ain't happening for him this time so an open frame and Donovan has dug himself a 22 pin hole that he's going to have to dig out of says his favorite pro bowler is EJ t it boy he moved in a little bit and it just kind of stayed out there and didn't quite make the turn on the back end hits thin leaves the 25 and he covers it now he can sit down and stew for a couple of minutes while Tashan has a chance to run away and hide working on a double he can move out to a 32 pin lead with a strike here in the fourth and there it is watch it again see how close that ball and his arm stays next to his body all the way through the swing that is very belmo esque I asked these kids on the questionnaire what do they want to be when they grow up Tashan said financially free I like that answer well there's the ringing 10 for you he moves left and he'll go across Lane at it and look at that no telling what that would have made maybe a 710 certainly an 810 it's always interesting whenever I see people bounce one out like that before Donovan goes I think we're going to have the proprietor who is doubling as the maintenance guy today pulling all kinds of Duty doing a little pinchaser work there whatever it takes well he almost left another wide open split it just looks like he's pulling the ball at the bottom I don't know if he's trying to help that ball up or what but he leaves the 3610 and he's standing over toward the center of the lane instead of the left side of the lane I don't love this that's why when you're shooting the 3610 it's best to stand over at the left side of the lane like you would if you were shooting a 10 pin you narrow the gap between the three and six and between the 6 and 10 cutting down on the angle for a chop and it looks like Donovan has decided to just go to the Frozen rope Attack Just Go with the rocket to the pocket hard and straight he worked on that shot we'll see if he can keep it up all right to Shawn oh and he gets the light Shaker to go you know he had to love that watch it again this one a little farther right than I think he had intended just tickles the head pin gets it to go to the left wall and take out a 4 five and seven it's a strike cuts down on his speed a little bit that time to give that ball a chance to finish it did and that is a solid strike over about 24 at the arrows out to about 11 and that is 10 back another one just hard and straight but just a pinch high that time and he leaves the four all right toan's just keeping the pressure on his [Music] opponents currently with a 55 pin lead and Donovan quickly running out of frames hasn't really bold a tidy game here that you would expect to keep him in content but he's still got a little time left see he didn't go quite as direct that time he gave it a little room to the right and it never came back I think Donovan Courtney is mystified by the challenge that these lanes are presenting him the two5 makes [Applause] it but I think he knows this match is slipping from his grasp to sha Clark with a 57 pin lead working on a double up in the eighth frame he can put Donovan out of his misery here gets the love tap on the 10 and now his lead is 67 with just two frames to go and I think Donovan is sitting over there in the chair crying uncle could have been a 710 but not the way Tan's luck is going today although I tell you what that's not luck when you're stringing that many strikes that is not luck here's Tan's footwork five-step approach nice slide at the end his slide foot ends up perpendicular to the foul line like we like to see got a little shuffle for his first step it's working for him there that's what Donovan's been looking for and you can pretty much read it on his face he's like where has that been well I watched him in qualifying especially in the afternoon block and I could tell that he didn't really have his aame he was hitting the pocket a lot but ball just wasn't going through the pins the way I know he was wanting it to he was getting a lot of those hits where the ball would hit the half pocket and then it would deflect and he'd need a wall shot to get the five out and normally when Donovan is on his game that ball would be driving through and you won't see that kind of deflection but that's kind of what we've seen at revolutions Lanes today where the ball just doesn't quite finish it's an open frame and Donovan finishes with a disappointing 160 and town Clark can take a Victory lap here and get ready for match three he just makes all the pins scatter absolutely the best we've ever seen tashon Bowl on Prodigy by a mile he is obviously very comfortable playing that deep inside angle snaps out the 10 like a boss that gets him in the 260s that's some [Music] bowling and he shreds the rack on the final ball for good measure and Deshawn follows his two 59 with a 269 any questions Cody Spangler might have some he'll get to ask him next [Music] oh yeah [Music] [Music] oh yeah [Music] I [Music] for [Music] it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why match two went to tan he made 10 strikes while Donovan made just three and had just as many open