LUMBERTON — Hunter Edkins was always at the top of the leaderboards during his time on the bowling team at Scotland High School. A former Sandhills Athletic Conference individual champion and two-time state qualifier, Edkins’ skills were often unmatched.
Edkins recently tested his skills against the best young bowlers in the world at the Junior Gold Championships in Detroit. After four qualifying rounds at four different bowling alleys, Edkins finished in 362nd place out of 808 competitors.
Advancing in the tournament would not have been an easy feat. The top 116 finishers from the qualifying rounds moved on to the next round, and 47 of those finishers averaged scores of at least 200. Edkins, whose average was 178, said going against elite competition was a worthwhile challenge.
“It was definitely different, but it was a great experience,” Edkins said.
Competing at four different facilities meant dealing with several different oil patterns, and Edkins said a big part of the challenge was adjusting his game to fit those changes. The patterns gradually got longer as the qualifying rounds progressed.
On the first day of competition, which featured a 35-foot oil pattern on the 60-foot lane, Edkins had a lot on his mind.
“Coming out of the gate I was nervous because this was my first Junior Golds,” Edkins said.
Edkins overcame the nerves to bowl a four-game series of 810, landing him in 77th place after the first day.
Edkins bowled a 640 series on the second day and ended the round in 288th place.
“That was a struggle,” Edkins said.
He improved on that score with a 654 series in the third round. On the final day of qualifying, Edkins registered a 744 series and jumped to 362nd place.
The oil patterns increased to as much as 50 feet in the latter stages of the tournament.
“That only gave 10 feet for the ball to do anything,” Edkins said.
Edkins, who also played soccer and tennis at Scotland, will soon begin his freshman year at The University of North Carolina at Chapen Hill, where he will major in anthropology. But he doesn’t plan on stepping away from bowling.
“I’m going to bowl in some youth tourneys,” Edkins said.
He hopes to return to the national tournament, where he had a chance to compete against and network with some of the country and world’s best bowlers.
“I learned a lot,” Edkins said. “I got to meet a ton of professionals. It was kind of overwhelming.”
