The next challenge on the PBA Tour takes players to Jackson, Michigan, for the 2022 Storm Cup: David Small’s Best of the Best Championship starting at 11 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday only on FloBowling.

One player that always has support around him is Jake Peters. The former Wichita State collegiate All-American is focused and ready to perform as he seeks to ride his current momentum on the way to his second PBA Tour title. Already this season, Peters earned his way onto Team USA, finished third in the West Region at the 2022 PBA Players Championship and his motivation is stronger than ever.

He isn’t just bowling for himself, it’s a team effort. He is motivated to do better, to be better and to push harder because he knows his late wife, Melissa, is watching every shot he makes. If he isn’t putting in 100 percent effort, he can hear her yelling at him, “focus, let’s go.”

“It feels like I have her behind me,” he said of Melissa’s constant presence. “That is really what keeps me motivated. I am not going to let her down. I say I have the world’s most beautiful and greatest guardian angel.”

They met while attending Wichita State University and both were on the bowling team. Melissa was part of the 2007 and 2009 National Championship women’s team, while Peters was a three-time USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships winner.

For Peters, it was love at first sight. He thought Melissa was strong, independent and beautiful. As their friendship grew and they started dating, they quickly became inseparable. They traveled the world together.

“She was my best friend, my partner, my coach, my person,” the 32-year-old said. “We did everything together.”

Melissa’s Fight

In May, Peters lost his biggest supporter to an aggressive form of breast cancer called HER2-positive. Feb. 5 would have been her 35^th birthday and Peters feels her presence even more when he is on the lanes. Her initials MLP are on the right collar of every bowling shirt and on his left wrist he wears a pink and gray bracelet. It reads, “Never Defeated and Team Melissa.” So, she is with him for every shot.

“She made me promise that I would focus on my career and go forward,” he said. “When things happened, and I came back home, bowling was the thing that makes it feel like her and I are doing this together.”

Two months after Melissa was gone, Peters turned his focus to competing on the PBA Tour full time. He finished second at the 2021 Lubbock Sports Open.

“I have had unbelievable people in my life between my family and my PBA family really helping me get back on my feet and get my life going forward,” he said.

He would get calls from members of his Wichita State family, like Sean Rash, Ashley and Kris Prather, Jessica and Ryan Abel, and Josh Blanchard, among so many others. After the 2021 season was over, his tour roommate, Richard Teece, stayed in Las Vegas to help with Peters’ dogs and the house while Melissa was in the hospital.

“We always joked about this being a family,” he said. “But when the real world happened, just to see it happen, was unreal. It made me realize how lucky I am to have those people. There is no way I can ever thank them all enough.”

Peters was in awe of Melissa’s positive spirit throughout her battle and believes “she was absolutely never defeated.”

“With what she went through, I will always say that medicine was not advanced enough to save her,” he said. “She never failed. She fought and fought. So, what became her motto is no matter how much we get beaten down we are never defeated. Even though she is not here today, I continue the fight for her and for us.”

Peters also grew even closer to his mother-in-law Cathy Hurst, and now Hurst, his brothers and sisters-in-law, along with his nieces and nephews are his biggest fans.

Sportsmanship Award

In January, when Peters was selected to be on Team USA, he felt the support of his PBA family once again.

“There’s 10 guys on that stage unbelievably happy just for me, unselfishly,” he said. “That was so insane, and they will never understand what I was feeling. It is unbelievable motivation. To be in this family is just amazing.”

Peters was also humbled to find out he was the only nominee for the 2021 PBA Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award.

In recognition of his sportsmanship on and off the lanes, Jake Peters was selected as the 2021 Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award winner by his fellow PBA Tour competitors! 🏆

Read about Peters’ win and reaction ➡️ https://t.co/klI2w76c9N pic.twitter.com/p1Mpl36Tly

— PBA Tour (@PBATour) December 14, 2021

“The year that my family went through, to have those guys think about us and me,” he reflected, “was just really overwhelming.”

And now Peters looks to add to his regional tour success by winning a national title. His first PBA title came with Melissa in the audience at the 2013 Lucas Oil PBA Badger Open. He just happened to defeat fellow Shocker Josh Blanchard.

The Storm Cup

Now, as he prepares to bowl in the Best of the Best Championship, he will be bowling inside a center he has never been in before which excites him.

Day one on Tuesday will include two six-game blocks of qualifying to determine the top 24. On Wednesday, the remaining players will bowl four games starting at 10 a.m. Eastern before cutting to the top 16, followed by two more rounds of cuts until the final four advance to the stepladder finals. The finals will begin at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday exclusively on FloBowling.

Peters plans to stay focused and remember he has the greatest guardian angel and coach providing him with all the motivation he needs.

“To be completely honest, this year has been a surprise,” he admits. “I just want to get back in the winner’s circle. With everything that has happened, I think that would be the best way to show I have worked hard, and I can honor Mel by hoisting a trophy because she has pushed me to get there.”