FROM WIRE REPORTS
MINNEAPOLIS – Qualifying came to an end at 10 bowling centers in the Greater Minneapolis area on Thursday, and now a 2026 Junior Gold Championships field that began with nearly 3,500 athletes on Monday has been cut down to a little over 450.
U18 BOYS
Braden McDonough of Coppell, Texas, saved his best qualifying performance for last, rolling games of 247, 246, 256 and 279 on Thursday to come in with a fourth-round score of 1,028. That monster set pushed McDonough’s final qualifying total to 3,634 for 16 games (a 227.1 average).
Hunter Wyszynski of New Boston, Mich., earned second place in the final U18 Boys qualifying race with a four-day mark of 3,628.
Brett Biondo of Carpentersville, Ill., was third in line at 3,600, which left spots four and five to be claimed by Spiros Schenk of Newnan, Ga., and Kai Strothers of Maplewood, N.J., who came in with totals of 3,596 and 3,585, respectively.
Dan’d Acock of Pahrump, Nev., and Wesley Tribble of Bella Vista, Ariz., were the last two athletes to make the cut to the U18 Boys Advancers’ Round, finishing qualifying with matching four-round scores of 3,250 (a 203.1 average) to tie for 131st place.
Acock, who moved on by finishing Round 4 with a 300 game, will try to keep the momentum going when U18 Boys Advancers’ Round competition kicks off at 8:30 a.m. Friday from AMF Southtown.
Northeast Ohio players who made the cut include Akron’s Wade Allen (22nd, 3,453), after shooting 905 the final round; Cleveland’s Zachary Smeal (37th, 3,406); New Frankllin’s Aidan Jensen (50th, 3,358), who shot 930 the final day; Ashland’s Max Oeken (64th, 3,326), who shot 828 on Day 4; Cuyahoga Falls’ Jonathan Rasch (71st, 3,320), who shot 821 on the final day; North Ridgeville’s Kevin Peto Jr. (86th, 3,299); Elyria’s Aiden Salkiewicz (94th, 3,287); Amhersts’s Brady Smith (108th, 3,268); and Wadsworth’s Hayden Eagon-Mohlmaster (102th 3,256), who used 927 the final day to make the cut.
U18 GIRLS
Taylor Kretz of Erie, Pa., led U18 Girls qualifying from start to finish and established a new 16-game division scoring record in the process, finishing with a four-day total of 3,554 (a 221.1 average) – Kaitlyn Stull of Raleigh, N.C., set the previous mark of 3,542 during the 2024 tournament in Detroit.
Kretz broke Stull’s record thanks to a closing set of 946 on Thursday, which included games of 223, 233, 266 and 224.
Bellefontaine’s Kyndallynn Hood remained in second place with a 16-game score of 3,448.
Larielle Tharps of Orlando, Fla. (3,309) was third, and defending champion Elena Weinstok of Costa Rica (3,273) qualified fourth. The final position in the top five went to Trishna Desai of Nesconset, N.Y. (3,269).
The last three bowlers to qualify for the U18 Girls Advancers’ Round were Brianna Archabal of Boise, Idaho; Katarina Cameron of Conneautville, Pa.; and Lily Topinka of Mayer, Minnesota; who tied for 52nd place with identical 16-game totals of 2,947 (a 184.2 average).
The lone Northeast Ohioans moving on was Sandusky’s Olivia Lizzi (50th, 2,949). Uniontown’s Payton Taylor was the next highest finisher (84th, 2,854).
U18 Girls Advancers’ Round competition will start at 8:30 a.m. Friday and be held at Lucky Strike Eden Prairie.
U16 BOYS
Ryan Carmichael of South Bend, Ind., secured his status as qualifying leader by posting a four-day, 16-game total of 3,746 (a 234.1 average), which included 951 during Round 4 on Thursday when he rolled games of 258, 216, 267 and 210.
Donaven Kline of Manasquan, N.J., tallied 935 (227, 210, 269 and 229) of his own during fourth-round play to qualify second with 3,611.
Jason Grothus of Bettendorf, Iowa, grabbed third place with 3,606, which left fourth and fifth, respectively, to Ryan Campbell of Clinton, S.C. (3,576), and Kristofer Wagner of Deland, Fla. (3,575). Wagner put up a Round 4 block total of 1,017 (236, 289, 256, 236).
Three athletes tied for the 101st and final berth in the U16 Boys Advancers’ Round. The trio featured Amari Browder of Cedar Hill, Texas; Hayden Grezenski of Ringle, Wis.; and Nathaniel Page of Wichita, Kan., who all ended qualifying with 16-game totals of 3,261 (a 203.8 average).
