BUTLER TWP — The best in Butler are going up against the best from all over.

Jacob Cookson and Megan Paul, the high-average bowlers for the Butler High School team this past season, have qualified for Junior Gold Nationals July 12-18 in the Buffalo, N.Y., area.

They are the only two bowlers from Butler County to qualify. They are the first from the county to get there since Chris Creeks of Zelienople in 2008. Creeks finished 12th at nationals that year.

“It seems surreal to me,” said Paul, who will be a senior at Butler this fall. “Getting to nationals my junior year is big for me because it’s the prime (college) recruiting time.”

Cookson and Paul qualified for nationals by winning Junior Gold qualifying tournaments earlier this year in the Pittsburgh area.

“I had to beat out 10 to 15 guys that day and it was the last qualifier I was going to compete in,” Cookson said. “I shot somewhere in the upper 900’s for a five-game set to win.”

Cookson, a 2014 Butler graduate, averaged 212 for the Golden Tornado his senior season. He averaged 205 in the Saturday youth program at Family Bowlaway.

Paul averaged 190 while winning her five-game qualifier. She averaged 178 for Butler this past season and 175 Saturdays at Family Bowlaway.

Both bowlers were eligible to compete in four Junior Gold qualifiers through their participation in the Junior Bowlers Regional Player Tour this year.

They will participate in the U-20 division at nationals and will be up against hundreds of bowlers from across the country and Puerto Rico.

“I’ve never done this before, so I’m not sure what to expect,” Cookson said. “You bowl a lot of games there ... Just go do your best and hope it’s good enough.

“I’ve still got some issues with my approach — my arm swing — I have to fix between now and then.”

Cookson is one of 45 male youths from Pennsylvania in the field. Paul is one of 15 females representing the Keystone State.

The U-20 boys will bowl five-game qualifying rounds at AMF Thruway Lanes in Cheektowaga, N.Y., Transit Lanes in Williamsville and AMF Airport Lanes in Cheektowaga.

The U-20 girls will bowl their five-game qualifiers at Classic Lanes in Kenmore, N.Y., Tonawanda Bowling Center in Tonawanda and AMF LancasterLanes in Depew.

"You get 15 games of qualifying, three different lanes, three different shots," Paul said. "All of the girls from Pennsylvania are bowling the same squad times. We want to have some fun up there, too."

After the 15 qualifying games, a ratio of one of every seven bowlers will move on to a five-game advancers round. The top 64 bowlers from there move on to the final five-game qualifying round.

The top survivors from there will compete in a double-elimination match-play bracket round to determine the champion. Total two-game pinfall will determine the winner of each match.

The four male and female bowlers representing Team Junior USA in 2015 will be selected from this tournament. The top two bowlers gain automatic berths.

Cookson and Paul both have hopes of bowling in college. Cookson was selected to attend a college combine in Arlington, Texas, next month.

"That's going on shortly after this tournament," Cookson said. "There will be 30 colleges down there to take a look at the bowlers.

"Hopefully, it's an opportunity I can take advantage of."

Paul will attend a college expo in Buffalo while at the Junior Gold Nationals.

"The best college bowling programs in the country will be there scouting this tournament," she said. "Right now, I'm looking at Pikeville (Ky.), Midland (Neb.), Wichita State ... I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do out there."