frames we've seen Donovan Courtney bowl a whole lot better and maybe he will at the kco Invitational in June but on this day tan Clark coming off games of 259 and 269 has advanced to match three where now he'll face to p is Cody Spangler last month in lenworth Cody won the first three matches in the division one stepladder only to fall to Kaden white in the championship match along the way he defeated Tashan Clark on his journey to bowl for the title he'd like to do it again today but Tashan is on fire and asked me during the break if he were to bowl an 800 whether he'd get the award for it and of course he would this is a sanctioned event but as a coach I never recommend thinking about what ifs just focus on this one shot that's in front of you right now and nothing else certainly not trying to bowl an 800 Cody Spangler will offer sufficient challenge for Tashan this match without thinking about possible Awards he might receive if there's a secret to tournament bowling it's to stay focused and full fully immersed in the moment and don't project forward I look for these two to give us a closer match than we've seen in the first two today Cody opting to let Tashan start the match and well that was kind of wild he nearly had the Lily standing the 5710 the five sort of wobbled and finally decided to fall but now it's just the 10 pin and there's an unforced error a whiff on the 10 and uh Town can't like that all right Cody Spangler who nearly ran the step ladder last month when we were in lenworth he won the first three matches only to come up short in the championship match talented left-hander he's got a 300 to his credit his High series a 755 didn't start bowling until he was 12 he's 16 years old one of the younger players in our field today and he takes care of the six [Applause] pin so Cody like Dylan Hunt who we saw earlier today he bowls it West W Ridge Lanes in Topeka Kansas and I'm pretty sure he's the first Prodigy kid we've had on the show who says he wants to be a dentist when he grows up so say ah I don't think he'll say a to that he'll say something but it'll be enough unmentionable as the wall shot doesn't quite get the 10 and he'll go Cross Lane at [Music] this shouldn't have any problem with the 10 pin what he just pulled that one completely across the front of his body and he missed that by a mile they're having to move in to change the score as the pin Setter registered as as a spare but once that ball's in the gutter that's a dead ball if it bounces out like that it doesn't count so that's nine out for an open and Cody gives the gift that Tashan gave him right back to him you saw Shelly Patterson there working on the scoring machine give you a fun fact about Shelly here in just a sec boy Tashan pulled that one way left and he leaves the five pin Shelly Patterson one of the kco board members is a former Championship bowler herself in Candle pins and she lived in New England when she was younger she competed at the highest level of candle pins and made the TV finals a number of times on candle pin bowling up there and one time when she was eight or 9 months pregnant I believe she ran the step ladder and won I mean how amazing is that there's that light Shaker that Tashan has grown to love he's had a few of them today [Music] watch it again the headpin the one in front is going to go to the left Wall come back get the four seven and a couple others all right Cody it's time to get busy again tell you what when this guy really needs one he's money [Music] here he is from the worm cam slapping out the seven I don't know what that was all about the Slip Sliding with his slide foot there at the end but pretty effective ball boy and there's another [Applause] one he liked that one as well he should watch the four pin on this one the second one from the left it'll go to the left wall and come back and just nudge the seven a well-placed double for Cody Spangler oh but Deshawn has a messenger and that puts him back on top with a double of his own in a tight match just one pin separating these two [Music] that six pin laid down in the right Gutter and didn't quite have the energy to nudge out the 10 but the head pin said wait a minute I'm heading your way and he follows that up with a rock solid strike now he's got a turkey here it is again over about the fourth Arrow out to about eight that time boy you couldn't place it any better than that and Cody little fast with the speed that time he sends that head pin up and around the six instead of getting it to come off the wall and take out the six and nine and I tell you what this is a spare you better be careful with for a left-hander going at the 69 of course that's like the right-hander shooting the 48 shooting it from the other side of the lane you open up that gap between these two pins very chopp but he covers it no sweat Cody says his favorite pro bowler is Chris Prather and I don't mind telling you I really like Chris prather's game myself this young fell also plays football basketball and soccer an allaround good athlete but all the Athletics in the world can't make that six pin