Local youth bowlers win scholarships

Frontiersman staff

WASILLA — A local girl walked away with $1,000 in scholarship money at the end of this year's annual youth bowling tournament.

Erin Dutton competed in the girls under 20 division of the Pepsi-sponsored Alaska YBC youth bowling championships held April 15-17. A press release from Alaska Youth Bowling says she took home the title in addition to her scholarship winnings.

The bowling tournament is an annual event that, this year, distributed $14,000 to young Alaska bowlers.

Other Mat-Su athletes to place high in the rankings included:

• Samantha Green, who took home third in the under-10 girls division, earning $250;

• Mattison Sperry, who placed fourth in the girls under 10 division;

• Noah Haynes, who took third in the division for boys under 10, netting $250;

• Helen Hawthorne, who took second for girls under 15, winning $500;

• Alex Manning, who won second for boys under 15, taking home $500;

• Caden Price, who won third for boys under 20, reeling in $250;

• Kira Geiger, who took fourth for girls under 15.

Pepsi youth championships are part of a nationwide program staging tournaments in each state. The program's website says that in 2014, more than $500,000 in scholarships were handed out.