The Yukon junior bowling team recently returned from the national championships in Newfoundland.

Six athletes, three girls and three boys, traveled to the championships and two of them did even better than the team coaches had anticipated.

Senior bowler Natasha Mewett ended up in a seventh place tie with Quebec, out of 13 teams in her category. Mewett, whose personal goal was a ninth place finish, took ten points out of a possible 24 with a personal high game of 299.

'She was 26 pins over her average in (Whitehorse) league play,' said Kevin Murphy, who coaches the team along with Wayne Beauchemin, in an interview Tuesday. 'So she was really peaking down there.

'She split a two-game match with the eventual gold medalist from Alberta. She was really bowling quite well.'

Murphy said he knew Mewett could do well, he just hoped she would get off to a good start. Unfortunately, he said, her first day didn't go too well.

'It was her third day when she was really doing well. She took five out of six points on the last day of competition.'

The championship was the last hurrah for 16-year-old Mewett, who is moving to Edmonton this summer with her family. Murphy said she met with the coach who will be working with her in Edmonton while in Newfoundland, so she plans on continuing next year and will hopefully represent Alberta.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for the coach at nationals was the play of bantam bowler Sarah Kolton. Kolton finished with five points in her first ever appearance at nationals, which put her in eighth place.

'She averaged 164, which is 32 above her Whitehorse average,' he said. 'It was just incredible for her down there. She really did exceptionally well, better than I thought she would.'

Fellow bantam bowler Michael Heynan, who was also attending his first national competition, finished the tournament with three points. Murphy said Heynan bowled pretty much the same as he does in Whitehorse.

'He took a game off New Brunswick and defeated the N.W.T., those were his three points,' said the coach. 'He was the only one using a two-handed release. All of the other players his age were using a one-handed release, so I think that kind of inspired him to master the one-handed approach for next year.'

Junior girls' Alyssa Wheler recorded six points at the tournament, after splitting a two-game set with the silver medalist from Saskatchewan. She finished in 11th place.

'She didn't peak down there but she certainly didn't fall apart either,' said Murphy.

Craig Beauchemin, who attended his third national event, also bowled pretty much on par with what he does back home, picking up three points and finishing in 11th spot.

'He kind of picked the wrong place to make changes in his bowling style,' said Murphy. 'He was sort of experimenting and that may have hurt him a little bit.'

The final competitor for the Yukon was senior boys' bowler Shawn Hamilton. Hamilton, at his first ever nationals, grabbed one and a half points to place 13th.

'He was completely overwhelmed by the competition,' said the coach. 'It was tough. He needed 10 points just to get out of last spot the guy in 12th had ten points. He (Hamilton) just couldn't get his rhythm going down there.

'It was his first time going, so if he goes again next year, hopefully this experience will do him well.'

Muprhy said he and Wayne Beauchemin will need to work on a few things with all the bowlers, in anticipation of next year's nationals. They also picked up a few ideas from the P.E.I. team.

'They're similar to the Yukon,' said Murphy. 'It's a small community with two clubs. Their team of six came away with four medals. There's the inspiration to do a little better.

'They have a few more bowlers, but certainly what they've achieved is not out of reach for us.'

The team did find a few moments while in Newfoundland to tour the sites. They visited Cape Spear, the Easternmost part of North America, as well as Signal Hill, where they sent the first telegram to Europe.

'Everyone really enjoyed themselves,' said Murphy. 'The hospitality in Newfoundland was just great.'