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Sealy bowls over field for silver medal By DON HUNT The only goal that Jennifer Sealy set for herself as she headed to the State Games of America bowling tournament in St. Louis last weekend was to bowl her best. Mission accomplished. Sealy, 17, bowled about 20 pins over her average of 164 to pick up the silver medal at the prestigious event. Twenty-six bowlers competed in the major girls division (ages 13-19). "I'm very pleased with the way I performed," said Sealy, a senior-to-be at North Medford High. "It would have been great to come back with the gold, but I did my best." Sealy shot into the lead during the first day of qualifying by scoring a 601 scratch series (697 counting her handicap pins). She slipped a bit the second day with totals of 555 and 651, but her two-day score of 1,348 still left her in first place. The top qualifying position meant that Sealy had to win only one match in the step-ladder finals. But she lost 185-177 to No. 2 qualifier Tara McCluckie of Minooka, Ill. Sealy led through the opening six frames against McCluckie but had a 3-10 split that she failed to convert in the seventh. "I made a fatal mistake," Sealy said. "My ball in that frame hooked right into the head pin." Despite the open frame, Sealy fought back and fired a strike on her first throw in the 10th to get within a few pins. But she then suffered what's known as a Greek Church split, leaving the 4-7 pins on the left and the 6-9-10 pins on the right. She also failed to pick up that split, enabling McCluckie to walk off with the win. "I met a lot of nice people back there," Sealy said. "It was a great experience." Sealy, who took up the sport at age 5, is a fourth-generation bowler. Her great grandmother, 86-year-old Enid Sealy, her grandfather, Don Sealy, and her father, Robert, all continue to bowl. The younger Sealy hopes to turn professional after attending college. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.