Navy photograph by PO2 Orlando Quintero
Staff Sgt. James McTaggart of Creech AFB, Nev., wins gold in the 2018 Armed Forces Bowling Championship at Ten Strike Bowling Center at Fort Lee, Va., April 13-17. The annual tournament features doubles, mixed doubles, individuals and team challenges.
McTaggart’s gold medal performance came down to the wire with the top four bowlers in the hunt for first place. Army Staff Sgt. Allan Smith of Fort Hood, Texas, held a strong lead after the first two challenges by nearly 70 pins, but after the mixed doubles challenge, McTaggart bested Smith by five pins to capture gold with 3, 556 pins.
Smith took silver scoring 3,551 pins and Army teammate Staff Sgt. Chris Artebum of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. scored 3,542 pins for the bronze.
Air Force dominated the men’s competition scoring 19,179 pins. Navy took silver rolling 18,500 pins followed by Air Force in third with 18,305 pins.
In the King and Queen Competition, McTaggart squared off against Army Staff Sgt. Rose Aguiliar in a one-match winner take all. In the end, McTaggart’s 204 to Aguiliar’s 184 earned him top bowler honors for 2018. This year was Aguiliar’s fifth women’s gold medal win.
The Armed Forces Bowling Championship features the best bowlers through the Service branches. Each Service conducted a qualification round to represent their branch at Fort Lee prior to the Armed Forces Championship.
