Bruny’s Harkness and Invermay’s Wain star at State Championships
Bruny’s Charlie Harkness and Invermay’s Shane Wain finished on top at the Bowls Tasmania State Championships which finished at Ulverstone today when they took out the coveted women’s open and men’s open singles championships.
Harkness started strongly against Port Sorell’s Amity Bickley in the women’s open singles grand final and raced to an eight-shot lead after three ends. Bickley closed the gap to two shots after nine ends but that was as close as she got. .Harkness had all the answers and won by thirteen shots.
In the women’s open singles semi-finals played earlier today, Bickley defeated East Launceston’s Janet McCarthy by nineteen shots and Harkness beat Glenorchy Rodman’s Mikayla Baker by sixteen shots.
In a high-class men’s singles grand final, Shane Wain had a great battle against Ulverstone’s Lachie Thurley. Thurley started strongly and led by five shots after two ends and increased his lead to seven shots after six ends. However, Wain kept plugging away with great draw bowls to get within one shot after fourteen ends. Scores were level at 15-all after twenty-two ends but Wain finished the better scoring eight shots in three ends to edge away before winning the grand final by six shots.
In the men’s open singles semi-final played earlier today, Shane Wain defeated East Launceston’s David Mins by five shots and Lachie Thurley beat Howrah’s Peter Jenkins by thirteen shots.
In the men’s open pairs championship, Port Sorell’s Codi Marshall and his uncle Joshua Marshall won an outstanding grand final against Longford’s Mark Strochnetter and Turners Beach’s Archie Burton. Marshall opened up an eight-shot lead after five ends before Strochnetter won four ends in a row to reduce the margin to two shots. Marshall gradually got on top and led by seven shots after fifteen ends however Strochnetter picked up eight shots over the last three ends to level the scores and take the match into a sudden-death playoff. Marshall looked to have won the extra end before Strochnetter’s last bowl became the shot. A drive from Marshall scattered the head and left Marshall with the shot and the championship.
In the women’s open pairs championships, Invermay’s Jean Claridge and Debbie Lee had all the answers against last year’s winners Glenorchy Rodman’s Mikayla Baker and Bruny’s Charlie Harkness. Claridge and Lee won four of the first five ends to open up a seven-shot lead and gradually increased that lead to win the grand final by eleven shots.
The Bowling Arm Championships finals were played at Ulverstone today. In the semi-final of the Bowling Arm Triples Championships, Wynyard’s Paul Bugg, Penguin’s Peter Thow and Smithton’s Rodney O’Halloran defeated Royal Hobart’s Bill Mottershead and Chook Downie and Devonport’s Les Reynolds by twelve shots. In the grand final Kings Meadows Dennis Page, Rex Kidd and Sally Archer beat Bugg, Thow and O’Halloran by eight shots.
In the grand final of the Bowling Arm Fours Championships, Royal Hobart’s Bill Mottershead and Chook Downie, Glenorchy City’s Peter Kemp and Devonport’s Les Reynolds defeated South Burnie’s Phil Prouse, Daryl Henri and John Burley and Wynyard’s Graham Whatley by thirteen shots.