fall when he needs it that's unusual for him cuz usually when he really puts his mind into getting a strike they go but this time just a pinch too high but he covers it and bounces another pin [Applause] out that might have made the 67 all right tan with a double up and a 14 pin lead and a strike will increase that lead to 24 this kid is on fire today watch this ball as it goes through the pins it actually deflects to the right a little more than he would have liked but he had enough on it to get that six pin to bounce out of the gutter and snap out the 10 he's got all the shots today look at that it's like they're falling down while standing up how did he do that over about 22 at the arrows this only gets out to about 11 kind of hits in that half pocket and the five pin almost walked over to the four pin spot and stood but it finally went down and Cody hammering the pocket but the seven pin stubbornly refuses to fall sets his feet carefully he's not going to give this one away covers [Applause] it but Cody Spangler is running out of frames here trailing by 35 working on a spare up in the eighth frame while his opponent has a double working not really the position you want to be in and another one that could have gone but this time the wall shot won't quite get the 10 and I think Cody is flocked by what he's seeing out of this pair of lanes he's throwing good shots just not being rewarded got to make this and then just take it off the sheet and see what happens now there's the conversion of the spare that he needed now he needs for Tashan to just calm down after that open frame in the first you're thinking maybe Tashan is going to lose his look but now he's working on a five bger oh well now that's certainly not what he had in mind now the good news is if there is good news with the seven 10 split is we've seen a couple of shots where the pin bounced out of the back but it's not going to bounce out this time and that's an open and guess what that plays right into Cody spangler's master plan now he'd like to see Tashan have a little more trouble here in the next couple of frames you never like to root against your opponent but there's a 10 pin so all of a sudden after that five bagger Tashan kind of hits a wall and that at least gives Cody Spangler a glimmer of [Applause] hope there's a spare for tashawn Clark in the ninth so let's do the math if Cody Spangler were to strike in the 9th 10th 11th and 12th he would end up with 213 if tashawn Clark goes strike spare in the 10th he shoots 215 so this is anybody's match oh and Cody just bared down on that one and threw it 100 miles an hour saying I'm taking all the hook out of this one and he just stuffed it in the hole this was actually a little high but the six and 10 just got pushed straight back well that was his first assignment now he needs two more just like it and three if he can get them there's a one one and that was a good one stayed a little more behind that one that'll get the ball to go through the pins a little stronger when you get around it tends to deflect a little more keep your hand behind the ball your palm facing the pins for as long as possible needs one more all right that gives him a chance anyway that will force town to Mark in the 10th and get good count assuming of course that Cody gets good count here on the final ball he's got this match down to just two pins now don't lose any count here all right and he trips the six and that's a 213 and that may not sound like a great game but he found those strikes at the end of the match out of nowhere he was lost and that gives him a Fighting Chance tashawn Clark needs to fill 19 in the 10th he's working on a spare so he's got to watch his count even on the first ball and a strike there on the first ball in the 10th makes his job a whole lot easier he needs nine more pins but because he threw that strike on the first ball in the 10th he'll have two shots to get those nine pins boy he couldn't have thrown that one any better and what a time for it all right he needs nine or more in two shots but he only needs one and that will get Town Clark to the championship match even if he misses this 10 pin he will win the match by one but he covers it that's a 215 to 213 Victory Cody Spangler seems stunned by what's just happened he's not used to losing but it's Tashan Clark who will face our tournament leader PJ dois bring it [Applause] [Applause] y oh he's on fire time out guys I'm late to dinner my mom's going to kill me catch you guys later mom wants is home okay bye guys you guys need a ride sure all right have us some oneone uh I got to go eat man sorry I I'll see you later in a match in which he trailed by as much as 33 pins Cody Spangler rallied at the end and closed to within two pins only to lose by a razor thin margin Cody didn't Bowl enough kco events this season to be eligible to bowl in the kco Invitational in June but he certainly showed us these past two months some real talent and hopefully we'll see him back when the 2024 25 season season begins this September but right now it's tashawn Clark who has done what Cody