Rob Gotchall Wins $20,000 at Mini-Eliminator Summer Classic
July 08, 2008
LAS VEGAS, Nev.—Rob Gotchall of Lincoln, NE rolled a clean 234 game to take home the $20,000 top prize at The Mini-Eliminator Summer Classic at Texas Station. Rob, who was the 35 and under division champion, started with 3 strikes in a row and never relinquished his lead. Mike Rose, Rochester, NY, finished 2 nd with a very strong 206 game. A stubborn 10-pin in the 7 th frame would have tied Mike with Rob for the lead but it was just not meant to be.
Rounding out the shootout finals was John Chovanec, Sugerland, TX finishing third with a 196. John, who represented the 205 and under division, earned $7,500 but would have finished higher if he didn’t miss two one pin spares. Rounding out the final four was megabuck veteran and solid senior bowler, Harry Mickelson, Yakima, WA earning $5,000 with a 184 game. Harry came out of the senior division and earned a bye in the finals by qualifying as the 2 nd highest super senior (60+).
Earlier in the week Scott Pohl of Burnsville, MN rolled a 236 to win the $5,000 top prize in the Columbia 300 Shootout. Other Columbia 300 finalists were 2 nd place finisher Matthew Weatherly (35 and under) of Chicago, IL earning $2,500 with a 221. Finishing third was Les Shirwindt (Senior) of Las Vegas, NV who earned $1,500 for third place with a 201. Jim Roberts of Tulare, CA (205 and under) earned $1,000 by shooting a 192 in the finals. The Columbia 300 Shootout attracted 90 entries and paid out $12,800 in prize money.
The Etonic Match Play Sweeper was won by Craig Auerbach of Sunrise, FL. Craig earned $2,250 by shooting a 236 game in the final shootout. Finishing second and earning $1,500 with a 211 was Cassidy Schaub of Polk, OH. The third place finisher, earning $1,000, was Rick Goergen, Midland, MI who rolled a 180. The Etonic Sweeper attracted 40 bowlers and paid out $7,000 in prize money.
The Mini-Eliminator Summer Classic was presented by Columbia 300 and attracted 258 bowlers and a total of 528 entries. The tournament had a slight increase in the number of bowlers and entries compared to the February event. Total event payout was $116,650 including $14,342 added to various prize funds.
The 14 th annual Mini-Eliminator Summer Classic was sponsored by Texas Station, Columbia 300, Etonic Shoes, Contour Power Grips, Virtualtournaments.com, Kegel, USBC Sport Bowling, and GripLoc Thumb Inserts. The Mini-Eliminator is owned and operated by Pinacle Events, Inc. with offices in Las Vegas and New York.
Dates for the Mini-Eliminator Winter Classic were announced; February 2-8, 2009. The event will be held at Texas Star Lanes in Las Vegas. Details will be announced shortly. For further information on the Mini-Eliminator please call the tournament office; 1.877.900.6464 or visit http://www.minieliminator.com.
*press release used courtesy of The Mini Eliminator
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