Staff sergeant claims gold in Armed Forces bowling tourney

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Chuck Roberts
  • USAFE Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS) --  Staff Sgt. Kirsten Elmore was raised in a family of bowlers, so it was only appropriate her father was in the stands to watch his daughter claim a gold medal at the 2006 Armed Forces Bowling Championship.

“I was a little nervous on the last game since I needed a 215 to win, but when I got the first strike in the 10th frame I knew I had it and saw how excited my dad was. It was very exciting. I really couldn’t believe it and I was so glad my dad was there to help me and cheer me on,” said Sergeant Elmore, a surveillance operator on the E-3 Sentry at NATO’s Geilenkirchen Air Base, Germany.

Sergeant Elmore won the individual gold medal with 4,605 total pins, followed by silver medalist Lisa Beeksma (4,598 pins) from the Marine Corps, and bronze medalist Bessier Lowery (4,520 pins) from the Navy.

Sergeant Elmore said she has been bowling since she was 5 years old and “pretty much grew up in a bowling alley.” Her desire for the sport didn’t wane after joining the Air Force. She had tried out unsuccessfully for the Air Force team in the past, but claimed a spot on this year’s team by claming the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Bowling Championship.

Sergeant Elmore also placed first in team competition. Air Force won both the men’s and women’s divisions of the bowling championship held Jan. 8-13 in conjunction with the 2006 Team USA National Amateur Championships at Reno, Nev.

Air Force women, behind Sergeant Elmore and Chief Master Sergeant Bobbi Boutwell from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., (1,521 pins), took a 460-pin lead over the Marine Corps after the first eight games (5,999 pins to 5,539 pins). The Army’s 5,532 pins were only seven pins back from the Marine Corps.

Air Force opened a 602-pin lead over second place Army on the second day, with Sergeant Elmore still leading the field with a two-day total of 3,055 pins. Sergeant Elmore was followed in individual competition by silver medalist Lisa Beeksma (4,598 pins) from the Marine Corps, and bronze medalist Bessier Lowery (4,520 pins) from the Navy.

Air Force bowlers finished fourth and fifth overall, with Senior Airman Rebecca Carey from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., placing fourth with 4,386 pins, followed by Chief Boutwell’s 4,362 pins. The remaining Air Force team bowlers, Major Antoinette Mula from Holloman AFB, N.M., Staff Sgt. Norma Jarvine from Randolph AFB, Texas, and Master Sgt. Cheryl St. Louis from the Air Force ROTC detachment in Worcester, Mass., finishing eighth through 10th.