Seoul American High School sophomore Victoria Wallace captured first place along with a $2,000 scholarship in the 2004 Pepsi Youth Bowling Championships held Monday-Wednesday at Don Carter All-Star West Lanes in Dallas.

Three other Pacific bowlers, including eight-time Far East military zone champion Jio Bruce, had a rough time in the Pepsi and the Junior Gold championships, which were held July 10-16. The events are sponsored by the Young American Bowling Alliance.

Wallace, 15, edged Lisa Howard of Stoney Creek, Ontario, 187-184 in the championship match of the Pepsi Championship girls handicap Division I.

The Pepsi Championships is the premier international handicap tournament for young bowlers. It attracted 194 competitors from the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and U.S. military zones overseas, competing for $20,000 in scholarships.

Competing against 38 other bowlers in her division, Wallace led throughout, knocking down 1,861 pins in eight qualifying games, a 232 average, and advancing to the match-play round of 16.

Wallace was one of two bowlers representing the Pacific Rim in the Pepsi tournament. Samuel Wilson, like Wallace a Seoul American student, competed in the boys handicap Division I. He placed 18th in qualifying with 1,633 pins, missing the match-play round by seven pins.

In her fifth YABA Junior Gold tournament, Bruce, 18, knocked down 3,074 pins in the 18-game qualifying round and placed 135th out of 364 entrants.

Chris Baker, 13, also of Yongsan and in his third Junior Gold appearance, racked up a pinfall of 3,048 and finished 607th out of 944 bowlers.

Wallace, Wilson, Bruce and Baker reached the Pepsi and Junior Gold tournaments through a qualifying process on Okinawa and at Yongsan’s bowling center.

YABA is a service-oriented sports membership organization for youth bowlers, ranging in age from pre-school to college. It provides more than $3 million in scholarship money annually to its members.

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