Pictured Is: Wesley Low Jr., At B3 P+TC Of Tempe, AZ. Photo Courtesy Of B3.
Wesley Low Jr. Does This On The Final Day Of The Ponderosa Classic At Glenfair Lanes In Glendale, AZ.
The Previous State Scoring Record Of 898, Was Rolled By Will McPherson At Bowlero Gilbert On February 6, 2013.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor - thetenpinexpress.com - Director Mesa Metro Association
Glendale, AZ. - - - Until a few weekends ago, a 900 series has not been rolled in the State of Arizona. On Sunday July 19, 2020, that all changed on the final day of tournament play in the Ponderosa Classic at Glenfair Lanes in Glendale, AZ.
Arizona has a long list of well accomplished bowlers in the likes of Jakob Butturff, Josh Blanchard, and Brett Wolfe, who have been viewed as amongst some of the best to come out of the cactus state. Almost all everyday league bowlers in the state would view those individuals as ones who would have the potential of either breaking the state of Arizona’s three game scoring record or shooting an illustrious 900 series.
"That list of bowlers to come from the state of Arizona are extensive and amazing. To have the honor of competing against Jakob and Josh every weekend, shows why they are the best bowlers in the world," he said, of breaking the new state scoring record in their own backyard. "Brett, he is a little older than me, so I never had the opportunity to compete against him but, I am aware of his capabilities as a bowler and how great of a bowler he was, and still is.”
Someone forgot to inform former Team USA member Wesley Low Jr., of Palmdale, California that those individuals were capable of breaking the previous scoring record. Low, who has previously bowled in a handful of JBT tournaments at Glenfair Lanes stated that he has not bowled well at the west valley center in the past. He more than made up for his past failures on the last day of the Ponderosa Classic as he would bowl three perfect games in his first three games of the tournament on lanes 13-16. Bowlers at the event would bowl two games on their starting pair and move one pair to the left after every two games.
"To beat the state scoring record in Arizona, is an accomplishment. I've broken a few records in my life time, but to break a state record that no one else can beat, but tie. That is an honor in its own right," he continued, on breaking the record. "I am also not from Arizona, so taking this accomplishment away from them will have a special place in my heart."
"It is amazing to know that I have Arizona's new scoring record, and will be in their history books forever," he said, of when he will always look back at this accomplishment. "If I ever share this record with another bowler in Arizona, I will congratulate this person knowing that we will share a place in Arizona's history books forever."
This was not Wesley's first encounter with Glenfair Lanes. As stated earlier, he had previously bowled there in JBT events.
"Prior to the Ponderosa Classic, I have had my fair share of encounters bowling at Glenfair Lanes, during Jeff Hemmers JBT events," he said, during a recent interview. "If I am being honest, I never had success bowling in that building so my expectations were low on my performance at the Ponderosa Classic. I was hoping to use this tournament as a way of getting sharp for competition for the upcoming PBA regional that I would participate in."
Wesley heard about the Ponderosa Classic through B3 Performance employee, Bobby Hornacek and made a last minute decision to bowl in the event. Low flew into Tempe to train at B3 Performance for the upcoming PBA Western Regional tour stop in Las Vegas, Nevada. Low intended to bowl in the PBA Member/Non-Member event at South Point which was held there July 25-26. He did not make the decision to bowl the Ponderosa Classic until shortly after landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor the morning of 7/19.
The previous state scoring record was 898 by Will McPherson at Bowlero Gilbert on February 6, 2013. During his stint, he recorded games of 300-299-299 in order to beat the previous state record. The current state scoring record held for seven years, until the final day of the Ponderosa Classic event.
The two-handed lefty finished the 10 game event at +453 He stated: "Knowing that the winning score was already set at +613, I would still need +314 for the last seven games of the tournament for a chance to win the event.”
Low would eventually finish in 9th place in the event.
"During the attempt of the 900 series, I didn’t think I would have a look to shoot a 900 series. The goal was to just win the event. In the seventh frame of the third game, I looked up at the monitor and realized that I have a shot at rolling a 900 series," he said, of throwing 36 strikes-in-a-row. "I began to think to think hard about the situation knowing that I could be in the record books which almost was my downfall. I got a lucky strike that I thought was going to ruin it all, but when the pins fell, I thought fate had intervened. After that, I stuck to my process, slowed myself down, and went on to throwing some really good shots."
Low stated that he played the lanes like a typical house shot He stood on the 16 board, and was trying to keep a relatively tight line inside 10 at the break point. Over the course of the 900 series, he would slowly move right knowing that his own transition was getting in the way of good ball reaction.
"Bowling on lanes 15 and 16 was definitely different, as I was following a fellow lefty. I was unsure how to attack the lanes when moving pairs," he stated, before bowling game three. "I said to myself 'start where you finished game two, hope the pins fall your way, and move from there'. The pair was slightly tighter, since I did not have 10 minutes of practice to break down the pair."
If Low had the preference, he would have liked to shoot the three perfect games in the middle of the 10 gamer as this would have helped him during transition of the tournament and give him the confidence boost to put himself closer to the winning score. He also stated that he’s not complaining about his performance at the Ponderosa Classic as he is happy about the accomplishment that he achieved.
"There were maybe five shots that I didn’t think would carry during the course of the 900 series," he said, of the breaks he got during the three games. "When I threw the ball close to where I wanted but not exact, I thought that I would leave a flat seven a majority of those shots, but they ended up falling. I believe the seventh shot in the third game was the biggest break. "I threw the ball over my right toe and spun around on the approach. I thought to myself, I screwed up my 900 opportunity. Magically, the ball ended up putting 10 into the pit," he continued. "The 12th shot of the third game was also a scare due to nerves. I threw the ball a bit outside, a little too fast, and my hand wasn’t in the proper spot but, I got really lucky that the ball hooked and struck."
