Courtesy Photo
Treavor Thompson of Mabank shows off winning the Youth Scratch Master’s Tour U15 Mixed Championship. Thompson will make his third consecutive Junior Gold Championships tournament appearance in mid-July.

Courtesy Photo
Mikey McDaniels of Eustace (from left) along with Ava Sullivan and Brayden Clark of Mabank compete at Super Bowl in Plano while qualifying for the Junior Gold Championships in Indiana starting in mid-July. This will be McDaniels’ third consecutive Junior Gold Championships while Sullivan and Clark have been to two straight national tournaments. Ava Sullivan of Mabank, who got her start at TipTop Lanes in Seven Points, competed at the national Junior Gold Championships in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 2022 in the U12 Girls’ Division and will bowl at the 2023 Junior Gold Championships in Indiana. Ava finished No. 29 out of 234 entries at the state competition.

CEDAR CREEK LAKE—Four residents of the Cedar Creek Lake area and a Kaufman citizen with ties to Payne Springs will compete at the Junior Gold Championships in Indiana in July against bowlers from across the country, reports proud parent John Sullivan.
The Junior Gold Championships is an annual national tournament for the top male and female youth bowlers in the United States. Youth bowlers are scheduled to compete July 14-22 while adult competitors will bowl July 10-14, according to the United States Bowling Congress’ (USBC) website. USBC is the national governing body for bowling, the organization states.
The tournament awards scholarships and youth bowlers competing in the age divisions of U18, U15 and U12 also have the opportunity to earn a spot on Junior Team USA, according to the USBC.
One of those Cedar Creek Lake bowlers is Ava Sullivan, who started the sport in 2016. Ava finished No. 29 out of 234 entries at the state competition, says her dad, John Sullivan. Also, Trinity Mixon of Mabank finished No. 2 statewide in the all-events category, Sullivan reports to The Monitor. All those bowlers got their start at the Youth Bowling League at TipTop Lanes in Seven Points, Sullivan says.
“These kids are out doing this stuff outside of school, on the weekends, on their own,” John Sullivan says. Ava, who is 13 years old, is going to her second consecutive national tournament.
Mikey McDaniels of Eustace, age 20, has advanced to the Junior Gold Championships the past three years, John Sullivan says. McDaniels will bowl during the adult competition in Indiana, Sullivan reports.
Fifteen-year-old Brayden Clark, whose parents David and Tessa Clark own a Gun Barrel City business, also will be attending his second consecutive national competition, John Sullivan says. Ava and Brayden now bowl at Plano Super Bowl. They are also on the same bowling team with two Plano kids and finished No. 9 at the state bowling competition, according to Sullivan.
In addition, Treavor Thompson of Mabank, who is 10 years old, is going to his third Junior Gold Championships tournament. Treavor bowls in Dallas, John Sullivan says. Treavor has already bowled three 300-score games, has been featured in a bowling magazine and has received college scholarship offers.
Megan Martin of Kaufman, whose grandmother lives in Payne Springs, is another local bowler who has advanced to the Junior Gold Championships. Megan currently bowls at TipTop Lanes, Sullivan says. Megan’s older brother also bowled at TipTop Lanes and received a bowling scholarship to Oklahoma State University, where he just finished his first academic year, according to John Sullivan.
“These kids have earned it, they deserve it, a lot of hard work goes into it,” John Sullivan says.