Wes Weisser rolled his first-ever 300 Monday night at Maple City Bowl in Goshen. InkFreeNews photo by Curtis Smeltzer

By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews

GOSHEN – It’s the ultimate accomplishment for any bowler, and now Wes Weisser can finally claim he got there.

Weisser bowled his first 300 Monday night, ending a handful of near-miss headaches.

Weisser hit the mark during league play with his teammates and half the Maple City bowling league standing behind him rooting him on. Weisser got through the first nine frames unscathed, then got to the tenth, where he historically has lost his shot. This year alone, Weisser had twice gotten to the tenth frame perfect, but left the seven pin standing. Getting past the mental hurdle of past failures, Weisser knocked ’em all down on his 11th ball.

With one roll left for all the marbles, and a crowd of about two dozen circling behind his lane, Weisser found his mark, locked in position and let it fly.

“I stood on my spot and thought ‘make a good shot’,” recalled Weisser. “I let it go just how I rehearsed it. I knew it would be close. Someone told me I put my hands up immediately, I don’t remember that.”

It wasn’t nearly as dramatic down the lane, as all the pins crashed down without question, giving Weisser his first-ever perfect game of 300.

Teammates Curtis Smeltzer, Chad Smeltzer, Scott Slusser and Kai Slusser all immediately celebrated with Wes, and most of the gallery made their way to send out hi-fives.

The game was the middle of a three-game series for Weisser and his team. He shot 247 in the first game, and then 211 in the third game. All bets of a Weisser double ended real quick, as Weisser didn’t get a strike, or even a spare, on his first ball of the third game.

“That first shot was bad,” laughed Weisser, joking the trajectory of his third game’s first ball was short of hitting the roof. “It wasn’t going to happen twice in a row.”

Weisser will get a ring commemorating the achievement from the United State Bowling Congress, but will always have the memory of finally getting the elusive accomplishment.

“It’s awesome, hard to believe that I finally got it done,” Weisser said. “A lot of people there were surprised that I hadn’t done it before. I finally got it. Right now I feel really good.”

Weisser, a 2007 graduate of Wawasee High School, lives in Syracuse. The league is in its 29th week of a 34-week season.