Painter looking to repeat at ITRC Super Senior Classic

ARLINGTON, Texas - Kerry Painter of Henderson, Nevada, won the inaugural International Training and Research Center Super Senior Classic last year, and he'll be back at the ITRC this week looking to retain the crown.

The 2014 event gets underway Wednesday as the 61-year-old right-hander and a field of more than 30 of the top United States Bowling Congress members age 60 and older visit the home of Team USA to battle for an estimated top prize of $4,000.

Painter qualified as the No. 1 seed for the stepladder finals in 2013 and topped Pete McCordic of Katy, Texas, in a low-scoring match as neither competitor was able to double throughout the first nine frames. Painter secured the victory by delivering three strikes in the 10th frame to outlast McCordic, 197-179.

The win at the Super Senior Classic finished off a stretch for Painter that included a third-place effort at the USBC Senior Masters and a pair of high-profile wins that earned him International Bowling Media Association Bowler of the Month honors for August 2013.

"I was on a good run when I came to Arlington last year and really had it going," Painter said. "I haven't been bowling as much this year, but I'm ready to give it a shot. It would be quite an undertaking to repeat, since there's so much competition in our age group, but I would be ecstatic if I could win again."

All competitors will bowl 16 games of qualifying over two days before the field is narrowed to the top 25 percent for the casher's round. An additional four games will determine the five finalists for the stepladder finals.

Every round of the 2014 Super Senior Classic will be broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV, and the stepladder finals air Friday, Oct. 31 at 4:30 p.m. EDT.

Entries will be accepted until just prior to the beginning of Wednesday's opening squad at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.