JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
Success breeds success, according to Air Force bowling coach Steve Barinque.
And the Air Force team experienced plenty of it during the Armed Forces Bowling Tournament May 15-18 at the Skylark Bowling Center.
The women's Air Force team, which returned two bowlers from last year, including Kristin Odekirk, a technical sergeant from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland's 37th Training Support Squadron, dominated the overall Armed Forces bowling competition, scoring a total of 19,328 pins to earn first-place honors over the Marine Corps and Army during the weeklong tournament. The Air Force men tallied 20,747 pins, placing second behind the Army by 634 pins.
While the women and men placed first and second in the overall Armed Forces tournament, both teams dominated the Air Force men's and women's team challenge competition, held on the last day of the tournament May 18.
The men's team, comprised of four new members, amassed 5,503 total pins to defeat the Navy and Army. The women tallied 4,891 pins, defeating the Marines and Army to earn first-place honors.
With only a week of training camp to prepare for the Armed Forces competition, Barinque was proud of how his men's team was able to work cohesively in a short time to win the team challenge event.
"This is a team that never bowled together and for them to come together on the last day of competition was a great moment," he said.
The women created its own great moments in the Armed Forces bowling tourney, starting with singles competition.
Danielle Crowder, a captain from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and Natasha Sanchez, a staff sergeant from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., placed first and second, respectively, in the singles event on opening day May 15.
The women's team parlayed their success into the next day's women's doubles competition, as Crowder and Odekirk took first place while fellow teammates Sanchez and Annette Gagarin, a staff sergeant from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, placed third in the overall women's team competition.
Both men's and women's teams continued achieving individual and team accolades throughout the week.
The Air Force took first and second place in mixed doubles. Crowder joined with Marty Bedford, a senior master sergeant from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., to take first, while Odekirk teamed up with Randy Lightsey, a senior master sergeant from Yokota AB, Japan, to take second May 17.
Crowder and Odekirk rounded out their week by placing first and third, respectively, in the individual all-events competition.
Odekirk, a second-year player on the team, said she loved how her team came together to accomplish its achievements.
"The ladies are all amazing bowlers," she said. "We all came together during the Armed Forces Bowling Tournament, and I think we will remain a strong team for future tournaments to come."
The men were able to achieve individual tournament success of their own.
After placing second in the men's singles competition on opening day, Bedford earned first place honors in men's individual all-events.
While the Air Force women and men experienced déjà vu by placing first and second overall for the second consecutive year, the teams, combined, earned first place in five more categories than in last year's Armed Forces tourney in San Diego.
Earning the accolades at home was extra sweet for Barinque, who is an assistant manager at the JBSA-Randolph Bowling Center.
The second-year coach said the team didn't perform to its potential last year because the team was transitioning from the previous coaching regime to the current one.
"We had some trials and tribulations last year. But this year, we were able to put that aside and overcome the changes to do well," Barinque said.