Superior, Colo., August 13, 2021 – The Billiard Education Foundation recently held its 33^rd annual Junior National Pool Championships, Tuesday, July 27 to Friday, July 30. The event attracted more than 130 of the top junior pool players across the country.

During the event, the Billiard Education Foundation recognized more than 85 players as Academic All Americans, as they all had a grade point average of 3.0 GPA or better. Of those players, 39 players had a 4.0 GPA or higher. Along with the Academic All Americans, the BEF also recognized Alessandra Alejandro and Niko Konkel as the recipients of this year’s Brenden Crocket Sportsman Award for exemplifying the ideals of sportsmanship while at the pool table with ethical behavior, fair play, and integrity throughout the event.

During the week-long tournament BCA Hall of Famer Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman also made his 27th consecutive appearance and held his annual artistic pool competition. Dr. Cue presented the 2021 Artistic Pool awards to this year’s champions: Landon Hollingsworth (U18 boys division), Joey Tate (U16 boys division), Grayson Vaughan (U14 boys division), Hayleigh Marion (U18 girls division), Hayleigh Marion (U16 girls division), and Chole Tate (U14 girls division).

On Friday July 30^th the Junior National Pool Championships concluded with the final matches in each category. In an effort to aligned with the WPA World Junior 9-Ball Championship, the BEF awarded gold, silver and bronze medals to the top three finishers of each division.

The finalist of this year’s BEF Junior National 9-Ball Championships presented by Iwan Simonis are:

Gold medalists:

•        18UB Landon Hollingsworth (Greenville, SC)

•        18UG Aryana Lynch (Allen, TX)

•        16UB Landon Hollingsworth (Greenville, SC)

•        16UG Kennedy Meyman (White Bear Lake, MN)

•        14UB Harry Leinen (Waconia, MN)

•        14UG Hayleigh Marion (Bristol, VA)

Silver medalists:

•        18UB Riley Adkins (West Jefferson, OH)

•        18UG Sofia Mast (Land O Lakes, FL)

•        16UB Joey Tate (Elm City, NC)

•        16UG Elli Gonzales (Normal, IL)

•        14UB Kyle Yi (Sugarland, TX)

•        14UG Skylar Hess (Queenstown, MD)

Bronze medalists:

•        18UB Eric Roberts (Crossville, TN)

•        18UG Tiana Jiang (Harvard, MA)

•        16UB Lazaro Martinez III (New Braunfels, TX)

•        16UG Hayleigh Marion (Bristol, VA)

•        14UB Konner McFadyen (New Port Richey, FL)

•        14UG Bethany Tate (Elm City, NC)

This year’s event also has 2 new divisions: the U22 10-Ball National Championship presented by Diamond Billiard Products; and U18 8-Ball National Championship presented by Lucasi Cues. Both inaugural events allowed for both male and female competitors to compete alongside one another for a very dynamic and competitive event that will return in 2022. Finalists for the 2021 10-Ball and 8-Ball events are:

U22 10-Ball National Championships presented by Diamond Billiard Products

·      Gold Medalist: Mason Koch (Appleton, WI)

·      Silver Medalist: Justin Toye (Ormond Beach, Florida)

·      Bronze Medalist: Ricky Evans (St. Charles, MO)

U18 8-Ball National Championships presented by Lucasi Cues

·      Gold Medalist: Gabriel Martinez (New Braunfels, TX)

·      Silver Medalist: Lazaro Martinez III (New Braunfels, TX)

·      Bronze Medalist: Trenton White (Plant City, FL)

Sponsors for this year’s event included:

•        Aramith

•        AZ Billiards

•        BBTV Productions

•        Billiards Digest

•        Diamond Billiard Products

•        Iwan Simonis

•        J. Pechauer Custom Cues

•        Jacoby Cues

•        Lucasi Cues

•        Master Chalk

•        Predator Group

•        Seyberts

•        Ultimate Team Gear

•        Viking Cues

About Billiard Education Foundation

The Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) was formed in 1993 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity committed to promoting a love of pool and building the next generation of players through youth programs and academic scholarships. The BEF is managed by the Billiard Congress of America. For more information about the BEF or to learn how you can support the foundation please visit BilliardEducation.org.

Billiard Education Foundation | 303.243.5070 | BilliardEducation.org