Butturff leads men, Martin women after Day 1 at 2023 Team USA Trials
January 04, 2023
RESULTS AND INFORMATION
LAS VEGAS – Team USA’s Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona, and Junior Team USA’s Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, found themselves atop the standings after Tuesday’s opening round of qualifying at the 2023 Team USA Trials at Gold Coast Bowling Center at Gold Coast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Butturff blistered the 38-foot Round 1 lane condition from start to finish, starting with games of 238 and 221 and then putting up 805 for his next three games (269, 258 and 278) to lead the field by nearly 80 pins heading into the final game of the block.
That game started with an open - one of just two that Butturff had on the day - but it hardly slowed the talented left-hander down as he quickly recovered by firing a six-bagger to turn things around and propel himself to 256 for Game 6 and 1,520 for the block.
That allowed Butturff to finish the day with an average of 253.33 for the round and a remarkable 265.25 for games three through six.
It also gave Butturff something he’d never had before, a first-place finish for a squad at Team USA Trials.
One might have expected Butturff, the 2017 Team USA Trials men’s champion, to take a squad victory for granted. That was not the case, however, as he was quick to point out how happy he was about the accomplishment while discussing Tuesday’s round.
“It feels amazing to have a performance like this considering I’d never won a day of trials before,” Butturff said. “It’s a huge bonus to get off to such a good start, and it definitely makes me feel more comfortable heading into the next four days of competition.”
That competition is bound to be fierce as several top-flite contenders joined Butturff by getting off to very strong starts of their own on Day 1.
Junior Team USA’s Spencer Robarge of Springfield, Missouri, was second on Tuesday, using four games of 240 or higher (246, 242, 259 and 254) to come in with a six-game total of 1,441 (a 240.17 average).
Chis Via of Blacklick, Ohio, broke 1,400 as well, starting with 250 in Game 1 and finishing with 278 in Game 6 to end the day in third place with 1,401.
Zach Greim of Poway, California, began his day with a 290, which gave him the highest men’s individual score of the day and helped him to a fourth-place total of 1,381. Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan was fifth with 1,364.
Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington (1,359), Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey (1,345), Jake Feher of Levittown, Pennsylvania (1,341), Daniel Chin of Daly City, California (1,341) and Hayden Stippich of McKean, Pennsylvania (1,339) comprised the remainder of the men’s opening-day top 10.
Defending Team USA Trials men’s champion Darren Tang of Las Vegas finished his opening round with 1,194.
Tang and company will have the early shift on Wednesday, getting back on the lanes at 11 a.m. Eastern for Qualifying Round 2.
As for Butturff, he is hoping that a combination of center knowledge and family support will propel him to another solid effort during his second block.
“Since I was born in Las Vegas, Gold Coast was one of the centers I grew up in, so I always feel really comfortable bowling here,” Butturff said. “Also, any time family gets to watch you, it motivates you to bowl even better. I just need to avoid pressing tomorrow and remember that this tournament is a marathon, not a sprint.”
The event may be a marathon, but that didn’t stop Martin from running to the head of the pack almost immediately during the women’s first block Tuesday morning.
Martin was rock solid throughout her opening round enroute to capturing the lead in the women’s standings.
She began the day with a steady 226 in Game 1 and then erupted for 279 in Game 2 to jump to the top of the leaderboard.
That’s where she would stay after closing her set with games of 228, 202, 212 and 203 to finish with a six-game total of 1,350, which was good for a 225 average and a one-pin lead after the opening block.
Martin credited her strong start to good ball reaction and keeping herself in a very positive mental space.
“I’m really happy to lead, but, for me, the best part was that I was able to enjoy myself today and just have fun,” Martin said. “I haven’t really gotten myself into that feeling in a while, so it was nice to go out there and just be free. It felt good, and it worked out in my favor.”
Team USA’s Breanna Clemmer of Clover, South Carolina, had her share of good favor as well, finishing Day 1 in second place with 1,349.
Like Martin, Clemmer believed that staying true to herself and having fun contributed greatly to her opening-round success.
“I say this in every interview I do, but I’m at my best when I just let Breanna be Breanna and not worry about what anyone else has to say,” Clemmer said. “I just try to stay positive, be authentic and live and breathe in that by being okay with who I am. When I’m myself, I think I’m great on the lanes.”
Fellow Team USA members Lauren Pate of Ballwin, Missouri, and Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, were pretty great in their own right on Tuesday, finishing just behind Clemmer with 1,342 and 1,340, respectively.
Kayla Smith of Salem, Illinois, grabbed the last spot in the women’s top five, using a 248 in Game 1 and a 238 in Game 6 to finish her opening block with 1,321.
Abigail Starkey of Schaumburg, Illinois (1,283), Allysha Howard of Downey, California (1,281), Alyssa Ballard of Keller, Texas (1,275), Olivia Farwell of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania (1,272) and Juliana Kerrigan of Ashland, Virginia (1,252) rounded out the opening day women’s top 10.
Katarina Hagler of Cape Coral, Florida, finished the first round in 11th place, but she authored the highest women’s individual game of the day by starting Game 6 with the front 10 and finishing with 287.
Defending Team USA Trials women’s champion Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, finished Day 1 in 25th place with a six-game total of 1,185.
The women’s field will return to the lanes Wednesday evening at 6 p.m Eastern for Round 2 of qualifying.
Even though she will be forced to contend with a different challenging lane condition, for Martin, success on Day 2 and beyond will be just as much about what’s going on between the ears as it is about what’s going on with the lanes.
“I need to stay patient and remember that no matter how the beginning of a game goes, the end can always go differently,” Martin said. “If I start off strong, I need to stay focused to maintain that. If I start slowly, I need to remember that I can finish strong and still achieve whatever I put my mind to.”