Spangler did last month he's now won the first three matches in the stepladder finals and finds himself in the championship match with a chance to win his first title at the Kansas City open he faces PJ dois the reigning Prodigy to Champion from a year ago p J is looking to join Kaden white and Rhett Ryman as the only players this season to capture multiple titles in division one PJ won that title in November when we were in Lawrence at Royal Crest Lanes he was the two seed he beat Connor John and Kaden [Applause] white sends that one through the nose leaves the six PJ with some big games in qualifying today he really bowled well all day in qualifying takes care of the spare and now to Shawn Clark never been in this position bowling for a title at the kco before but he seems unfazed by it starting with a powerful strike on Lane 12 doesn't look to me like he's had to move too much today at least not in the step ladder [Applause] finals he loved that one as soon as it left his hand you could tell he was giving it the fist bump when the ball was just past the arrows he's already looking at it that's good and he was right PJ 18 years old just graduated high school and he looks down and does a little face palm knowing that was not his best shot through the nose again the 610 full disclosure I was just at his graduation party over at the doas residence what a wonderful wonderful family they have of course you've seen PJ's younger brother Anthony on Prodigy we may see him again in the future but PJ will be aging out of youth bowling over the summer so we've got two more chances to see him on Prodigy this season at the kco Invitational and then of course he is eligible to bowl The Prodigy Bowlers Tour Tournament of Champions where he is the defending champion but he can't seem to keep the ball off the nose this time it hooks sharply again and he leaves the 36 well in addition to his first place finish in November PJ also finished third at the March Point tournament and had a couple other top 10s he was eighth in October ber in Gladstone and started the season in ninth at his home house in OA there's a [Applause] spare three spares to start but I think he knows the way TOA has been peppering the pocket all day it's going to take more than spares to win this match well I'm not sure if that little Outburst from the gallery on the adjacent pair of lanes had anything to do with Tashan flinching just as he was about to release that ball but it was not well timed but he covers the six pin [Applause] Sean says he got started bowling when he just decided to join a league with some friends now that one just hooked a little high at the end almost had the 410 but the 10 went out so just the four the bowlers on our left bowling on nine and 10 that's the division 2 group we'll see how their step ladder played out at the end of the show spare for Tashan and now PJ doas who lists Norm Duke as his favorite pro bowler which I find just a little funny cuz PJ is at least a foot taller than Norm duke it should come as no surprise to anyone that PJ also plays basketball he'll be bowling for Baker University this fall 10 pin at least he got off the nose this time [Music] yeah best game of [Music] 299 High series a 791 and he's a really really good spare shooter and if you got that going for you you're never going to be too far out of a match give it [Applause] up he won't show you much emotion on the lane but inside he's burning it just seems like he is caught in that over under where if he sends it aboard wider it over Hooks and if he plays it just a little straighter it doesn't get up this is the same problem that Donovan Courtney was having [Applause] he covers the spare so he keeps himself in it but that gap between the two players currently 15 pins just keeps growing incrementally as PJ can't seem to find the strike line meanwhile tohaa Clark can strike solid in the pocket a little high or he can get the light Shaker to go as well watch this the classic wall shot the head pin will go to the left wall and come back and get the four five and seven Dick Weber made a career of striking with that shot well a little too much hook on that one I don't know if he let up on his speed but this is not the spare you want to have to shoot the 36910 chopp and missable in so many ways you got to put the ball on the three and six and have enough juice on it to carry out the n and that is perfectly done and so Tashan maintains his 15 pin lead PJ's been bowling since he was seven when I was at his house for the graduation party I saw a picture of him when he was just about that age he wasn't much bigger than the bowling ball will it get it no it just nudged it just moved it enough to frustrate him a little and that's what this will do to a player you either can't find the pocket no matter what adjustment you make or when you do hit the pocket you can't strike and that will start to wear on you and that's why this game presents such a great mental challenge but he covers that pesky 10 pin what we talk about it with young players especially just become a good spare shooter you'd be