Record number play in cribbage tournament

FALLBROOK — The Eighth Annual Fallbrook Avocado Cribbage Tournament was played on January 24. Tournament director Obie Weeks reported that a record 72 players participated in the tournament, including players from Missouri, Colorado, Iowa and Nevada in addition to players from several counties in California.

Thanks to the donation of avocados by Calavo Growers and Del Rey Packing House, all players took home avocados. In addition, the 18 players who qualified in the main event and the top four winners in the consolation round toted home additional avocados.

The California Avocado Commission furnished an avocado scooper/slicer, recipe book and refrigerator magnet for all players. One player was heard mumbling after the consolation round, “It would have been a miserable day if it wasn’t for the avocados.”

During the lunch break a raffle was held. The winners received items donated by the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce.

The winner of the main event was Andrea Lawrence of Torrance. She also won the tournament last year. The second-place finisher was Nicki Newvine of Oceanside.

The semifinal places were won by Fred Kreutzkamp of Rancho Bernardo (his first American Cribbage Congress tournament) and Sylvia Sutton of Burbank.

At the end of the qualifying round Jean Cunningham of Oceanside had the top score.

David Yaeger came from Hartsville, MO, to play in this tournament and was trounced in the main qualifying round and wound up with the lowest score. To help soothe his nerves he was awarded a box of avocados.

Yaeger got his revenge in the 48-player consolation tournament, as he was second in the qualifying round. The high qualifier, Richard Smeltz from Englewood, CO, finished off the day by defeating Yaeger in the finals. Each got an additional box of avocados for having traveled the farthest to play in the tournament.

The semifinalists were Bill Metcalf of West Covina and Chresmon Ching of Las Vegas.

The top two winners and the highest qualifier in the main tournament and the winner of the consolation round were awarded hand-carved avocado trophies created by local wood carver Bob Jordan out of avocado wood.

Helping Weeks with the tournament were Mike Duffy, Barb Sacic, Clay Judd, Joe Fahey, Ethel Williams, Virginia Ballard, Marilyn Shader, Linda Borden, Ed Wozniak, Pat Duffy and Luella Brotherton.