Harris, Jonker to represent Tri-Cities at Junior Gold national bowling tournament

A pair of the state’s top bowlers will represent the Tri-Cities on the national stage beginning Saturday at the Junior Gold Championships in Cleveland.

Sara Harris, going into her senior year at Hanford High School, is in the Girls Under 20 competition and Jordan Jonker, a Pasco resident, will roll against the Under 15 boys. Both qualified for the event at the Washington State USBC Pepsi Championships in May.

Harris took second in match play and fifth in scratch at the state competition. Although this is her first trip to Junior Gold, she certainly won’t be the first Harris to grace the lanes at the national contest.

Before spending a couple years on the bowling team at Weber International University in Babson Park, Fla., Harris’ brother, Ryan, made three trips to the tournament.

“My brother went to a bunch of these, so I’ve always wanted to go to one,” Sara said. “I’m just hoping to have fun, get new experiences in. I’ve never had to bowl a tournament like this before.”

Harris, who took fourth at the WIAA state tournament in February, said she’s been in touch with the coach at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she could bowl and pursue a degree in pharmacology, her desired field of study. That being said, Junior Gold serves as a chance for participants to get scouted by schools from around the country, an opportunity Harris is open to.

“If another college wants to take a look at me, I’d be interested in that also,” she said.

Jonker won the U15 match and scratch competitions at the Pepsi State Championships, the former by more than 200 pins. He could not be reached for comment.

After practice games Saturday and Sunday, qualifying for the U15 and U20 tournaments will consist of four four-game sets (a total of 16 games) played Monday-Thursday at each of the tournament’s venues — AMF Brookgate Lanes, Game of Mentor, Roseland Lanes and Game of Wickliffe — which will cut each age group down to about 15 percent of its original size. Two more cuts will happen after five-game sets, both on July 21, which sets the stage for the 64-player match play tournaments July 22.

Competing in so many venues in such a short period of time will provide a unique challenge for the young bowlers, as they have to alter their game plans to accommodate different lanes and oil patterns.

“I haven’t had to deal with anything like this before,” Harris said. “Usually it’s just one bowling center for one day. This is over the span of like a week, so it’s pretty intimidating.”

Both Harris and Jonker have started GoFundMe pages to help cover expenses for the trip. You can to donate to Harris’ page here and Jonker’s here.

This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Harris, Jonker to represent Tri-Cities at Junior Gold national bowling tournament."