They didn’t go down without a fight. After dropping the
first two games on their home lanes, Team Elgin made a late surge, but it was
not enough as Team Bowlway held on to win the inaugural Elgin Cross-Town
Classic, becoming Elgin's first Match Game Team Champions.
 |
| Team Bowlway with the Mayor's Cup traveling trophy. From left, Mayor Kaptain, Wayne Curley, Mike Grocke, Mark Bobb, C.J. Elliott, Sean Hargadon and Norm Grocke. |
“The lanes were tough today,” said Elgin Lanes General
Manager Lex Perly. “But this was a good one. We had a good turnout, and I’m
looking forward to next year because we’re going to kick some butt.”
Team Bowlway was led by C.J. Elliott’s 619 series and Mike
Grocke’s 610 series. Team Elgin
was led by Larry Slack Jr. with a 620 series and Cary O’Donnell’s 584 series.
“The guys put on a great show today,” said Bowlway Lanes
co-owner Norm Grocke. “We did win it, but all these bowlers made the matches
exciting.”
Team Elgin finished
with 2,911 pins for a 194 average. Team Bowlway finished with 2,848 pins for a
190 average. Team Bowlway’s total pin count for both weekends was 5,939 pins
for a 198 average and Team Elgin finished with 5,851 pins for a 195 average.
Team Bowlway won the tournament by 88 pins.
Presenting the Mayor’s Cup traveling trophy to Team Bowlway
was Elgin Mayor David Kaptain, whose father was a tailor and bowled for more
than half a century in the City of Elgin
until he was 90 years old.
“This was a wonderful event for Elgin , for Bowlway Lanes and Elgin Lanes,”
said Kaptain. “I would like to see a revival in bowling in Elgin . I would like to see this done again
next year. The city will be supportive of it, and I am going to issue a
challenge to the communities around us and ask them to participate. I would
like to bring them in and extend this beyond Elgin ’s boundaries,” added Kaptain.
The Elgin Cross-Town Classic was sponsored by Bowlway Lanes,
Elgin Lanes, Miller Lite, madwill creative, City of Elgin Parks and Recreation,
Bault Bowling, FLIK Productions, Anderson ’s
Trophies, Beacon Academy , Elgin Academy , USTREAM TV, High School Cube, Elgin ’s Downtown
Neighborhood Association with tournament certification provided by the United
States Bowling Congress.
BOX SCORE 4-20-13
Team
Bowlway 944
1,000 904 = 2,848
Team Elgin
934
981 996 = 2,911
Bowlway: CJ Elliott 619, Mike Grocke 610,
Wayne Curley 571,
Sean Hargadon 554, Mark Bobb 494
Drew Perly 563, Bob Brady 562
TOTAL PINS
Team
Bowlway 5,939
Team Elgin
5,851
