Williams takes home October Prince title

Jeremy Williams was sharp Sunday and went on to win the October Prince of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament at the Capital Bowling Center.

Williams, whose no stranger to topping the monthly youth contest, had to work hard and come back after trailing after each of the first two games.

Williams was able to knock down 148 pins in his opening game and was in third place at that point, trailing leader Jared Guiterrez, who was good for 162 pins, and Jamie Vales’ 151 pins.

Guiterrez, however, was not able to maintain his lead after following up with 138 pins in his second game for 300 pins. For his part, Williams bruised 168 pins and had a total of 316 pins. He remained in third place, though, as J.D. Torres, who had 145 pins in his opening game, managed to leave his mark on 195 pins for a total of 340 pins and the lead. Vales also remained ahead but not by much as she followed up 166 pins for a one-pin lead over Williams with 317 pins.

Williams finally broke ahead of the field after hitting 157 pins in the third game. At that point, he held a 31-pin lead over Vales with 473 pins compared to Vales’ 442. Torres was right behind with 440 pins.

Williams then went ice cold and managed to muster a pedestrian 124 pins. While he was struggling, Torres found his groove and worked up 156 pins, while Vales nailed 144 pins.

At the end, though, Williams had just enough to reign with 597 pins. Torres finished just a pin back with 596, while Vales took third place with 586 pins.

With their performances, Williams earned $20, while Torres and Vales pocketed $15 and $10.

Other competitors include Raphael Zapanta (571), Guiterrez (554), and Zack Cruz (524).

Meanwhile, the evening also served as the start of the two-day October Pepsi King and Queen of the Lanes competition.

Fortunately for Williams, Jerrie Vales, who has won numerous youth contests, was competing for the Queen title. She made a strong statement and led Day 1 of the competition after knocking down a total of 745 pins. She hit 183 pins in her opener, and followed with 200 and 181 pins before closing strong with 181 pins again.

Behind Vales are veterans Emi Williams (691) and Elena Soll (682).

Fellow teenager Raymond Zapanta made it a dominating evening for youth keglers as he also leads the men’s field with a total of 790 pins. The standout got off to a pedestrian start with 175 pins, but heated up for 214 pins before finishing off his evening with 186 and 215 pins.

Just eight pins back is lefty Richard Leong with 782 pins, while Simon Manacop was good for 776 pins.

Only 10 male and nine females competed in the tournament.

Zapanta and Vales have a good shot at taking home the monthly titles, however, results of last night’s competition were not available as of press time. The two will win if no one surpasses their marks.

The King and Queen of the Lanes monthly tournament is organized by the Saipan Bowling Association and culminates with a season-ending championship.