Alyssa Vulgamott loses to the competition

WAYNESBORO – Alyssa Vulgamott has become quite the bowler.

It helps that she comes from a family of bowlers. Her father, David, her mother Stephanie, and her grandfather Bill Eyler all had a hand in Alyssa’s development in the sport. So did Chris Thompson at Nellie Fox Lanes in Chambersburg. And let’s not forget, her grandmother Ginny McBeth coached youth teams when Alyssa was growing up.

Alyssa is now 14 years old and about to enter high school in Waynesboro. She is waiting for the new season of the Pennsylvania Junior Bowlers Tournament circuit to begin in August. Until then, she bowls at least once a week at Nellie Fox Lanes.

In April, Vulgamott won the Franklin County Jack Lear Scholarship Tournament at Nellie Fox Lanes when she threw a 790 series.

“He was coaching when I was bowling,” David Vulgamott said of Jack Lear. “He passed away and Franklin County has a tournament at the end of the year. It’s like a memorial tournament.”

Over Mother’s Day weekend, Alyssa won another tournament, this time at ABC North in the Harrisburg area.

“I’ve competed against boys and girls,” she said. “I was the third seed on the ladder. I bowled against the fourth seed and he needed a spare in the 10th frame and he missed it. So we went to a ninth and 10th frame roll-off, and I won that. And then I bowled against a kid who had a 65-pin handicap and I bowled really well and beat him. And then I bowled the first seed and won that match.”

It was her second PJBT victory of 2024. The first came on January 28 in Berks County, in a girls-only competition.

Alyssa competed in three PJBT events in 2023, winning the second of the three on February 12 in Palmyra. A week later, she finished fourth.

She underwent foot surgery to repair damage caused by plantar fasciitis and flat feet and retired from the junior tournament on December 17, 2023. She did not place, but did much better in her next competition on January 14, 2024. She finished fourth.

“It came from a lot of things I did — softball, bowling, theater. It built up over time,” Alyssa said. “It was tough. Sometimes I was frustrated. I had to look at other people. I knew it would all be worth it in the end. Every time I had foot surgery, it was a no-brainer to go back to softball. It took about six months of getting into the boot and getting physical therapy. By November, I was out of the boot.

“I got cleared to go bowling again at the end of October. It felt really good to go bowling again because I knew I was better because I had more stability. It took me a while to trust myself. I trained at least once a week to make sure I was strong enough to do it.”

Her fourth place in what David Vulgamott described as a PJBT main draw boosted her confidence.

“It was quite an achievement because when I came back and got fourth, I knew I was ready to get back to work. That was a pretty exciting day for me,” she said.

PJBT events begin in August and run through June, including one at Nellie Fox Lanes. Most are a few hours away.

“They have bowling alleys there that are willing to give them a whole Sunday or Saturday because they basically close the lanes,” David said. “They have a girls-only one at Nellie Fox because it’s smaller. Everything else is around Allentown.”

Tournaments draw 20 to 70 bowlers, depending on the type of event. Bowlers play five or six qualifying matches, narrowing the number down to four in a ladder format.

Alyssa heads to Ephrata next week to learn from professional bowler Kerry Smith. Smith, a 2003 graduate of Garden Spot High School, has been a member of the WPBA since 2015.

“I bowled with Kerry Smith at an invitational,” Alyssa said. “It was a lot of fun bowling with her. I’m looking forward to it. I’m learning a lot from her.”