LAS VEGAS – Team USA’s Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona, and Junior Team USA’s Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, found themselves atop the standings after Tuesday’s opening round of qualifying at the 2023 Team USA Trials at Gold Coast Bowling Center at Gold Coast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Butturff blistered the 38-foot Round 1 lane condition from start to finish, starting with games of 238 and 221 and then putting up 805 for his next three games (269, 258 and 278) to lead the field by nearly 80 pins heading into the final game of the block.
That game started with an open - one of just two that Butturff had on the day - but it hardly slowed the talented left-hander down as he quickly recovered by firing a six-bagger to turn things around and propel himself to 256 for Game 6 and 1,520 for the block.
That allowed Butturff to finish the day with an average of 253.33 for the round and a remarkable 265.25 for games three through six.
It also gave Butturff something he’d never had before, a first-place finish for a squad at Team USA Trials.
One might have expected Butturff, the 2017 Team USA Trials men’s champion, to take a squad victory for granted. That was not the case, however, as he was quick to point out how happy he was about the accomplishment while discussing Tuesday’s round.
“It feels amazing to have a performance like this considering I’d never won a day of trials before,” Butturff said. “It’s a huge bonus to get off to such a good start, and it definitely makes me feel more comfortable heading into the next four days of competition.”
That competition is bound to be fierce as several top-flite contenders joined Butturff by getting off to very strong starts of their own on Day 1.
Junior Team USA’s Spencer Robarge of Springfield, Missouri, was second on Tuesday, using four games of 240 or higher (246, 242, 259 and 254) to come in with a six-game total of 1,441 (a 240.17 average).
Chis Via of Blacklick, Ohio, broke 1,400 as well, starting with 250 in Game 1 and finishing with 278 in Game 6 to end the day in third place with 1,401.
Zach Greim of Poway, California, began his day with a 290, which gave him the highest men’s individual score of the day and helped him to a fourth-place total of 1,381. Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan was fifth with 1,364.
Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington (1,359), Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey (1,345), Jake Feher of Levittown, Pennsylvania (1,341), Daniel Chin of Daly City, California (1,341) and Hayden Stippich of McKean, Pennsylvania (1,339) comprised the remainder of the men’s opening-day top 10.
Defending Team USA Trials men’s champion Darren Tang of Las Vegas finished his opening round with 1,194.
Tang and company will have the early shift on Wednesday, getting back on the lanes at 11 a.m. Eastern for Qualifying Round 2.
As for Butturff, he is hoping that a combination of center knowledge and family support will propel him to another solid effort during his second block.
“Since I was born in Las Vegas, Gold Coast was one of the centers I grew up in, so I always feel really comfortable bowling here,” Butturff said. “Also, any time family gets to watch you, it motivates you to bowl even better. I just need to avoid pressing tomorrow and remember that this tournament is a marathon, not a sprint.”
The event may be a marathon, but that didn’t stop Martin from running to the head of the pack almost immediately during the women’s first block Tuesday morning.Martin was rock solid throughout her opening round enroute to capturing the lead in the women’s standings.
She began the day with a steady 226 in Game 1 and then erupted for 279 in Game 2 to jump to the top of the leaderboard.
That’s where she would stay after closing her set with games of 228, 202, 212 and 203 to finish with a six-game total of 1,350, which was good for a 225 average and a one-pin lead after the opening block.
Martin credited her strong start to good ball reaction and keeping herself in a very positive mental space.
“I’m really happy to lead, but, for me, the best part was that I was able to enjoy myself today and just have fun,” Martin said. “I haven’t really gotten myself into that feeling in a while, so it was nice to go out there and just be free. It felt good, and it worked out in my favor.”
Team USA’s Breanna Clemmer of Clover, South Carolina, had her share of good favor as well, finishing Day 1 in second place with 1,349.
Like Martin, Clemmer believed that staying true to herself and having fun contributed greatly to her opening-round success.
“I say this in every interview I do, but I’m at my best when I just let Breanna be Breanna and not worry about what anyone else has to say,” Clemmer said. “I just try to stay positive, be authentic and live and breathe in that by being okay with who I am. When I’m myself, I think I’m great on the lanes.”
Fellow Team USA members Lauren Pate of Ballwin, Missouri, and Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, were pretty great in their own right on Tuesday, finishing just behind Clemmer with 1,342 and 1,340, respectively.
Kayla Smith of Salem, Illinois, grabbed the last spot in the women’s top five, using a 248 in Game 1 and a 238 in Game 6 to finish her opening block with 1,321.
Abigail Starkey of Schaumburg, Illinois (1,283), Allysha Howard of Downey, California (1,281), Alyssa Ballard of Keller, Texas (1,275), Olivia Farwell of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania (1,272) and Juliana Kerrigan of Ashland, Virginia (1,252) rounded out the opening day women’s top 10.
Katarina Hagler of Cape Coral, Florida, finished the first round in 11th place, but she authored the highest women’s individual game of the day by starting Game 6 with the front 10 and finishing with 287.
Defending Team USA Trials women’s champion Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, finished Day 1 in 25th place with a six-game total of 1,185.
The women’s field will return to the lanes Wednesday evening at 6 p.m Eastern for Round 2 of qualifying.
Even though she will be forced to contend with a different challenging lane condition, for Martin, success on Day 2 and beyond will be just as much about what’s going on between the ears as it is about what’s going on with the lanes.
“I need to stay patient and remember that no matter how the beginning of a game goes, the end can always go differently,” Martin said. “If I start off strong, I need to stay focused to maintain that. If I start slowly, I need to remember that I can finish strong and still achieve whatever I put my mind to.”