By By Mike Carson / bowling columnist
May 7, 2002
The 55th Annual Mississippi State Bowling Tournament has arrived in Meridian. The first weekend of competition was completed this weekend at Dixie Bowl and if entries for the first week are indicative of the remainder of the tournament, this could well be the largest state tournament ever held in Mississippi. Over 200 Teams and 475 Doubles and Singles have already entered and more are expected to enter in the remaining five weeks. Local bowlers who still wish to enter should contact Jim Lacy for open spots. Many shifts are already full, especially the weekend of May 25-26, which is the weekend for the annual meeting.
Congratulations go out to local junior bowler Nikki Harris who took First Place in her division in recent state competition of the Coca-Cola Tournament which was held in Jackson. Nikki received nearly $500 in scholarships while topping all the competition in the Girls 11 &Under division of the tournament. Congratulations, Nikki on a job well done.
Locally, league action is winding down for the 2001-2002 Fall/Winter season. The Wednesday Night Mixed league will hold its season ending roll-off tomorrow night while other leagues will be finishing up next week. After that, it's time for the summer leagues to kick off for twelve weeks of action. Mixed leagues will be available Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Monday and Wednesday night will feature the all new Adult-Jr. Baseball league. This exciting addition to our summer schedule will allow each participant to receive a bowling ball featuring the logo of their favorite Major League baseball team. Spots are still open on both nights so come by Dixie Bowl and sign up for this or any summer league.
In local action last week, Mike Cothern was again the star of the show. Only days after recording his fourth career 300 game, Mike came within one pin of punching out his fifth perfect game during action in the Ball &Chain league. As a small consolation his 299/775 was once again good enough to lead all bowlers. M.A. Copeland saw his bid for perfection fall just a little short when he reeled off ten straight strikes, only to have a stubborn nine pin spoil the show for him. Nevertheless, he did end the night with a 288/751. Several bowlers reached the 270+ plateau including Dennis Hobson (279/740), Johnny Blackmon (279), Robby Relinski, Paul Samasuck, Andrew Clayton (278) and Fred Dozier (275). And we extend our congratulations to Marcus Fairly who notched his first career 600 Series with a 617 while bowling in the Ball &Chain league. Cathy Jones had the high game for the ladies with a 228 and Debbie Jones took top series for the week with a 605.