American teams in first place heading into final day of competition at World Senior Championships
December 14, 2023
(From left to right:) Parker Bohn III, Chris Barnes, Tom Hess and John Janawicz
CALI, Colombia – Team USA has been the team to beat thus far at the International Bowling Federation 2023 World Senior Championships in Cali, Colombia, capturing seven of 12 available medals during the singles and doubles portions of the event.
On Wednesday, the Americans took the first step toward reaching the podium in the team event as well as both their men’s and women’s teams ended the day in first place atop the qualifying standings in their respective divisions at Cali’s sports complex.
The Team USA men were first to hit the lanes Wednesday morning, and despite the early hour, the quartet of Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas; Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey; Tom Hess of Granger, Iowa; and John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida, had no trouble hitting the ground running.
They opened the day with a score of 975 thanks to 277 from Barnes, 238 from Janawicz, 237 from Bohn and 223 from Hess. Not only was it Team USA’s highest score of the day, but it was also the highest score in the 18-team men’s field and the only game over 900.
Things slowed down a bit from there for the American men, who finished with back-to-back scores of 825, but that was enough to push their total to 2,625, which was more than 125 pins better than the 2,497 put up by second-place Italy and nearly 150 ahead of the 2,478 posted by Puerto Rico, which finished the day in third.
Barnes led the way for the Team USA men with 673 (277-204-192) while Bohn was two pins back at 671 thanks to scores of 237, 217 and 217. Janawicz (238-186-226) and Hess (223-218-190) finished with 650 and 631, respectively.
The American men will be back in action Thursday morning at 9 a.m. Eastern for the final three-game qualifying block, after which the field will be cut to the top four teams. Those teams will square off in best-of-three Baker matches with the two winners advancing to the gold-medal match and the two losing teams each receiving bronze medals.
The Team USA women’s squad of Dana Ausec and Tish Johnson, both of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado, and Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, has already punched its ticket to the women’s team semifinals.
The Americans got there by putting up scores of 838, 769 and 801 on Wednesday afternoon, which, when added to the 2,540 the crew put up during Round 1 of qualifying on Tuesday night, allowed Team USA to coast to first place in the 11-team women’s field with a six-game total of 4,948 (an average of 206.17).
Mexico qualified second with 4,507. The final two berths in the women’s semifinals went to Italy (4,477) and Puerto Rico (4,299), which finished in third and fourth place, respectively.
Ausec led the way for Team USA on Wednesday, coming in with a three-game total of 657 on games of 210, 211 and 236. Johnson was close behind, adding 637 (232-193-212). Neither Woessner (574) nor Powers (540) broke 600 on the day, but that was largely due to the American team’s decision to experiment with different lane-play strategies in preparation for Thursday’s medal round.
Team USA Coach Kelly Kulick believes the strategy will pay off and that the ever-developing chemistry between the quartet is going to make them tough to beat on the final day of competition.
“The women started today with a big lead, so it allowed us to experiment a bit and try some different things that may help us out in the medal round,” Kulick said. “But what’s really nice to see is the chemistry that these four women are developing among themselves.
“Dana (Ausec), Tish (Johnson) and Sharon (Powers) are all from the same general area in Colorado, so they sound like they’re just bowling league or a local tournament out there, and Jodi (Woessner) has fit right in like the perfect puzzle piece to complete the group. It’s nice to hear the laughter and see the comfort that they have with one another.”
Kulick has seen a similar sense of camaraderie form between the four Team USA men, which is particularly impressive because they spend most of the year fighting tooth and nail against one another.
“All four of these men bowl for a living, so, usually, every performance is a paycheck. When you bowl for Team USA, it’s about teamwork, bonding and communicating with one another for the good of the group,” Kulick said. “It’s amazing to watch these four talented individuals come together as a powerhouse to create one of the greatest teams there ever was.”
The Team USA men have one three-game qualifying block remaining, which will get underway Thursday morning at 9 a.m. Eastern. When that round is over, the top four men’s teams will join the four women’s squads that have already advanced to the semifinals.
Semifinal competition in both the men’s and women’s divisions is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Eastern with the finals following at 3 p.m. Eastern.
Once the day’s bowling action is completed the last medals have been awarded, the event will conclude with a farewell dinner at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Livestreaming coverage and updated standings are available by visiting worldseniors2023.com.
