By AARON SMITH
USBC Communications
BATON ROUGE, La. – The members of Bowlers Headquarters of Neenah, Wis., took over the top spot in Team All-Events by 166 pins Friday at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, posting a 10,053 total at the Raising Cane’s River Center.
After taking over fourth place in Regular Team on Thursday with a 3,242 total, the team — comprised of William Welch, James Tucker III, Joe Vrobel, Chad Kloss and 2019 Regular Singles champion Mitch Beasley — averaged more than 227 as a unit across doubles and singles to roll to the top of the standings.
The team closed their singles set with a 1,252 total, highlighted by a 289 game from Beasley.
Tucker led the team with an all-events total of 2,092 and was followed by Welch (2,057), Kloss (1,987), Beasley (1,971) and Vrobel (1,946).
Mento Produce of Auburn, N.Y., had held the lead in Team All-Events since April 10 with 9,887.
ANOTHER 800 POSTED
Dave Dentlinger of Carroll, Iowa, recorded the fourth 800 series of the 2025 Open Championships on Thursday to earn a pair of spots in the top 10 of the standings.
The 48-year-old right-hander got just enough to get exactly to 800 during his doubles set at the Raising Cane’s River Center, rolling games of 269, 289 and 242.
The performance helped Dentlinger and Mark Porter of Lincoln, Neb., into fourth place in Regular Doubles with a 1,439 total. Porter had games of 215, 212 and 212 for a 639 series.
Dentlinger put together another strong set in singles, finishing with 715, to also work his way into seventh place in Regular All-Events with 2,105. He averaged more than 252 across his six games in minors Thursday after starting his 20th consecutive appearance at the USBC Open Championships with 590 in team on Wednesday.
Joey Robillard of Farmington, Minn., and Robert Clements of Plymouth, Minn., lead Regular Doubles with 1,494, and Ashland’s Cassidy Schaub is at the top of the standings in Regular All-Events with 2,158.
Dentlinger connected for 16 consecutive strikes across Games 1 and 2, including the first 10 in Game 2. He started Game 3 with six strikes but opened in the seventh frame.
A double in the eighth and ninth gave him several paths to 800, but the road narrowed after leaving a 10 pin to start the final frame. He covered the spare, which meant he needed at least nine pins on his fill ball. Dentlinger got to the pocket one more time, leaving the 4 pin to secure the honor score.
Dentlinger’s top two performances in all-events at the Open Championships have both taken place at the River Center in Baton Rouge.
He posted 2,019 for all-events during his trip to Red Stick in 2012, finishing the year in 65th place.
His top series prior to Thursday’s run occurred during the 2019 event in Las Vegas. He posted 746 in singles to finish in the top 40.
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.