Garber rolls to victory in Willie Taylor Memorial at Yosemite Lanes

The scores were high in the 13th Annual Willie Taylor Memorial Scratch 6-Gamer at Yosemite, just the way Willie would have liked it.

Taylor, one of the top bowlers in the area until his death in 2006, held many high scoring records in league and tournaments.

It took a 242 average to make the Top 5 and advance to the stepladder round and a 231 average to cash.

Wayne Garber was on fire all day to win the event. He rolled games of 257-259-269-279-215-268 to qualify with a 1,547 score and average 257 for the six games.

Nick Kelley, the winner of last year’s tournament, qualified second with a 1,464 total. The fifth-place qualifier Paul Herrera tallied a 1,454 to catch the last rung of the stepladder finals.

Herrera advanced through the ladder to the semifinal game facing second-place Kelley. After a close game, Kelley needed a strike to shut out Herrera but left a solid 8. He picked it up and struck for a 205. Herrera stepped up in the 10th needing a double to win the match. He did it to finish at 213 and advance to the final match against Garber.

Garber came out striking to finish with a 269 against Herrera’s 201. Garber took home the win and $458. Herrera pocketed $340 for second, and Kelley earned $270 for third. The tournament earned $420 for the Willie Taylor Memorial Scholarship Fund. ....

Rick Padilla (1,016 qualifying round), of Wallace in Calaveras County, won the Central Valley Bowling Club’s August meet at Harvest Park in Brentwood. He finished ahead of Antioch’s John Bera (980) and Merced’s John Krone and Tracy’s Jim Robeson, both at 956. Bera, Krone and Robeson rolled a three-way match to see who would meet Padilla in the championship game. Robeson scored a 258 to advance, but lost to Padilla, who earned $205 for the victory. Robeson won $175.

The team of Joyce Lewis, Bill Sterling and David Brown (2,539) topped the field in the Mixed Kegler Trio Tournament at McHenry. Dave Castro, John Garcia and Rick Lazaro (2,504) finished second followed by Ryan Hill, Nate Balam and Ron Myers (2,388). ... This Sunday the McHenry Swiss Tournament runs at McHenry starting at 10 a.m. There will be a Scratch division with an average cap of 660 for the three-person team and Handicap division with a cap of 610. Call Jackie Fried at 209-604-5544 or Terry at 209-571-2695 to sign up. Team spots are limited and must be paid by this Saturday to guarantee the spot. If not full walk-ins will be allowed. ... This Friday the Summer’s End Senior No-Tap Tournament will roll at McHenry. Potluck at noon, check-in at 12:30 p.m. and tournament scoring starts at 1 p.m. Wear your Hawaiian shirt. ...

Local bowling centers are gearing up for the coming fall season. Starting traditionally the Tuesday after Labor Day, the bulk of the winter leagues start Sept. 4. Area bowls report there are still openings for teams, couples and individuals on a variety of days, times, and formats. Call Bellevue Bowl in Atwater at 209-358-6466, or in Modesto Yosemite Lanes at 209-524-9161, or McHenry Bowl at 209-571-2695, for more information. ... Summer league tournaments are on tap for next week with the Pot-of-Gold Tournament at Yosemite and the Sizzlin’ Summer Doubles Tournament at McHenry. The Pot of Gold tournament is open to teams at Yosemite from participating leagues. To qualify, a team has to finish in the top half of their league. All qualifiers earn a free entry into the tournament. ... If you bowled in a winter or summer league at McHenry, you are eligible to compete in the Sizzlin’ Summer No-tap Doubles Tournament running next week. Squads are set to start Aug. 30 and run through Monday, Sept. 3. Entries are at the desk at McHenry.