surprised the number of times that'll keep you in a match just long enough that you finally find the strike line and you might just save yourself a title here and there PJ's not thinking about titles right now he's thinking about how can I get all 10 to go [Music] he moved a little left and you could see his gesture with his hand there he kind of threw his palm up in the air like I don't know what I have to do most of the time when a player sees the ball going high the natural reaction is if you're a right-hander you move left he made that move and the ball didn't get up he covers the 245 but now kind of running out of frames and just hoping that Tashan doesn't string a couple of strikes here to put him in a world of hurt well there's one by [Applause] Tashan Tashan has won some bowling tournaments he won the HOA the heart of America youth classic another tournament organization here in the Kansas City area that holds old youth tournaments and the Missouri ybc so he's got a couple of tournament wins under his belt but never a kco and that is uh exactly what PJ was hoping would not happen to Shawn has just put PJ 29 pins in AAR late in the match that was a good [Applause] one and once again the move to the left giving the ball a little more room doesn't work it doesn't come back and PJ is bewildered the bucket the 2458 he's got to make it well he does I don't know if you could hear that but Shelly Patterson said all right PJ I'd like to see you strike and he turned back to her and said me too PJ with a possible 205 if he strikes out to Shawn going at a 218 pace so PJ's really got his back to the wall well maybe he just needed a little encouragement from Shelly obviously the best shot he's thrown all match four-step approach such a nice slide foot perpendicular to the foul line kind of spun out just a little bit there but it was after the ball was gone and that is 10 in the pit and you know he's thinking where has that been all this match oh and Tashan gets the little kick on the 10 pin to extend his lead to 43 pins and it's a little hard to imagine him giving it away here in the 10th Frame with that kind of a lead but but we got to play it out little deflection that time but he had enough on it to kick out the 10 now here's the ball where he can put it away and Tashan Clark makes his first trip to the winner circle at the Kansas City open how about that he's thrown so many strikes it's time we dust off The Prodigy Bowlers two or three UPL here are three of his shots this match they all look pretty similar how similar let's stack them on top of each other and see if we can tell the difference with our exclusive three deep look that my friends is the picture of consistency and town Clark has ridden it all the way to Victory he almost left the Lily but it doesn't matter this match is already banked and a spare here on the fill ball and tan will finish with 237 that is quite a nice afternoon's worth of bowling and he hooks past the seven pin it's 236 for Tashan and he is your winner in division one here at the kco May Point tournament in St Joseph Missouri PJ with just the formality finishing out the 10th comes in a little high and you wonder if maybe a little earlier that probably would have been a four pin but I've said it before it is amazing how much easier it is to get the pins to fall when all the pressure is off and the results don't really matter anymore you tend to get a little more relaxed don't squeeze the ball quite so much look at this he could probably close his eyes and strike now although I wouldn't recommend it such a free flowing straight swing straight back straight through so much to love about PJ's game it's a shame he just couldn't buy a strike in the first eight frames but you won't hear tashawn Clark complain about it he's your winner and we will get him to sign the coveted trophy pin as his ticket is now punched to The Prodigy Tournament of Champions in June we'll visit with Tashan Clark when we return after this mom I got it what are you doing in there I got suck are you a [Music] dog I wouldn't do that have you seen the pliers where'd you find those it's not your birthday sorry bye Grandpa bye Grandpa take care of yourself what are you doing what are you looking for [Music] well PJ dois just pulled fantastic all day in qualifying to put himself into the pole position for the step ladder but in the championship match he just got caught in no man's land where every time he played more direct the ball went high and every time he moved left the ball didn't quite get around the corner to find the pocket it wasn't until the ninth frame that he finally just moved back to the Right and started throwing lasers straight at the pocket the old rocket to the pocket act that worked but it was just a tad too late I've been telling tan Clark all year that this day is coming and today he finally saw it all come together for him Tashan averaged 244 for his four games in the championship round today that'll win you a lot of tournaments and today it won to sha Clark his first kco it's time you get to meet this interesting young man look