Meister, Fink pick up titles for ’23-’24

Courtesy photo
From left: Artie Fink and Jackie Meister were the men’s and women’s winners, while Beth Monahan and Eric Burket were the women’s and men’s runners-up at the Altoona Mirror Bowler of the Year Tournament.

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

Jennifer Meister of New Enterprise won the women’s championship in what was her first-ever appearance in the Altoona Mirror’s 2024 Bowler of the Year Tournament Thursday night on the F.A. Gerhart Lanes at the Bavarian Hall.

Conversely, the 2024 tournament’s men’s champion, Artie Fink, Jr. of Altoona, has been winning bowling accolades all of his life.

Meister logged a four-game score of 860 with games of 244-189-181-246 to edge out veteran bowler Beth Monahan, whose runner-up score totaled 834, for the women’s championship.

Fink, who was inducted into the Blair County Sports Hall of Fame last month for his combined lifetime bowling and golf achievements, won his second straight Altoona Mirror Bowler of the Year men’s title. Fink logged a four-game score of 1056 with games of 262-278-279-237, ahead of runner-up Eric Burket’s four-game score of 1024.

It’s been a great two years for Fink, 54, a former Professional Bowling Association member who has rolled 90 career perfect 300 games and was also inducted into the Pennsylvania Bowling Hall of Fame in 2023.

Fink has been bothered by a sore left knee that he said has become progressively worse over the past several months, prompting him to debate whether to enter this year’s Bowler of the Year Tournament at all.

“I hadn’t bowled in over a month before tonight, but (the knee) held up pretty well,” said Fink, 54, who said he has a doctor’s appointment in two weeks to have the knee examined as he heads into another competitive local golf season.

Fink — an all-around athlete who played football and baseball during his high school days at Altoona and finished third in both the USBC and Cincinnati Open bowling competitions back in 1994 — built a sizeable lead with a composite score of 819 over his first three games, and then put things on cruise control in the final game to get the victory.

Drew Saylor was third with a total score of 1006, while Bryson Holtslander was fourth with a 931.

Meister and Monahan were neck-and-neck at the top of the women’s leaderboard after three games, with Monahan actually holding a slim lead.

But Meister registered a score of 246 in her fourth and final game, while Monahan bowled a 211, and that turned out to be the difference.

“This is a big accomplishment for me, because I had never bowled in this tournament before tonight,” Meister said. “After (Monahan) took over the lead in that third game, I was determined to get the lead back.”

Meister said that keeping her composure and focus was vital.

“I stayed focused and did what I know how to do,” Meister said. “I slowed down and focused on my mark, and made sure that I followed through.”

Jess Troutman was third in the women’s division with a total score of 791, while Nikki Watt placed fourth with a score of 763.

MEN

1, Artie Fink, 262-278-279-237-1056; 2, Eric Burket 1024; 3, Drew Saylor, 279-246-268-213-1006; 4, Bryson Holtslander, 236-280-190-225-931

WOMEN

1, Jennifer Meister, 244-189-181-246-860; 2, Beth Monahan, 221-190-212-211-834; 3, Jess Troutman, 188-177-258-168-791; 4, Nikki Watt, 191-192-202-178-763.