2017 Junior Gold Championships notebook - Day 4

CLEVELAND - Victoria Varano of Stony Point, New York, has used the advice from her globetrotting sister, Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour star Danielle McEwan, to put together an impressive performance throughout qualifying at the 2017 Junior Gold Championships presented by the Brands of Ebonite International.

Varano_250The 12-year-old cruised to the top of the U12 girls standings, finishing her final block of qualifying at Game of Wickliffe with a 680 block on her way to a 3,011 total, a 188.1 average, to lead the 124-player field by more than 170 pins through 16 games.

Victoria made match play in her tournament debut last year in Indianapolis on her way to a seventh-place finish. She put that experience, plus some great advice from her sister, to work this week in the greater Cleveland area.

"My keys this week have been covering my spares and keeping a good mindset," Victoria said. "Danielle always tells me to do my best, but if I start finding myself in trouble, to just reset and start fresh."

Victoria now will look to keep those tips close by as she prepares for Friday's final advancers round, also taking place at Game of Wickliffe.

"I'm going to go out and make the best shots that I can, and I hope to keep making my spares," she said.

Her sister eagerly will wait for updates on her progress from nearly 4,500 miles away as McEwan prepares to represent Team USA at the 2017 World Games in Wroclaw, Poland.

Perfection: Zachary Singer of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, connected for the first perfect game of the 2017 Junior Gold Championships, finishing his final qualifying block Thursday at AMF Brookgate Lanes with 12 consecutive strikes.

Singer, competing in the U20 division, put together games of 174 and 157 before finding the right look to finish with 259 and 300 for an 890 set. Overall, Singer has 3,245 for his 16 games of qualifying and is in great position to advance to Friday's advancers round. Check out his 10th frame here.

CameronHurwitz_250x140Cameron's back: Cameron Hurwitz of Rochester, New York, returned to Junior Gold this week after missing the 2016 event in Indianapolis.

Cameron put on a memorable performance at the 2015 event in the Chicagoland area on his way to a runner-up finish in the U12 division after being diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, a rare blood disorder.

Cameron was unable to attend in 2016 as he recovered from a bone marrow transplant and is back competing in the U15 division. Although the 14-year-old right-hander did not make the first cut to the advancers round, he's excited to be back on the lanes and is looking forward to next year's event in Dallas.

Going live: With qualifying nearly in the books at the 2017 Junior Gold Championships, BowlTV will bring in its cameras and provide livestream coverage starting Friday at 7:30 a.m. Eastern.

Cameras will be rolling at Game of Wickliffe, Freeway Lanes of Parma and Yorktown Lanes for the advancers rounds for the U12, U15 and U20 divisions and continue into Saturday until the finalists in each division are determined. Visit YouTube.com/BowlTV to watch the action live, and check out the livestream schedule here.