For Bill Kuszaj and Sharon Shoemaker, the 2005 men's and women's Citizen Masters champions respectively, it was a return to glory for the older generation of bowlers.

Likewise, Cory Slater and Sandy Vertz put on a great show for the younger generation as this year's runner-ups.

All four displayed the type of bowling and sportsmanship that adds to the dignity and grace that has been a tradition of Masters champions and runner-ups for many years.

For 16 years, Bill Kuszaj was stuck with the label of 1989 runner-up, but now that has been replaced with a new label of 2005 men's Masters champion. Bill has been an example of a soft-spoken, likeable bowler for many years who has let his bowling do the talking for him and that has been nothing short of greatness.

Kuszaj became the second-oldest bowler ever to win the Masters (58); Gabe Rosetti was the oldest at age 60 when he won his title in 1976 at Cayuga Lanes over a great, young bowler named Tony Iacobelli who has since moved to Florida.

Kuszaj also holds the record for the longest span between being a runner-up and then winning a Masters title, 16 years (1989 to 2005). The previous record was 12 years, held by Joe Bachman III who was a runner-up for the first time in 1981 to Shawn Murphy (added two more runner-up finishes in 1991 and 1992 to Paul Liechti and Rich Guzalak respectively) before winning his only Masters crown in 1993 over Mike Crowley.

Shoemaker, by winning, combined with her victories in 2000 and 2001 has now tied Shirley Tenity for second place for the most women's titles with three each trailing only Sally Mentillo (four).

Both Kuszaj and Shoemaker are prime examples of past great Masters champions who quietly go about their business and let their bowling abilities and talents talk for them. They are not "grand-standers" or "showboats" on the lanes, but that does not mean they are not as fierce as other competitors with more flamboyant styles when it comes to their desire to win.

Slater and Vertz, as the two youngest finalists, represented the new generation of bowlers well also. Slater has the enthusiasm of the younger bowlers with loud hand slaps when he gets a key strike, but does not go overboard with his enthusiasm and keeps his emotions in check depending on the situation.

Vertz made a great effort in attempting to defend her crown by almost completing a dramatic run from the loser's bracket when she had to bowl six straight, pressure-packed matches over two days.

It is a monumental task for any bowler (man or woman) to try to win six matches in a row on the final weekend from the loser's bracket over a two-day span and she almost pulled it off. Vertz would never use it as an excuse, but when she split her thumb open in the third match Sunday, it had to affect her bowling in the last match both physically and mentally.

This is not taking anything away from Shoemaker, who rebounded from her first loss in the first match of the finals to throw a 700 series (718) to win her third Masters title in true championship style. Shoemaker (on Saturday) also shot the only 300 game by a woman in the Women's Citizen Masters 31-year history, another great accomplishment.

As has been mentioned many times in the past, once it gets down to the finals, there are no winners or losers, just the champion and the runner-up as both are champions with one being the winner's bracket champion and the other the loser's bracket champion.

This year was no exception as all four finalists were champions in the true sense of the word.