Vineland Pool Player Dominates National Championships

“Jersey Devil” Jose Vicente of Vineland dominated the 37th Annual Junior National Pool Championships, hosted by the Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) in July at the Oakley Lindsay Civic Center in Quincy, IL. 

He swept the 16 and under boys 9-Ball finals and took the gold with a commanding 8-2 win over Colton Peach of Princeton, IL. For the win, Vicente took home a $500 BEF scholarship and a Predator cue case. Hayden Ernst of Louisville shared the bronze with Shane Petrick of Bellaire, TX.

Vicente grabbed another gold in the Junior/national 14.1 Straight Pool Championship. In an electrifying final, Vicente unleashed two remarkable runs of 28 and 29 balls to defeat “Wolverine” Kaden Herrbach and clinch the gold medal in the 14.1 discipline. At the end of their match Vicente went on to complete an astonishing 68-ball run. Vicente garnered a second $500 scholarship for this win. He took home a $1,000 prize for the high run of 68 balls, beating girls tournament-wide competitor Sofia Mast, who had 21.

Vicente took second in a dramatic finish in the 18 and under boys competition. After losing his first match, 17-year-old “Fast Eddie” Vondra of Rapid City, SD, stormed through the  bracket, clinching the title in a nail-biting hill-hill final against Vicente. 

“Jersey Devil” took home the silver, though, along with a $500 scholarship and a prestigious Lacasi cue.

For the first time in its history, the BEF Junior Nationals were part of the inaugural USA National Pool Championships, which included the $20,000-added Masters USA Pool Championships and as well as the annual Wheelchair National Pool Championships—bringing together multiple levels of the sport under one roof.