who just ran the step ladder at the kco here in St Joseph Missouri it's Tashan Clark who finally has punched his ticket to the Prodigy to by winning here in St Joseph Missouri how did you do it I don't know for real I just got in a group and I just kept shooting I went from walking out the door in the roll off just to running the ladder to win yeah you almost didn't get in wasn't that splitting the roll off when you finished that roll off you were sure you'd lost yeah I went outside let a little anger out but I was able to run the ladder and win and then uh he left a 46 and the next thing you know you're you're in the step ladder and boy I tell you what once you got lined up there was no turning back what happened I just found a Mark I knew that's my spot I've won all my tournaments from that same spot so like if I get in that spot then I just I know I'm confident in make shots well you did it about as well as it can be done so you know you've seen this enough although you've never had a chance to do it it's your turn to sign the coveted trophy pin and of course this gets you in The Prodigy Toc in June so tell your dad to be on the lookout for an email in the next day or two with all the details what's the day today today is Cinco Deo 55 2024 [Music] and there he is our latest champion on Prodigy Bowlers tour it's Tashan Clark way to go buddy thank you as I mentioned earlier the group you saw bowling to our left on Lanes 9 and 10 were the division 2 finalists and here's how their stepladder played out in match one the four seed Kaden darling near defeated the five seed Dylan Pard the dill pickle 202 to 178 then in match two Kaden kept it going defeating the three seed Ethan Gonzalez 224 to 145 but in match three Kaden ran into a buzz saw and it was the two seed Braden Miller who won a close match over Kaden darling near 246 to 238 and in the championship match it was the tournament leader Brooklyn pek who held serve capturing the title in division 2 223 to 214 over her Challenger Braden Miller so congratulations to Brooklyn pek on winning the division 2 Crown today on our last episode of Prodigy Bowlers tour you saw another tournament leader Luke gramling fend off his Challenger to win the title in division 4 and we told you about how the division 3 title went to Connor aons and the division 5 Crown was won by Josiah star congratulations to all five of our winners at the 2024 kco May Point tournament here at revolutions lanes and fund Center in St Joseph Missouri this was the final Point Tournament of the season on the kco calendar our next stop on The Prodigy Bowlers tour is OA Lanes East in OA Kansas where the biggest kco event of the season will be held the kco Invitational with an estimated scholarship purse of around $25,000 to be awarded and then 3 weeks later on June 23rd we'll be back in OA for The Prodigy Bowlers Tour Tournament of Champions to cap off the 20 2324 bowling season to find out more about the Kansas City open visit their website at [Music] www.kansascity.com if you like this video leave a thumbs up and remember to smash that subscribe button and ring the notification Bell so you never miss a video when we post it also be sure to leave a comment down below just please don't post a spoiler to support the work that goes into creating Prodigy Bowlers tour become a prodigy Patron go to www.patreon.com Prodigy Bowlers tour for just $5 a month you'll get early access to our fulllength episodes of the show and for just $10 a month you'll get Early Access and you'll get your name in the show's close in credits as an executive producer just like the big shots in Hollywood do to keep up with all things Prodigy join our Facebook group from any page on Facebook type Prodigy Bowlers tour into the search bar and hit enter that'll take you to a page where you can submit a request to join the group but remember it'll also present you with three screening questions and if you ignore them or don't answer them your request to join may be declined so answer the screening questions so we know you're a real human and not a Russian spam bot so that's a wrap for episode 169 be on the lookout for episode 170 our first of two episodes from the kco Invitational in June in the meantime this is coach Randy reminding you to to stay behind the foul line and keep kicking out the corner pins not the foul light and ball return and I'll talk to you again on our next edition of Prodigy Bowlers tour now go get your Bowl on [Music] n [Music] no [Music] [Music] no

Channel: BrownswickBowling

Views: 6,914

Keywords: bowling, youth bowling, junior bowling, kids bowling, prodigy bowling, youth bowling tournaments, youth bowling activities, junior bowling tournaments, junior bowling activities, youth sports, youth sports activities, prodigy bowlers, prodigy bowlers tour, coach randy, usbc, usbc coaching, usbc youth, kansas city open, kansas city youth bowling, kco, missouri youth bowling, kansas youth bowling, prodigy kc, revolutions lanes, st joseph youth bowling, st joseph mo

Id: S7nAMIg9yeU

Length: 103min 30sec (6210 seconds)

Published: Wed May 29 2024