Northeast Ohio bowlers set for bonus bowling are Parma’s Zachary Mayne (59th, 3,334); and Sunbury’s Mason Woodward (60th, 3,332), who shot 925 the final day.
Advancers’ Round play for U16 Boys will get underway at 8:30 a.m. Friday from Lucky Strike Lakeville.
U16 GIRLS
Emma Lester of Daleville, Ala., completed the sweep by finishing atop the U16 Girls standings for the fourth consecutive day. Lester rolled games of 208, 232, 239 and 248 on Thursday to post a Round 4 block total of 927, which pushed her four-day qualifying score to 3,409 (a 213.1 average).
Ava Mazza of Utica, Mich., was next in line at 3,285. Briar Graham of Norton Shores, Mich. (3,235), qualified third, leaving the final positions in the overall top five for Laelah Tiquia of Auburn, Wash. (3,216), and Makayla Pressley of Vale, N.C. (3,212).
The battle for the final spot in the Advancers’ Round was just as close, but Kaylee Dwyer of Coram, N.Y., earned the last berth thanks to a four-day, 16-game total of 2,821 (a 176.3 average). Eighteen players finished within 50 pins of Dwyer for the final advancing position.
Boardman’s Brooklyn Bailey missed the cut by just three pins (49th, 2,818), shooting 152 her final game.
The first U16 Girls Advancers’ Round is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. from Concord Lanes.
U14 BOYS
Thomas Carter of Attleboro, Mass., finished as qualifying leader among U14 Boys thanks to a four-day, 16-game total of 3,338 (a 208.6 average). That mark included 826 during Round 4 on Thursday, featuring scores of 215, 186, 229 and 196.
Nehemiah Keefer of Bellwood, Ill., was Carter’s closest pursuer, qualifying second with a mark of 3,216. The remaining spots in the division’s qualifying top five were secured by Arryn Odujebe of Manassas, Va., (3,212), Brennan Brandel of Saginaw, Mich. (3,203), and Andrew Crook of Yakima, Wash. (3,179).
Fifty-five of the 388 athletes in the U14 Boys division moved on to the Advancers’ Round. The last player in was Jack Cabral of Milford, Conn., who snatched up the last spot with a four-day qualifying total of 2,872 (a 179.5 average).
Wooster’s Chase Kauffman (13th, 3,063) shot 757 Day 4, and Lorain’s Owen Bunch (42nd, 2,944) had 788 to be the lone Northeast Ohioans to advance.
The first U14 Boys Advancers’ Round will kick off Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern from Mermaid Entertainment.
U14 GIRLS
Alyssa Randisi of Brooklyn, N.Y., closed qualifying with a scintillating set of 856 courtesy of games of 255, 208, 238 and 185. That performance pushed Randisi to a 16-game total of 3,005 (a 187.8 average), which was good enough for first place in the final U14 Girls qualifying standings.
Olivia Titus of St. Charles, Mo., wasn’t far behind, qualifying second thanks to a four-day tally of 2,960.
Caitlin Stahl of Mankato, Minn. (2,922), earned third place while Daisy Newton of Hanover, Pa. (2,903), and Symphony Hill of Kenosha, Wis. (2,869), came in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Twenty-six athletes remained in contention for this year’s U14 Girls national title by moving on to the Advancers’ Round. Keira Sampson of Dallas was last to the party, securing the final advancing spot with a final qualifying total of 2,637 (a 164.8 average).
No Ohioans advanced.
The first Advancers’ Round in U14 Girls play will get started at 8:30 a.m. Friday at Mermaid Entertainment.
U12 BOYS
Gleason Garske of Spokane, Wash., set a new U12 Boys four-game record with 966 during Round 4 on Thursday, firing games of 279, 228, 246 and 213. That amazing effort allowed Garske to finish qualifying with a four-day total of 3,304 (a 206.5 average), the second-highest 16-game mark in division history – Ridgely Potter Jr. of Clearwater, Fla., holds the record with 3,415, which he authored during the 2022 Junior Gold Championships in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Colin Park of San Jose, Calif., ended qualifying in second place with 3,189 while Japan’s Taiga Minagawa wound up in third at 3,023. Cooper Powell of Allen, Texas (3,015), and Bryson Cavanaugh of Random Lake, Wis. (2,999), also secured top-five finishes.
Justin Kulka of Canton, Mich., secured the 34th and final Advancers’ Round berth among U12 Boys thanks to a four-day qualifying total of 2,768 (a 173 average).
Columbus’ Aaron Cabiness (ninth, 2,962) is the lone Ohioan to advance.
