By GENE J. KANAK
USBC Communications
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – The Junior Team USA men and women are in third and sixth place in their respective divisions after Thursday’s opening three-game block of U21 Team competition at the 2025 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship at Metrobowl Zone 15.
The American quartet of Brandon Bohn of Jackson, N.J.; Josh Hammons of Topeka, Kan.; Landin Jordan of Sycamore, Ill.; and Ernesto Reynoso of Folsom, Calif., finished Thursday’s opening round of U21 Men’s Team competition in third place in the nine-team field thanks to a three-game mark of 2,452 (an average of 204.33 per player per game).
Puerto Rico and Canada grabbed the top two spots in the men’s team standings on Thursday, coming in with scores of 2,533 and 2,505, respectively.
Bohn led the way for the American men, authoring a three-game total of 693 (a 231 average), which he got thanks to games of 237, 245 and 211. Hammons was second with 600 (197, 192 and 211). Reynoso added 583 (193, 214 and 176), and Jordan contributed 576 (162, 217 and 197).
Even though things didn’t go as smoothly as they would have liked on Thursday, Bohn and his teammates remain confident heading into Friday’s final three-game block of competition.
“Today felt a little different. The lanes were different, it was much hotter and we just never got anything going,” Bohn said. “Still, we have three more games tomorrow, and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got. We’ve come this far, and we know our abilities. We just need to go out and execute and hope the pins fall our way.”
The Junior Team USA women’s quartet of Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Ili.; Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Ga.; Jillian Martin of Stow; and Annalise OBryant of Ball Ground, Ga., will enter Friday’s final round playing catchup as well.
That’s because the American women finished sixth in the eight-team U21 Women’s Team standings on Thursday with a three-game tally of 2,216 (a 184.67 average per player per game).
Colombia led the pack at 2,424 while Canada (2,370), Guatemala (2,312), Mexico (2,241) and Puerto Rico (2,221) also landed in the top five after the first three-game block.
Even though the Junior Team USA women will start Friday’s final round of competition nearly 100 pins off the podium and more than 200 back of first place, Martin remains confident that she and her teammates are more than capable of putting their best foot forward when it matters most.
“We tried a bit of a different game plan going into today, but we still struggled to see a good picture and couldn’t string anything together,” Martin said. “We have another game plan going into tomorrow and three more games to be the confident, determined and resilient athletes that we know we are.”
Friday will be the final day of competition at this year’s tournament.
Once the action has concluded and all medals have been doled out, the closing ceremony will officially bring the 2025 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship to an end.
See complete results here: https://bowl.com/junior-team-usa/2025-ibf-youth-world-cup-897cdfa46834986552f3c50fe8d3ef2c