Tillamook bowlers win state tournament

The Tillamook duo of Brad Gitchell and Kevin Schriber fulfilled a lifelong goal when they won their first ever Oregon State United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Open Championship at Caveman Bowl in Grants Pass in April.

Competing in the 350-399 scratch doubles division, Gitchell, 46 and Scriber, 45, combined for a score of 1,343 to get first place and win the state championship. They won by 52 pins over runners up Loren Hergenrether and Kevin Williams of Grants Pass, who had a score of 1,291.

Barclay Heating and Sheet Metal sponsored bowling squad also includes team captain Dean Alexander of Tillamook. Alexander is the owner of Barclay Heating. The trio won the tournament while competing against a total of 38 doubles division teams in the 350-399 scratch bracket. The Open Championship is considered the premier bowling event in Oregon and it included a total of over 1,000 bowlers.

Gitchell and Schriber, who are brothers-in-law, shared a $500 first place prize. Schriber had a three-game championship score of 695 and Gitchell had a score of 648. They also competed in singles events as well at the three-day tournament April 26-28.

Gitchell and Schriber have been competing in USBC state and national championship events since they were youth’s in middle school. Winning their first ever state championship represented a career highlight for sure. The duo competes in Wednesday night men’s league events every week in Tillamook.

Tillamook bowlers who also competed in the Open Championship singles division included Jared Beehler, Trevor Foss and KC Seeger. The Tillamook duo of Patrick Shuman and Andrew Kleeman competed in the doubles 350-399 bracket and they took 23rd place with a score of 1,222.