In a tournament he dedicated to his father Jerry, who passed away two weeks ago, Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, N.Y., survived an emotional championship match to win the PBA50 Miller High Life Classic presented by Columbia 300 Wednesday at George Pappas’ Victory Lanes.

Jurek also survived an early open in the third frame of the championship match but then roared back with nine consecutive strikes to defeat five-time PBA Tour and two-time PBA50 Tour winner Bob Learn Jr. of Erie, Pa., 264-224. It was Jurek’s second PBA50 Tour title to go along with the two titles he has won on the PBA Tour.

“I think this was the toughest week I’ve ever bowled, but generally I was able to keep my emotions pretty calm,” said Jurek. “I can get a little geared up and hyper during a tournament, but maybe keeping things in perspective gave me that calm feeling. I don’t know exactly, but this one is definitely for dad.”

Jurek, who qualified second for the stepladder finals, defeated PBA Hall of Famer and three-time PBA50 Tour winner, Pete Weber, in a back-and-forth semifinal match, 224-200, to advance to the title match.

I was watching Tom (Baker) and Pete and could see they had good looks to the pocket but they weren’t always getting good results,” Jurek said. “I tried to learn from what they were doing, get to a place on the lane where I could get a good ball reaction, not get anxious, and then just do what I was doing all week.”

Weber, who qualified fifth for the finals, won the first two stepladder matches defeating Dennis Rakauskas of Apopka, Fla., in the opening match 268-236, and then fellow Hall of Famer and four-time PBA50 Player of the Year Tom Baker of King, N.C., 193-191 in the second match. Rakauskas was trying for his first PBA50 Tour title and Baker was trying for his 13th which would have moved into second all alone on the all-time PBA50 Tour titles list behind leader John Handegard with 14 wins.

Weber’s third-place finish was a welcome improvement over his first two tournaments of the season where he finished 24th and 44th. Baker’s fourth-place finish came after finishing third in last week’s United Healthcare Sun Bowl In The Villages and 15th in the season-opening Pasco County Florida Open.

The PBA50 Tour heads to Farmingdale Lanes in Farmingdale, N.Y. for the PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open presented by Brunswick May 2-5 which is the fourth stop of the season.

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PBA50 MILLER HIGH LIFE CLASSIC
presented by Columbia 300
George Pappas’ Victory Lanes, Mooresville, N.C., Wednesday

Final Standings

1, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., $7,500.

2, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., $4,000.

3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., $2,500.

4, Tom Baker, King, N.C., $2,000.

5, Dennis Rakauskas, Apopka, Fla., $1,750.

Stepladder Results

Match One – Weber def. Rakauskas, 268-236.

Match Two – Weber def. Baker, 193-191.

Semifinal Match – Jurek def. Weber, 224-200.

Championship – Jurek def. Learn, 264-224.

Modified Match Play Round 2 (after six games, including match play bonus pins. Top five advance to stepladder finals)

1, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 4-2, 1,630.
2, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 5-1, 1,612.
3, ss-Tom Baker, King, N.C., 4-2, 1,594.
4, Dennis Rakauskas, Apopka, Fla., 3-2-1, 1,546.
5, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3-2-1, 1,542.
6, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 2-3-1, 1,477, $1,600.
7, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 3-3, 1,476, $1,600.
8, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 3-3, 1,460, $1,600.
9, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3-2-1, 1,453, $1,425.
10, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3-3, 1,450, $1,425.
11, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 2-4, 1,426, $1,425.
12, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 2-4, 1,424, $1,525.
13, Tom Howison, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1-5, 1,364, $1,525.
14, Tracy Teeters, Eugene, Ore., 3-3, 1,363, $1,425.
15, ss-Dale Eagle, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 3-3, 1,338, $1,425.
16, a-John Hough, Naples, Fla., 2-4, 1,321, $1,525.

Modified Match Play Round 1 (after five games, including match play bonus pins)

17, ss-David Kneas, Annapolis, Md., 3-2, 1,250, $1,275.
18, (tie)a-James Hansen, Anchorage, Alaska, 2-2-1, and
a-Ken Wyatt, Sterling Hts., Mich., 2-1-2, 1,226, $1,275.
20, ss-Lee Brosius, Ashburn, Va., 3-2, 1,209, $1,275.
21, John Conroy, Mahopac, N.Y., 2-3, 1,203, $1,275.
22, ss-Roy Buckley, Westerville, Ohio, 3-1-1, 1,195, $1,275.
23, Stoney Baker, Canton, Ga., 3-2, 1,183, $1,275.
24, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 2-3-1,170, $1,275.
25, ss-John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 2-3, 1,152, $1,175.
26, ss-Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 1-4, 1,146, $1,175.
27, ss-Dennis Lane, Kingsport, Tenn., 1-4, 1,130, $1,175.
28, Warren Nelson, Middleburg, Fla., 1-4, 1,116, $1,175.
29, ss-Dave Patchen, Oregon, Ohio, 1-4, 1,102, $1,175.
30, ss-Timothy Kauble, Marion, Ohio, 1-3-1, 1,063, $1,175.
31, ss-Jeff Bellinger, Columbia, S.C., 0-5, 1,039, $1,175.
32, Joe Scarborough, Charlotte, N.C., 2-3, 996, $1,175.

Other Cashers (after five-game cashers’ round)

33, a-Louis Manzella Jr., Mt. Olive, Ala., 1,182, $1,075.
34, a-Mike Long, Charlotte, N.C., 1,174, $1,075.
35, Kevin Foley, Reno, Nev., 1,165, $1,075.
36, Mike Hastings, Millsboro, Del., 1,147, $1,075.
37 (tie), Doug O'Bryant, Ball Ground, Ga., and Dave Sill, Titusville, Fla., 1,137, $1,075.
39, ss-Don Sylvia, Daytona Beach, Fla., 1,132, $1,075.
40, ss-Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 1,114, $1,075.
41, Marty Berke, Allentown, Pa., 1,109, $1,025.
42, Danny Weikel, Bessemer City, NC, 1,103, $1,025.
43, Ralph Brunt Jr., Jensen Beach, Fla., 1,096, $1,025.
44, ss-Paul Bryant, Fayetteville, N.C., 1,093, $1,025.
45, ss-Greg McMahan, Dandridge, Tenn., 1,092, $1,025.
46, ss-David Hull, Lexington, N.C., 1,088, $1,025.
47, Wayne Bolin, Lumberton, N.C., 1,085, $1,025.
48, ss-Tommy Brodowski, New Hyde Park, N.Y., 1,080, $1,025.
49, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1,057, $1,025.
50, ss-Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 1,054, $1,025.
51, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,050, $1,025.
52 (tie), ss-Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, and ss-Gary Shultis, Levittown, N.Y., 1,046, $1,000.
54, James Lord, Fort Mill, S.C., 1,023, $1,000.
55, Jay Boyle, Garnet Valley, Pa., 1,007, $1,000.
56, Peter Knopp, Germany, 1,002, $1,000.
57, ss-Ron Profitt, Brookville, Ohio, 1,000, $1,000.
58, ss-James Knoblauch, Waukesha, Wis., 995, $1,000.
59, ss-Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 987, $1,000.

a-denotes amateur

ss-denotes PBA60 player