Wesley, a staffer for Motiv, used the Alpha Jackal en route to his accomplishment. The ball had been previously drilled at Bowl 300 Pro Shop located at B3 Performance down in Tempe, Arizona. His Alpha Jackal was drilled by owner of the facility, Mike Calderon.
"I have yet to retire the Alpha Jackal. I’m still flying around the country bowling tournaments," he said, of the ball that made Arizona bowling history. "I will need my Alpha Jackal for other events that I will bowl in. Maybe I could drill a new one and it will roll the same but, I will eventually retire the ball. For now, it will stay in my arsenal until I find another one that I like."
He says Mike and Brandi of B3 Performance, played a massive role in his preparation of getting better for his upcoming PBA Regional events and hopefully the National Tour Stops when they restart. Not only did Mike and Brandi help him prepare for the events, it helped propel him to rolling Arizona’s first 900 series.
"Since the Covid-19 shutdown, I have not been able to practice in California, Mike and Brandi gave me the opportunity to practice on their lanes to help keep my competitive self-sharp," he stated, of the pandemic that has closed bowling centers in not only California but other states in the country. “The other issue, is that I haven’t been able to see any coaches in the last six months due to the PBA Tour schedule, so working on my game has been quite difficult because I needed a second set of eyes to help see issues that I might need to resolve. I remember I spent almost 3 ½ hours one night getting yelled at by Mike on the fixes I needed to help me improve my bowling game. He didn’t necessarily yell, but he was very stern especially when I wasn’t doing the right thing. They were a big help in lowering my swing and getting my launch angles better. Mike even has blackmail of how bad my swing was prior to the event.”
Low also stated that: "I think the training facility is amazing. It’s a one-of-a-kind facility for bowlers of all skill levels, to come train and improve their bowling game. The resources that Mike and Brandi have put into the building will help any bowler improve their game and get to the skill level they would want to be at in no time."
Low, now 23, has amassed an extensive amount of accomplishments and records that can be found on his resume. At age 15, he became the youngest bowler to win a PBA event. In 2014, he won the All-Events gold medal at the World Youth Championships in Hong Kong, where he would become the third person to shoot a 300 in the history of the event en route to also setting the 18 game scoring record of 4,224 – a 234.6 average. (Per Bowl.com). Before rolling the 900 series at Glenfair Lanes, Low had rolled 22 perfect games and 14 800 series. His previous high series was an 833. Two of them were rolled at the USBC Team USA Trials in 2015 and 2018 (per Bowl.Com).
"Honestly, I don't think my life has changed since rolling the 900 series. I'm still eating the same, getting up at the same time, and showering the same way," he says, of what it has been like after shooting the 900 series. "Honestly I needed to go home after the event because I needed to study for finals that following week. That had been the only thing on my mind during the week until shooting the 900 series."
It didn't take long for word to get out on social media on what he accomplished. It has been non stop for him since July 19, by thanking others for their congratulatory post.
"I would say that I finally settled down after game three, because it was a sigh of relief to bowl the illustrious 900 series. All of my friends were texting me and congratulating me on my social media platform. I even received phone calls during the event because people couldn’t believe what they were hearing," he stated, of what it’s been like after rolling the 900 series. "Bowling has been around for a very long time. And seeing that only 36 people in the history of the game have bowled a certified 900 series is humbling." The very first recorded sanction 900 series was rolled on February 2, 1997 by Jeremy Sonnenfeld in Lincoln, NE. If the 900 series rolled at Glenfair Lanes is certified by the USBC, he will become the 36th bowler in the country to roll a 900 series.
Low stated that his goal for the next five years, is to become a better bowler on the PBA Tour and represent his country again in the Team USA program. Until then, he is committed in doing whatever it takes to get there such as: practicing, working on his mental game, and taking his competition reps as learning experiences to help make him a better bowler.
Low is a graduate of Highland High School in Palmdale, CA. He attended Wichita State University, where he earned a BA in Business Administration in 2019. Currently, he is still in Wichita, Kansas working on his Master’s Degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Marketing. Due to the pandemic, his focus is to finish his Master’s degree later this year or early 2021 so he can focus on bowling full-time.
"My father was a bowler and my mom has only bowled one game in her life. They were very proud of me and this accomplishment. I don't think the hard work has personally paid off for me yet. I was very fortunate that I was able to throw 36 shots that fell down the way they did," he said, of what is ahead of him in bowling. "There is plenty of work to be done in my lifetime, before I feel fulfilled and can say that my hard work has finally paid off.”
In closing, I asked him when he thought that he was destined to be a great bowling. He stated that he wasn’t sure,but had some success at a very young age that propelled his confidence. His whole life he wanted to study the game and practice to become better which drove him to be one of the best. He also stated that overtime, he has been working hard on his mental game as that is a key component to much of his success.
"The accomplishments I have had in my past still don’t reassure me that I am a great bowler," he said. "Bowling has a learning curve and if I continue working on all aspects of my game, it will help me become the bowler that I want to be."
The 900 series he rolled at Glenfair Lanes on Sunday July 19, 2020 will be a constant reminder to the general public on how good he is at bowling. For not only himself, but the bowling community. This shows that progress of how far he has come as a bowler.
State of Arizona Bowling News - August 5, 2020.