For more information on Senior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/Team-USA/Team-USA-Senior-Bowling.
CALI, Colombia – Team USA has been the team to beat thus far at the International Bowling Federation 2023 World Senior Championships in Cali, Colombia, capturing seven of 12 available medals during the singles and doubles portions of the event.
On Wednesday, the Americans took the first step toward reaching the podium in the team event as well as both their men’s and women’s teams ended the day in first place atop the qualifying standings in their respective divisions at Cali’s sports complex.
The Team USA men were first to hit the lanes Wednesday morning, and despite the early hour, the quartet of Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas; Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey; Tom Hess of Granger, Iowa; and John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida, had no trouble hitting the ground running.
They opened the day with a score of 975 thanks to 277 from Barnes, 238 from Janawicz, 237 from Bohn and 223 from Hess. Not only was it Team USA’s highest score of the day, but it was also the highest score in the 18-team men’s field and the only game over 900.
Things slowed down a bit from there for the American men, who finished with back-to-back scores of 825, but that was enough to push their total to 2,625, which was more than 125 pins better than the 2,497 put up by second-place Italy and nearly 150 ahead of the 2,478 posted by Puerto Rico, which finished the day in third.
Barnes led the way for the Team USA men with 673 (277-204-192) while Bohn was two pins back at 671 thanks to scores of 237, 217 and 217. Janawicz (238-186-226) and Hess (223-218-190) finished with 650 and 631, respectively.
The American men will be back in action Thursday morning at 9 a.m. Eastern for the final three-game qualifying block, after which the field will be cut to the top four teams. Those teams will square off in best-of-three Baker matches with the two winners advancing to the gold-medal match and the two losing teams each receiving bronze medals.
The Team USA women’s squad of Dana Ausec and Tish Johnson, both of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado, and Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, has already punched its ticket to the women’s team semifinals.
The Americans got there by putting up scores of 838, 769 and 801 on Wednesday afternoon, which, when added to the 2,540 the crew put up during Round 1 of qualifying on Tuesday night, allowed Team USA to coast to first place in the 11-team women’s field with a six-game total of 4,948 (an average of 206.17).
Mexico qualified second with 4,507. The final two berths in the women’s semifinals went to Italy (4,477) and Puerto Rico (4,299), which finished in third and fourth place, respectively.
Ausec led the way for Team USA on Wednesday, coming in with a three-game total of 657 on games of 210, 211 and 236. Johnson was close behind, adding 637 (232-193-212). Neither Woessner (574) nor Powers (540) broke 600 on the day, but that was largely due to the American team’s decision to experiment with different lane-play strategies in preparation for Thursday’s medal round.
Team USA Coach Kelly Kulick believes the strategy will pay off and that the ever-developing chemistry between the quartet is going to make them tough to beat on the final day of competition.
“The women started today with a big lead, so it allowed us to experiment a bit and try some different things that may help us out in the medal round,” Kulick said. “But what’s really nice to see is the chemistry that these four women are developing among themselves.
“Dana (Ausec), Tish (Johnson) and Sharon (Powers) are all from the same general area in Colorado, so they sound like they’re just bowling league or a local tournament out there, and Jodi (Woessner) has fit right in like the perfect puzzle piece to complete the group. It’s nice to hear the laughter and see the comfort that they have with one another.”
Kulick has seen a similar sense of camaraderie form between the four Team USA men, which is particularly impressive because they spend most of the year fighting tooth and nail against one another.
“All four of these men bowl for a living, so, usually, every performance is a paycheck. When you bowl for Team USA, it’s about teamwork, bonding and communicating with one another for the good of the group,” Kulick said. “It’s amazing to watch these four talented individuals come together as a powerhouse to create one of the greatest teams there ever was.”
The Team USA men have one three-game qualifying block remaining, which will get underway Thursday morning at 9 a.m. Eastern. When that round is over, the top four men’s teams will join the four women’s squads that have already advanced to the semifinals.
Semifinal competition in both the men’s and women’s divisions is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Eastern with the finals following at 3 p.m. Eastern.
Once the day’s bowling action is completed the last medals have been awarded, the event will conclude with a farewell dinner at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Livestreaming coverage and updated standings are available by visiting worldseniors2023.com.
For more information on Senior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/Team-USA/Team-USA-Senior-Bowling.