By GENE J. KANAK
USBC Communications
ALLEN PARK, Michigan – Sean Lavery-Spahr really enjoys competing in the United States Bowling Congress Masters these days.
Why wouldn’t he? After all, the 34-year-old right-hander from Pasadena, Texas, finished inside the top 15 during both the 2023 and 2024 events.
On Monday, he took the first steps toward making it three in a row when he averaged just under 240 to lead the 390-player field after Round 1 of qualifying at the 2025 USBC Masters, which is being contested at Thunderbowl Lanes.
Lavery-Spahr reached the top of the leaderboard by firing games of 246, 263, 263, 179 and 245 to finish with a five-game total of 1,196 (a 239.20 average) during B Squad’s opening round of action on Monday afternoon.
Brad Miller of O’Fallon, Mo., was second with 1,183, which left Michael Schlabach of Wakarusa, Ind. (1,182), Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa. (1,173) and Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich. (1,173) to claim the remaining spots in the Day 1 top five.
Sweden’s Rasmus Edvall, who captured his first Professional Bowlers Association Tour title at the PBA Scorpion Championship on March 16, fired the only perfect game during the opening round and finished tied for 28th place.
Among Ohioans in the field, Fairfield Park’s Vincent Bellar turned in the top Day 1 performance, sitting 10th with 1,138, followed by Versailles’ Michael Davidson in 11th with 1,130. Parma’s Patrick Dombrowski, runner-up in 2024, is 25th with 1,101.
Among other Ohioans in the top 100 of the 390-player field are Reynoldsburg’s Chad Roberts (tie for 32nds, 1,088); Toledo’s Charles Easton (tie for 35th, 1,081); Westerville’s Zeke Bayt (67th, 1,043); and Blackjack’s Chris Via (tie for 74th, 1,038).
Among area players, Massillon’s Frank Testa is tied at 151st with 991; Lewis Center’s Dan Higgins is 154th with 990; Willowick’s Dean Vargo is tied for 244th with 945; North Olmsted’s DJ Assaff is tied for 247th with 943; Brunswick’s Eric Bator is tied for 252nd with 937; Cuyahoga Falls’ Tyler Meredith is tied for 272nd at 928; Jefferson’s Casey Cohagan is 29st with 916; Parma’s Scott McIntire is tied for 321st with 885 after opening with 270; and Nova’s Cassidy Schaub is tied for 348th with 859.
Lavery-Spahr didn’t achieve perfection during Round 1; nevertheless, as far as he was concerned, his start was nearly flawless.
“I was super happy with how everything went today,” Lavery-Spahr said. “I really couldn’t ask for a much better start.”
Bowling on B Squad meant that Lavery-Spahr and his squad mates were the first competitors to face the burn on the 44-foot oil pattern being used at this year’s Masters.
Although he was forced to play the lanes somewhat differently than he originally anticipated, Lavery-Spahr thinks that facing the burn on Day 1 will end up working to his advantage in the long run.
“Today was a little bit different because A Squad started a lot further left than I thought they were going to,” Lavery-Spahr said. “I thought I was never going to end up even remotely close to being in front of the ball return, and I wound up in front of the ball return during the last two games.
“Still, to get the burn out of the way is nice because now I shouldn’t have to rely as much on what things are like pair to pair; it should be more about how I bowl.”
While keeping his name atop the leaderboard would certainly be nice, that won’t be Lavery-Spahr’s focus during his final two qualifying blocks.
“My goal at the Masters is always just to make the bracket,” Lavery-Spahr said. “I love this tournament and the match-play format. I’ve had a lot of success the last couple years, and I’m just looking to improve upon it.”
Lavery-Spahr and is fellow competitors will return to Thunderbowl Lanes on Tuesday for the second of three rounds of qualifying.
After 15 games, which includes two blocks on the fresh lane condition and one squad on the burn, the top 63 players will join defending champion DeeRonn Booker of Albuquerque, N.M., in the double-elimination bracket beginning Thursday.
Booker is guaranteed a spot in the bracket as the defending champion, but he can improve his seeding through qualifying. If he happens to finish qualifying outside of the top 63, he’ll be the No. 64 seed.
After the first round, Booker is tied for 151st place with a 991 total.
Qualifying and match play will remain consistent with previous editions of the event prior to the introduction of TV on March 29. The double-elimination bracket will be retained, and all matches leading up to the final eight competitors will feature three-game total-pinfall contests.
However, once the Elimination Bracket is down to the final six, television matches will start with four single-game matches replacing the final three-game head-to-head round and four-player shootout to determine the finalists for the stepladder. These matches will be broadcast live on FS1.
These TV matches will implement a knockout-style format with the winners of the first two games advancing to the finals of the Elimination Bracket. The advancers then will take on players who lost in the semifinals of the Winners Bracket with each winner earning a spot in the opening match of the stepladder on March 30.
The two players who emerge victorious from the semifinals of the Winners Bracket will earn automatic spots on the March 30 broadcast with a three-game total-pinfall match determining the top seed. This match will be broadcast at BowlTV.com.
With only four players advancing to the stepladder, the top seed will need to be defeated twice on FOX to be denied the title.
The stepladder at the 2025 event will be March 30 at noon Eastern on FOX, with the champion taking home a spot in the tournament’s storied history, a major title on the PBA Tour and the $100,000 top prize.
The hourglass lane pattern released before Sunday’s practice sessions was another creative (or insert preferred adjective here) offering of Hoagland.
The oil pattern, created by GlenOak High School graduate Nick Hoagland, is 44 feet with a 42-foot drop brush, 32.57 mL of Kegel Ice oil — all forward with no reverse — left-side ratios of 1.46-1 middle-outside track, 1.11-1 middle-middle track and 1-1 middle-inside track, and right-side ratios of 1.5-1 middle-outside track, 1.11-1 middle-middle track and 1-1 middle-inside track.
A look at the pattern is attached below.
USBC Masters Schedule
Thunderbowl Lanes | Allen Park, MI
All times Eastern
Tuesday, March 25
8 a.m. — B-squad Qualifying Round 2 (five games)
12:30 p.m. — C-squad Qualifying Round 2 (five games)
6:30 p.m — A-squad Qualifying Round 2 (five games)
Wednesday, March 26
8 a.m. — C-squad Qualifying Round 3 (five games)
12:30pm — A-squad Qualifying Round 3 (five games)
6:30pm — B-squad Qualifying Round 3 (five games)
Top 64 players (or top 63 players and defending champion, DeeRonn Booker) advance to double-elimination match play
Thursday, March 27
10 a.m. — First round (left side of bracket)
12:30 p.m. — First round (right side of bracket)
2:30pm — All first round winners
5 p.m. — Match play continues
Friday, March 28
10 a.m. — Match play continues
2 p.m. — Match play continues
Saturday, March 39
12:00 p.m. (FS1) — Preliminary Round
Sunday, March 30
12:00 p.m. (FOX) — USBC Masters stepladder finals