By DAVE SCHROEDER
USBC Communications
INDIANAPOLIS – Eight players, four boys and four girls, remain in the Winners Brackets after two rounds of double-elimination match play in the 20-and-under division of the 2023 Junior Gold Championships Wednesday at Royal Pin Western.
Among those eight players are four current members of Junior Team USA. On the boys side, Julian Salinas of Richmond, Texas, and Carter Street of Dublin, Ohio, are the Junior Team USA representatives. They are joined in the Winners Bracket by Austin Grammar of Hamersville, Ohio, and David Hayes of Terre Haute, Indiana.
In the girls division, Junior Team USA members Jaelle Hamman of Jarrell, Texas, and Jillian Martin of Stow are joined on the undefeated side of the bracket by Emma Siekierski of Davison, Michigan, and Jenna Stretch of Auburn Township, Ohio. Martin also is a member of Team USA.
Defending champions and Junior Team USA members Justin Bohn of Jackson, N.J., and Anna Callan of La Crosse, Wis., still are alive in the Elimination Brackets, as are fellow Junior Team USA members Bobby Habetler of Chicago, Nathan Smith of Noblesville, Ind., Annalise Obryant of Ball Ground, Ga., and Brianna Rogers of Florence, S.C..
The rest of the field in the Elimination Brackets are Lucas Buck of Grand Rapids, Mich., Parker Laubach of Bethlehem, Pa., Connor Pula of Evergreen Park, Illinois, Brendan Salo of Dayton and Ryan Speer of Beech Grove, Ind., in the boys division. Maya Avilez of Staten Island, N.Y., Alyssa Ballard of Keller, Texas, Brystal Beyer of Ogdensburg, Wis., Marissa Bills of Marion, Iowa, and Hope Bunk of Billings, Mont., complete the girls side.
The double-elimination match play format features two-game total pinfall matches.
Highlights from match play in the boys division included:
- Salinas staying in the Winners Bracket by edging out Habetler in Round 2 of match play, 414-412.
- Hayes rolling 475, the best score over the first two rounds of match play, to send Buck to the Elimination Bracket after Buck had survived an opening round match over Salo, 326-324.
- Bohn winning a battle of Junior Team USA members in an Elimination Bracket match against Spencer Robarge of Springfield, Missouri, 458-425.
- Street defeating Pula in an opening round match by a mere four pins, 414-410.
Highlights from the girls side included:
- Martin’s continued dominance. She led the final four rounds of qualifying and then won her first two matches Wednesday.
- Stretch posting the high score in match play (486), to put defending champion Callan into the Elimination Bracket.
- Siekierski coming up clutch in the 10th frame of Game 2 in her match against Beyer to earn a 375-372 win.
- Hammon, who won the U18 division of this event in 2021, rolling two sets above 400 in the first two rounds of match play (401 and 422). She was the only female player to do so.
- Bunk and Obryant each pulling out two-pin wins in Elimination Bracket matches to stay alive, and Rogers doing the same with a three-pin win.
The U20 division concludes Thursday with the final rounds of match play in the morning, followed by the stepladder finals in the afternoon.
Three players will emerge from bracket play to compete in the stepladder finals to determine the champion. The two finalists in the match-play bracket will bowl to determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds for the stepladder, while the winner of the Elimination Bracket will be the No. 3 seed.
BowlTV.com will carry all the action live until the stepladder finals, which will be taped for broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
The finals in the U20 division will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern at Royal Pin Western and can be seen on CBS Sports Network Tuesday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. Eastern.
In addition to the Junior Gold Championships, Wednesday featured the start of the 2023 USA Bowling National Championshipswith qualifying at Mike Aulby’s Arrowhead Bowl. The team representing the Ohio Valley region leads in the U15 division with a 15-game total pinfall of 3,270 and a 12-3 record. In the U12 division, the team representing the Lower Great Lakes region is leading with an 11-game total pinfall of 2,086 and a record of 8-2.
Complete qualifying results for the USA Bowling National Championships can be found by clicking here.
The USA Bowling National Championships conclude Thursday with match play in the morning at Mike Aulby’s Arrowhead Bowl, followed by the finals of the event Thursday evening at Royal Pin Western (U12 division at 5 p.m.; U15 division at 8 p.m.) BowlTV.com will live stream the competition until the finals, which will be taped by CBS Sports Network and will air on consecutive Tuesday evenings in July at 7 p.m. Eastern. The U12 division will July 18 and the U15 division will air July 25.
Complete U20 standings and bracket results can be found by clicking here.