Deborah Millican presents to Pro Champion Dylan Goodwin

LEE'S SUMMIT, MO -- After three runner-up finishes in 2013, Dylan Goodwin finally broke through with a 24-15 win over Greg Clouse at the Lee's Summit T-Bone Tournament held in Howard Park in Lee's Summit, Missouri on Saturday. The final played out in front the MCA's largest gallery to date and featured a couple of good breaks by both players.

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Earlier in the day, Goodwin and Clouse met at the end of the random draw rounds with Clouse prevailing 23-20 to end the morning 3-0. Clouse then beat Greg Adams 18-16 in the semi-final to advance. Goodwin recovered from the earlier loss with a 27-17 win over Ron Millican in the other semi-final.

So, the championship game set up as a rematch. It was back and forth, but things got interesting as a stuffed wicket at 12 by Clouse left an opening for Goodwin with time getting short. Clouse was partner dead, but Goodwin mis-intepreted the direction of the red ball jawsed in the wicket and approached from the wrong side. His rush pushed red through, scored the wicket and cleared the deadness.

Goodwin went ahead and took a break though and was able to maintain control of the game until last turns. Clouse made it interesting with his first ball as he hit in from 40 to 50 feet near corner two. However, with all three balls loosely arranged in that corner, he couldn't get a break going and Goodwin took the title.

AIRRINGTON TAKES GOLD

MCA newcomer Taylor Airrington claimed the Gold Division title with a 30-20 win over Debbie Breeden. Airrington reached the Gold Final by defeating his grandmother Deborah Millican 26-21. Breeden entered the Gold Bracket as the #4 seed, but upset Kactus Creek rival Jodi Adams 32-29 to advance.

BERG CLAIMS SILVER
The Silver Division played a full-round robin and Bill Berg took the title with a 4-0 record. His nephew Keith Berg finished second with a 3-1 record. The duo squared off in the third round in what served as the championship decider.

The game played out with Bill Berg holding onto a 14-12 lead late, but he missed a three-yard roquet that possibly would have secured the win. As last turns set in, Keith Berg had a chance to take the game with his last ball. However, as he scored the seventh wicket to pull within one point, the ball rolled out of bounds and the battle ended 14-13 in favor of Bill Berg. 

 NOTES

• Lee's Summit opened the MCA's second season of the Nine-Wicket Series by setting a record for entries with 15. 
• Silver Division player Justin Marciniak said his New Year's Resolution was to get an official MCA win. He accomplished that goal in the first game of the day with a 13-12 nail-biter over Diane Berg. Berg was playing in her first official MCA event.
• Debbie Breeden produced an interesting statistical moment in her return to MCA play. At the end of the random draw rounds for the mixed Pro/Gold Division, Breeden had an 0-3 record, but was second in overall Pro points with 65 (Goodwin led with 68 at the time). She was unable to add to her total though as the win record placed her in the Gold Bracket, but she still has the second highest wicket average in the Pro Division.
• Jason Johnson requested to move to the Pro Division prior to the start of the season. With the combo Pro/Gold Division, it turned out that he had to play his way into the bracket, but he did just that using a 59-point performance on a 1-2 record to pick up the six seed.
• Nate Benz has just a few weeks of croquet experience at this point, but he impressed the Silver Division by going 2-2 and finishing in third place. Bill Berg said, "His overnight grasp of croquet technique and strategy--he's a true natural. I hope he can continue. With a new baby due in July, he and his wife Ana may have their hands full!"
• Does the Nine-Wicket Series have a family rivalry going on? The Bergs put three people in the event with Bill and Diane and nephew Keith. The Millicans matched that with Ron and Deborah and grandson Taylor Airrington. And the Clouse's have brothers Brad and Greg along with Greg's son-in-law Jason Johnson. That just goes to show what a great family game croquet is.

"Better bring your Kleenex."

-Newcomer Nate Benz's response when Bill Berg informed him that they would be playing in the first round of the tournament 

FINAL ORDERS

Pro Division
01. Dylan Goodwin
02. Greg Clouse
03. Ron Millican
04. Greg Adams
05. Brad Clouse
06. Jason Johnson
07. Jodi Adams
08. Taylor Airrington
09. Deborah Millican
10. Debbie Breeden

Gold Division
01. Taylor Airrington
02. Debbie Breeden
03. Jodi Adams
04. Deborah Millican

Silver Division
01. Bill Berg
02. Keith Berg
03. Nate Benz
04. Justin Marciniak
05. Diane Berg