Advancers’ Round play for U12 Boys will be contested at Cedarvale Lanes at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
U12 GIRLS
Stevie Newton of Hanover, Pa., was steady on Thursday, posting scores of 173, 226, 190 and 184 for a Round 4 total of 773. That pushed Newton’s overall qualifying tally to 2,959 for 16 games (a 184.9 average), which allowed her to finish atop the division standings.
Second place went to Kailynn Melvin of Tonganoxie, Kan., who used a stellar 878 (181, 203, 225 and 269) to finish qualifying at 2,842.
Spots three, four and five, respectively, were captured by Hannah Black of Butte, Mont. (2,814), Taylor Morgan of Murfreesboro, Tenn. (2,764), and Madelynn Miodynski of Elmhurst, Ill. (2,707).
The last two spots in the U12 Girls Advancers’ Round went to Madelyn Motz of Rockville Centre, N.Y., and Sophia Rebstock of Evansville, Ind., who tied for 17th place with matching 16-game totals of 2,549 (a 159.3 average).
No Ohioans made the cut.
The U12 Girls Advancers’ Round competition begins at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Cedarvale Lanes.
See complete results from qualifying here: https://bowl.com/youth/youth-tournaments/junior-gold-championships/2026-results
MORE HONOR SCORES ON DAY 4
After seven 300 games and an 815 series were recorded during Round 3 on Wednesday, Junior Gold spectators were left wondering what this year’s group of talented athletes would do for an encore.
The answer was that they would keep the fireworks coming Thursday with four more perfect games and several impressive series.
Three of Thursday’s 300s were authored by competitors in the U18 Boys division while the fourth came out of U16 Boys action.
The perfect games recorded among U18 Boys were achieved by Aiden Petersen of Wayne, Neb.; Zayne Shockency of Canton, Ill.; and Dan’d Acock of Pahrump, Nev.
Petersen’s perfecto was part of a 943 block total that included scores of 190, 300, 207 and 246. Shockency wasn’t far behind, posting 932 thanks to games of 224, 300, 230 and 178.
Acock landed in the middle with 934 (190, 210, 234 and 300). His was perhaps the most meaningful 300 of the three in the U18 Boys division, however, as it was his first certified perfect game, and it allowed him to make the cut to the division’s Advancers’ Round during his debut appearance at the Junior Gold Championships.
Columbus’ Miles Gordon was the lone U16 Boys athlete to shoot 300 on Thursday. He finished qualifying with scores of 187, 300, 186 and 207 for an 880 series that propelled him to 30th place in his division’s final qualifying standings.
TAKING A RUN AT TEAM USA
National titles aren’t the only prizes up for grabs at the 2026 Junior Gold Championships. Spots on Junior Team USA and Futures Team USA 2027 also are up for grabs through qualifying and the stepladder finals at this year’s tournament.
Six boys and six girls will qualify for Junior Team USA through scores bowled in the U18 division. The top four male bowlers and top four female bowlers after 26 games of qualifying and the champions and co-champions in each division earn spots on Junior Team USA. If the champion or co-champion already has earned one of the four spots available in qualifying, the next athlete based on the qualifying standings after 26 games will qualify.
In the U16 division, the top two age-eligible male and top two age-eligible female bowlers at the conclusion of 26 games of qualifying plus the U16 champions and runners-up qualify for Futures Team USA. If the champion or runner-up already has earned one of the two spots available in qualifying, the next athlete based on the qualifying standings after 26 games will qualify.
With qualifying completed, Advancers’ Round competition will kick off competition in all divisions on Friday.
U12 advancers will bowl a four-game block before the top eight head into match play, while U14, U16 and U18 advancers will bowl a five-game block. A second cut is made for U14, U16 and U18 for the final Advancers’ Rounds with an additional five games before the top 16 in each division advance to match play.
Match play will be a double-elimination bracket, with each match being two games and highest pinfall determining who advances. The final two in the Winners Bracket in each division will bowl for the No. 1 seed in the stepladder finals, while the winner in the Elimination Bracket will be the No. 3 seed on the show.
The stepladder finals at the 2026 Junior Gold Championships will be streamed live on BowlTV and on Bowling TV, the new 24-hour channel dedicated entirely to bowling, which can be found on Prime Video, LG Channels, Xumo Play, DISH TV, Bonusview, Sling Freestream, Plex, Free Live Sports and Bowling TV’s Roku app.
This year’s live Junior Gold streams will take place on Saturday at noon Eastern (U12), 3 p.m. Eastern (U14), 6 p.m. Eastern (U16) and 9 p.m. Eastern (U18).
Because the stepladder finals will not be under live national television time constraints, each top seed will have to be beaten twice during stepladder competition in order to be denied their division’s title.