USBC Communications
ARLINGTON, Texas – Team USA’s Crystal Elliott and Jordan Snodgrass sit first and eighth, respectively, in the 22-player field after Friday’s opening round of Women’s Singles competition at the 2026 PANAM Bowling Champion of Champions in Costa Rica.
Elliott, a 25-year-old right-hander, led the pack with an eight-game total of 1,896 (a 237 average), which included games of 266, 238, 246, 235, 191, 258, 240 and 222.
Aruba’s Kamilah Dammers sits second with 1,770, trailing Elliott by 126 pins. Her sister Abigail is two pins behind at 1,768, tied for third with Canada’s Marissa Naylor.
Snodgrass, a 30-year-old right-hander, recorded scores of 259, 216, 195, 196, 228, 216, 208 and 203 at the Bowling Center of the Costa Rica Country Club in San Jose to finish with an eight-game total of 1,721 (a 215.1 average). She trails the third-place bowlers by 47 pins and Elliott by 175.
Snodgrass and Elliott will return to the lanes in San Jose on Saturday for the final eight-game block of Women’s Singles competition, with medals presented afterward to close out the 2026 PANAM Bowling Champion of Champions.
If Elliott can tame the 41-foot Champion of Champions oil pattern as effectively on Saturday as she did during her opening eight-game block, she could find herself draped in gold by day’s end.
That’s a dream Elliott would love to turn into reality.
“This tournament is special to me because this is where I won my first international gold medal,” Elliott said, referring to her Women’s Singles victory at the 2024 event in Lima, Peru. “At the end of the day though, winning another gold wouldn’t just be for me; it would be for my teammates. I’m just thankful to wear USA on my back and represent our nation at the highest level, so the goal for tomorrow is to make shots and have fun.”
Elliott certainly seemed to have a good time on Friday when she averaged nearly 16 pins higher than her closest pursuer. According to Elliott, that performance came about because of sound strategy and solid execution.
“Coach Kelly (Team USA Assistant Coach Kelly Kulick) suggested a different game plan today, and it worked great,” Elliott said. “Thankfully, I was able to execute better today, and we were able to make moves quicker.”
Snodgrass, meanwhile, attempted to employ the same strategy that helped her and Elliott to a first-place finish in Women’s Doubles on Thursday; unfortunately, the pattern broke down differently the second time around.
“I pretty much had the same plan of attack today except I started a little further right,” Snodgrass said. “They didn’t end up transitioning how they did yesterday though, and unfortunately, I never really saw the picture after the first two games.”
Nevertheless, Snodgrass enters Saturday less than 50 pins off the podium and still very much in the medal hunt.
“A lot of strikes will be needed to get on the podium,” Snodgrass said. “I don’t foresee myself running down Crystal (Elliott), which is okay. I’m just going to do my best and hope I make the podium at the end of the eight games.”
For complete results go to: https://bowl.com/team-usa/2026_panam_champion_of_champions