Record round, second-day surges, more: What happened during Times-News Open qualifying
When it was revealed that eight-time champion Lee Eighmy Jr. and seven-time champ Mike Shady would not be participating in this year’s Times-News Open, most tournament followers expected to see a two-bowler battle between five-time champion Mike Machuga and three-time runner-up Killian Kilpatrick.
Seems they forgot about 2018 champion T.J. Mitchell and six-time finalist Paul Marnella.
With high games of 278 and 268 and no game lower than 229 on Sunday, Mitchell blazed into second place, 81 pins behind leader Kilpatrick after the second round of the weekend’s 10-game tournament qualifier at Eastway Lanes.
Marnella put up 290 in Sunday’s final game to vault into a tie for third with Machuga.
Mitchell trails Kilpatrick 2,492-2,411 in total pinfall heading into Saturday’s 36-bowler semifinals at Greengarden Lanes, while Marnella and Machuga are 152 pins behind at 2,340.
Not far behind the top four are Jeff Prue, in fifth place at 2,312, followed by Kurt Cohick (2,306) and Cody Jacobs (2,299). In eight through tenth are Matt Hinterberger (2,293) Nick Kightlinger (2,285) and Ned Bent (2,277).
Scores from the six-game semifinals, which take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Greengarden Lanes, are added to scores from the first two rounds to determine the qualifying champion, and 16-bowler, 16-game match-play finals on Jan. 20-21 at Eastland Bowl and Rolling Meadow Lanes, respectively.
The number of semifinalists was lowered from 40 to 36 after late dropouts had reduced the tournament field to 179, making it the fourth largest field in tournament history.
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Mitchell, Marnella close gap on Day 2
“Not bad,” Mitchell, 35, said about his positioning after the first 10 games.
“Saturday was decent, but I switched balls and angles and made all my spares (Sunday), which really helped. Also, my speed was good,” said Mitchell, a lefty. “I was making sure I got the corner pins out, and when I did leave them, I made them.”
Mitchell trailed Kilpatrick by 166 pins after Saturday’s first five games, but trimmed 85 pins off of his deficit on Sunday. Still, he knows it will be very difficult beating Kilpatrick and Machuga.
“We’ll see what happens from here, maybe I’ll be a dark horse,” he said.
Marnella, 41, said that he turned things around in his third game on Sunday, where he posted 269. He credited advice from his fiance, 2023 finalist Heather Lyon, and a buddy with helping him turn things around.
“I was struggling, and Heather and my buddy Paul Petruso, who I bowl with, kind of lined me up together, and I just never looked back,” said Marnella, whose 290 in Game 10 enabled him to climb up into the ranks of Kilpatrick, Mitchell and Machuga.
Kilpatrick's record on the first day
Kilpatrick, a hard-throwing two-handed lefty, posted a more-mediocre five-game total of 1,183 on Sunday after bowling a tournament-record 1,309 in Saturday’s five games. Kilpatrick’s first-day games of 279-278-246-253-253 broke his own five-game qualifying record of 1,291 that he set in 2020.
“I just stayed comfortable out there, made the right ball choices at the right times, and did whatever I needed to get the best carry,” said Kilpatrick, 21, who was runner-up to Machuga in 2020, ’21 and ’22.
Kilpatrick was pleased with his performance, but downplayed what took place over the weekend, setting his sights on the tournament’s more important days to come.
“It’s just the first step, I’ve got another weekend and then the finals. That’s what I’m worried about going forward, so (the current leaderboard) is really not too important to me right now, I just wanted to give myself a big cushion for next week and then the finals.”
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'We're going to have our hands full'
Machuga, who won the tournament four consecutive years (2019-22) before being dethroned by Mike Shady in 2023, knows that Kilpatrick is hungry for his first championship of the prestigious Times-News Open, and that he will have to battle hard to hold him off.
“Killian has a pretty big lead, so I’m going to have some room to catch up to him,” said Machuga, 47, who was last year’s qualifying champion, and will be seeking his sixth overall qualifying title in Saturday’s semifinals. “I’ve been watching him grow up and mature, and he’s been getting a lot of experience, and I think he’s learning how to win, so we’re going to have our hands full.”
Cohick, who is in his eighth T-N Open with two finals under his belt, had 1,190 the first day and 1,116 the second. Despite entering the tournament at the last minute, he bowled 200 or better in all 10 games, with his opening game of 266 being his highest.
“I have a second shift job so I haven’t been able to bowl much, but I came in and there was a spot left, so I took it, and I’m sitting pretty right now,” said Cohick, 31. “I’ve just kept it simple, back to the basics, move right, slow down, and hit my mark, that’s all.”
Kightlinger, 32, a five-time finalist in his 10 previous T-N Opens, whose best finish is fifth, described how hard it is to win the tournament.
“Too hard,” he said. “It’s tough because the lanes conditions get harder and harder, and Machuga and Killian and those guys are always going to be better. I’m not fighting to win because it’s almost theoretically impossible, but it feels good to be up there with them.”
One perfecto from opening weekend
Dave Bille, 54, had the only 300 game in the first two rounds. He posted his perfect game in the second game on Saturday.
“I got lined up early in the second squad on Saturday, and had an excellent pairing,” he said. “I had my timing down in the 300 game, they were all good shots.”
Bille said that he wasn’t nervous on his final shot.
“Everything had been clicking, I felt confident, and as soon as I let go with it I knew it was flush, and it was just the luck of the carry.”
Despite the 300, Bille did not make the cut, finishing 45th.
Semifinalists
Results after the second day of the 61st annual Times-News Open qualifier (top 36 advance to Jan. 13 semifinals at 1 p.m. at Greengarden Lanes):
1. Killian Kilpatrick 2,492
2. T.J. Mitchell 2,411
3. Paul Marnella 2,340
3. Mike Machuga 2,340
5. Jeff Prue 2,312
6. Kurt Cohick 2,306
7. Cody Jacobs 2,299
8. Matt Hinterberger 2,293
9. Nick Kightlinger 2,285
10. Ned Bent 2,277
11. Paul Karpick Jr. 2,275
12. Mike Sirak 2,273
13. Garrett Clark 2,260
14. Tyler Barnes 2,246
15. Frank Cole 2,243
16. Brandon Jenkins 2,238
17. David Warren 2,235
17. Jacob Griffith 2,235
19. Michael Thompson 2,226
20. Chris Jannazzo 2,221
21. Mike Dunkle 2,212
21. Taylor Kretz 2,212
23. Corey Rapela 2,210
24. Tommy Lytle 2,204
25. Matt Ballard 2,199
25. Dalton Kaliszewski 2,199
27. Daniel Francis 2,194
28. Linden Hoover 2,193
29. Dan Newcomer 2,192
30. Bob Kane Jr. 2,188
31. Philip Harris Jr. 2,186
31. Mark Wattle 2,186
33. David E. Johnson 2,185
34. Dean Bartlett 2,184
35. Nathan Ross 2,181
36. Larry Klick 2,179
For complete results and game-by-game breakdown visit tnopen.org.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: 61st Times-News Open: Kilpatrick leads all bowlers after qualifying
