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Heatherman knocks off Trepka, wins Alro tourney
Monday, December 13, 2004
By Bob Bowen
For the Citizen Patriot

It had been 12 years since Frank Heatherman won his last Alro Steel Bowling Tournament title. He beat one of the best to win it again.

Heatherman defeated six-time Alro winner Frank Trepka 259-224 in the Alro Steel final Sunday at Summit Lanes.

"To win this against someone like Frank is unbelievable," Heatherman said. "I have all the respect in the world for him. What a great day, to be able to beat him for the title."

Heatherman jumped on Trepka early with four strikes, then held off one of Trepka's patented late-game charges for the win.

"He started slow,"Heatherman said, "but I knew I had my hands full."

Heatherman started Sunday in second place. He fell slightly from there, then climbed into the top spot by beating leader Kris Warner twice and edging contender Bob Worsham 237-236.

Heatherman, the all-time leader in Grand Slam tournament points, won the first of his two Masters titles when he was 18. He won the Alro in 1992. Since that time he has jumped through hoops trying to win again. He led several tournaments most of the way and finished second three times. Last year he fell to 10th.

"I never stopped believing in myself," Heatherman said. "This is not an easy tournament to win. Not only do you have to bowl well, but things have to go your way all weekend long. It was my day. I feel very honored and humbled by this."

After a long day of bowling Saturday, Heatherman said the work was worth it.

"This last match, this is the tournament, right here. This is what you tear your hand up for and try to get out of bed on Sunday morning after 16 games the day before. It's finally worth it."

Trepka, who struck out to beat Warner 217-213 in the semifinal match, threw one bad ball in the first frame, and Heatherman took advantage quickly. Trepka came back with a mid-game three bagger and another in the ninth and 10th frames, but it wasn't enough to stop Heatherman.

"I got a little wide on the first ball, but I give credit to Frank,"Trepka said. "It's hard to beat a 259 game."

Trepka came back from 15th after the first 10 of 24 match games. Still, there he stood in the final match of the tournament.

"I don't know how I got there. It's hard to stay emotionally up for such a long time," Trepka said. "I bowled real well today, and I'm happy about where I finished. I'll take second any day of the week."

In the position round, Heatherman beat Warner 259-201 to nail down the first seed with a total score of 8,997, including 12 qualifying games, 24 match games and 30 bonus points for each of his 16 wins. Trepka finished with 8,913, and Warner totaled 8,870.

"Match play was a struggle for me," said Warner, who was tired from a recent illness. "I was afraid it would be a long day.

"But I didn't come here to finish third."

Worsham was fourth with 8,843. Sam Racey beat Dan Gennety in the position round to grab the fifth seed by two pins, 8,834 to 8,832. He faced Worsham, who won the stepladder match 264-195. Worsham closed the game with seven strikes.

Worsham began the next match with seven more strikes, for 14 in a row, but Warner stormed past him 277-254.

"I left it all out there. I did everything I could," Worsham said. "Kris did well. He's had a lot to overcome."

-- Reach freelance bowling writer Bob Bowen at sports@citpat.com.