Sporting facial hair and carrying himself with an air of confidence, Brandon Boekelman doesn’t look like your average 17-year-old.

He definitely doesn’t bowl like one.

Boekelman, who recently completed his junior year at Albert Lea High School, has established himself as one of the best bowlers in Minnesota in the Youth Division, which includes competitors through age 22.

For the second year in a row he’ll test his skills among the best in the nation, though this time he’s going with drastically different expectations.

Boekelman will compete in the USA Junior Gold Bowling National Championships July 12-18 in St. Louis, Mo., where 1,081 participants will vie for more than $50,000 in scholarship money.

He earned the trip for a second straight year by finishing first in a qualifying tournament at Cedarvale Lanes in Eagan earlier this year. It capped an outstanding regular season for Boekelman in the Twin Cities Youth Masters League.

Averaging 213 in league competition, Boekelman was the favorite in the national-qualifying tournament and he came through in a big way. His biggest rival, carrying a 210 average, finished about 100 pins behind Boekelman for six games.

Boekelman rolled a 698 series and then a career-best 781 for 1,479 total pins. His best game was 287.

“It was my best day ever,” said Boekelman. “I was just real focused. The lanes were in my favor.”

Last year, Boekelman was among the last of Minnesota’s 35 national qualifiers and went on to finish around the middle of about 1,800 bowlers in the Orlando, Fla. area.

Because no qualifying scores are posted, Boekelman has no way of knowing how his scores stack up in this year’s national tournament. But he’s hopeful of improving on his showing last year,aiming for the top third.

Boekelman, the son of Ron and Sandy Boekelman, has been bowling since age 8, and made the news three years ago by bowling a 700 series in the Holiday Lanes youth leagues. Since then he’s competed on five Albert Lea High School teams, including last year’s squad that finished third in the state tournament.

Boekelman is also in his second year on the board of directors for the Minnesota Youth Bowling Association, a position he’ll hold through age 22.

Boekelman said he practices at least three days a week, usually for two hours. He credited Don White, his coach in the Twin Cities who drills Boekelman’s bowling balls at Airport Bowl in Richfield, for helping him with his game.

Also active in marching band and jazz band, Boekelman hopes to have a career in aerospace engineering. And, while he’ll have a shot at scholarships through this year’s national tournament and others, some kind of scholarship seems inevitable. In addition to his 200-pluus average on the lanes, Boekelman carries a 4.0 grade point average in the classroom.