Hotshots impress in singles
The 2017 Junior State Champs singles final provided spectators with a brilliant display of bowling. (Pictured left: Finalists of the 2017 State Junior Championships singles competition. From L-R Jake Rynne, Mitchell Goode, Indi Conlan, Nick Cahill, Jayden Cottell, Kane Nelson, Kyandra Kelly, Caysee Wilson, Julia Allen-Best and Isabella Lawson.)
It was an astounding effort by the finalists in the singles titles event at the 2017 Junior State Champs (April 2 – 7) with many spectators impressed by the standard of bowling shown by the players in the finals.
One of the standout displays of bowling came from Nick Cahill, who was able to chalk up his third straight Under 15s singles title after he beat North Toowomba’s Jake Rynne 21 -10 in the title final, which brought Cahill’s gold medal tally to four with title wins in the pairs, triples and fours prior.
Nick says his success in the comp was down to hard work, practice and great teammates in the in the pairs, triples and fours competitions.
“It has been a very exciting week and to come away from it with four golds including my third straight state singles title has been pretty amazing,” Cahill said.
“I had been training a lot in the weeks leading up to the competition and it’s just a matter of actually pulling it out on the green and I think all the games leading up to the last game helped me get a feel for the rinks which helped a lot.”
Despite missing out on the title, silver medal winner Rynne says he enjoyed the competition regardless of the result and knew it was always going to be a tough match against his friend Cahill.
“Nick is an amazing player and is always able to get those tough shots when he needs to, so he is great competition to play against,” Rynne said.
“I’m keen to come back next year though for another go at the title as the state juniors is one of the best times of the year because the competition is great and there’s always a good bunch of people here.”
In the playoffs for bronze in the U15s boys Kane Nelson (Belmont Services) took on Roma’s John Hammond who pulled off some great shots, but it was not enough to stop Nelson taking the game 21-7.
In the Under 18s singles final Enoggera’s Indi Conlan was able to go the distance against a tough and determined Mitchell Goode (Helensvale) with the pair level 3-3 in the early stages of the match before Conlan took off and was taking end after end before Goode had a chance to respond.
Goode started to fight back and reduce the gap between them, but Goode was unable to catch up to the more experienced Conlan who was able to bring the game to an end on 21-15 to take out his first ever Junior State title.
“It was unreal to get my first ever title and in my last ever junior state competition it’s a pretty good feeling,” Conlan said.
In the bronze playoff Jayden Cottell (South Tweed) was able to beat Burnett’s Justin Todd in a 21-6 game.
In the girls U18s final a confident Julia Allen-Best was able to take the state title after defeating Enoggera’s Isabella Lawson 21-4, Julia said the game was made difficult for both girls who had played the sectional play on carpet before transferring to grass.
“Today was really about adaption for us as we had to transfer from one surface onto another and it all came down to who had adapted best in the end,” Allen-Best said.
“I know Isabella is an amazing player and I know it could have easily gone the other way under different circumstances.”
In the Under 15s girls Tin Can Bay bowler Caysee Wilson was able to enjoy her first Junior State Singles title win over fellow club bowler Kyandra Kelly in a 21-5 game, Wilson says it came down to practice and courage in order to beat Kelly.
“She played beautifully and she deserved the win as much as I did, it didn’t really feel like it was actually real when I won,” Wilson said.
“I’m keen to come back next year and defend my title as I’ve had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the games.”
To see the full results and draw visit the Bowls Queensland results portal available here.
