The 'X' Men: Brothers bowl 300 in same night
Daniel Martynowicz
Jake Starkel sends a ball toward the pins at Lucky Strike Lanes in Ronan.
Daniel Martynowicz
Josh and Jake Starkel pose for a picture moments after Jake’s second perfect game in a week.
Daniel Martynowicz
Jake is congratulated by friends and fans after Friday’s game.
Daniel Martynowicz
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RONAN — Perfection is almost impossible to attain in life, as it implies the individual in question can reach no higher point — he is the very best at what he does and can never be beaten, only tied.
As perfection is so elusive, few activities offer it as a possibility.
Bowling is the exception.
The highest score possible while bowling is 300 and can only be reached after a bowler scores 12 consecutive strikes in a single 10-frame game. Many spend a lifetime trying to attain this elusive honor and fall short, but Dec. 21 at Lucky Strike Lanes in Ronan, two brothers achieved true perfection on the same night.
Ronan residents Josh and Jake Starkel, bowling for S and S Sports (their place of work) each bowled a perfect game, and they did it on the same night.
Lucky Strike Lanes owner Tim Corbett said he’d never heard of such a feat.
“Montana-wise, I don’t think it’s ever happened before,” Corbett said. “I’ve been around bowling for more than 30 years and had a part in several 300s, but the more I think about it, the more special it gets. That scenario was pretty cool and we’re happy it was here.”
Corbett said he’d contacted Tom Brendgord, executive director for the Montana Bowling Proprietors Association, to see if the brothers’ accomplishment was as unique as it sounds.
“He’s been around bowling for 60 years and he didn’t have any recollection of anything like that happening,” Corbett said.
One week later, the Starkel brothers were back in action
during league play Dec. 28 at Lucky Strike Lanes. Six frames in, Jake had six strikes and was halfway to another perfect score.
“(Bowling a 300 with my brother on the same night) was pretty fun, but it’ll be a while before either of us gets another,” he said, casually dismissing the possibility of another perfect game.
With a steely demeanor and relaxed, yet focused, expression, Jake never looked at the scoreboard and seemed not to notice the entire bowling alley watching his game.
When Corbett was asked why Jake seemed so nonchalant, he said, “People say, ‘The bowling ball feels tension,’ and in a way, they’re right. If you’re not totally relaxed, you don’t throw the ball the same.”
Less than 20 minutes later, a cool and collected Jake bowled another perfect game — two 300s within seven days at the same bowling alley.
Friends and strangers alike offered congratulations, hugs and high-fives as a beaming Jake returned from the lane after his 12th consecutive strike.
“Pretty cool,” he said with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is cool.”
The moment of elation was short, however, as the brothers had another game to bowl before league play ended.
Corbett said that, for him, the best part was the excitement in the community that goes along with a perfect game.
“It’s fun to have that kind of stuff in house,” he said. “It makes for excitement for everybody, and small bowling centers like ours are really community centers. Things like that, people get pretty jazzed about it. I’m happy for the guys, especially something like this.
“It’s a lot more fun to host it than read about it somewhere else.”
