Junior Team USA bowlers ready for action at 2025 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship in Guatemala
August 08, 2025
ARLINGTON, Texas – Eight extremely talented young athletes are in Guatemala preparing to represent Junior Team USA on the lanes at the 2025 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship, which will take place at the 28-lane Metrobowl Zone 15 in Guatemala City from Aug. 9-16.
The American contingent features Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois; Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Georgia; Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, and Annalise OBryant of Ball Ground, Georgia, on the women’s side while Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey; Josh Hammons of Topeka, Kansas; Landin Jordan of Sycamore, Illinois, and Ernesto Reynoso of Folsom, California, will don the red, white and blue for the men.
The octet will be under the direction of Junior Team USA Head Coach Kelly Kulick, a United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer, and assistant coach Andy Diercks.
Official practice sessions and the event’s opening ceremony are scheduled for Sunday with singles competition in the U16, U18 and U21 divisions set to begin one day later.
Doubles play in all three divisions will take place on Tuesday with trios being contested on Wednesday.
Team competition will take place over two days, beginning on Thursday and ending one week from today on Friday, Aug. 15, which will be the final day of competition at this year’s tournament.
Once competition has been completed and all medals have been doled out, the closing ceremony will officially bring the 2025 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship to an end.
All eight American athletes competing in Guatemala want to be part of those medal ceremonies; nevertheless, their hopes and goals for the event aren’t focused on winning alone.
“Since this is my last year on Junior Team USA, I said in January that this was one last ride,” Bohn said. “Now we’re here, so I’m just going to go out there, take it one shot at a time and give it my all.
“Honestly, I’m just excited to get out on the lanes and represent the red, white and blue. I’m beyond blessed to do what I love and even more blessed to do it for my country.”
Martin felt the same.
“I’m incredibly grateful and excited for the opportunity to travel to this event,” Martin said. “I think we have a really strong team traveling, and I believe we’ll work well together. I know we will give it our all and have some fun, which will lead us to our ultimate goal of bringing back some gold medals.”
Medals are certainly on Hammons’ mind as well, but he also wants to use the event as a learning experience to improve his game as a whole.
“I am hoping to win as many medals as possible, but I also want to learn as much as I can about international competition,” Hammons said. “I am hoping this will be a super fun experience and that I can take what I learn from it to further my game for the future.”
Klemencic also is hoping to learn a great deal from her experiences at the 2025 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship.
“I want to perform to the best of my ability, have some fun and learn from everybody,” Klemencic said. “I would love to get the chance to win for this country and team, but I am just very excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity.”
The PANAM Bowling Youth Championship will be Junior Team USA’s second competition of 2025 as Katelyn Abigania of San Diego and Connor Fleming of Fort Worth, Texas, represented Junior Team USA at the International Bowling Federation Youth World Cup in Helsingborg, Sweden, in June. Abigania placed 10th at that event while Fleming finished 23rd.
While those were very respectable performances, Jordan, Brandolino, Reynoso and OBryant are hoping for even greater success during their time in Guatemala.
“I’m going to work hard and try to bring home lots of hardware while enjoying every moment on and off the lanes with the team,” OBryant said. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity and represent my country, and I’m looking forward to soaking it all in and making some awesome new memories.”
Reynoso’s outlook was very similar.
“Honestly, I’m just super excited to take this all in and do the best I can,” Reynoso said. “It has always been my dream to win gold medals on the international stage, so I really appreciate the program for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to make that dream come true.”
Brandolino already realized that dream when she brought home one gold medal (team) and one bronze (doubles) at the 2023 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship in Lima, Peru.
Now, she’s in Guatemala hoping for another strong performance that results in needing to make some extra room in the trophy case.
“I think we’re all ready to go out there and win some medals,” Brandolino said. “I think our overall group is going to have great chemistry, which will lead to success on and off the lanes. I’m super excited to be able to compete for Junior Team USA again and have the chance to win more gold medals.”
Brandolino and Jordan have been friends for quite some time. As such, it’s not surprising that Jordan’s outlook was largely the same.
“I’m very much looking forward to this upcoming week with the team in Guatemala,” Jordan said. “I feel like being able to represent the red, white and blue is the highest honor in any sport, so I can’t wait to hit the lanes and get to work with the rest of the team to bring home some gold medals for the USA.”
For more information on Junior Team USA, CLICK HERE.
The American contingent features Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois; Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Georgia; Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, and Annalise OBryant of Ball Ground, Georgia, on the women’s side while Brandon Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey; Josh Hammons of Topeka, Kansas; Landin Jordan of Sycamore, Illinois, and Ernesto Reynoso of Folsom, California, will don the red, white and blue for the men.
The octet will be under the direction of Junior Team USA Head Coach Kelly Kulick, a United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer, and assistant coach Andy Diercks.
Official practice sessions and the event’s opening ceremony are scheduled for Sunday with singles competition in the U16, U18 and U21 divisions set to begin one day later.
Doubles play in all three divisions will take place on Tuesday with trios being contested on Wednesday.
Team competition will take place over two days, beginning on Thursday and ending one week from today on Friday, Aug. 15, which will be the final day of competition at this year’s tournament.
Once competition has been completed and all medals have been doled out, the closing ceremony will officially bring the 2025 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship to an end.
All eight American athletes competing in Guatemala want to be part of those medal ceremonies; nevertheless, their hopes and goals for the event aren’t focused on winning alone.
“Since this is my last year on Junior Team USA, I said in January that this was one last ride,” Bohn said. “Now we’re here, so I’m just going to go out there, take it one shot at a time and give it my all.
“Honestly, I’m just excited to get out on the lanes and represent the red, white and blue. I’m beyond blessed to do what I love and even more blessed to do it for my country.”
Martin felt the same.
“I’m incredibly grateful and excited for the opportunity to travel to this event,” Martin said. “I think we have a really strong team traveling, and I believe we’ll work well together. I know we will give it our all and have some fun, which will lead us to our ultimate goal of bringing back some gold medals.”
Medals are certainly on Hammons’ mind as well, but he also wants to use the event as a learning experience to improve his game as a whole.
“I am hoping to win as many medals as possible, but I also want to learn as much as I can about international competition,” Hammons said. “I am hoping this will be a super fun experience and that I can take what I learn from it to further my game for the future.”
Klemencic also is hoping to learn a great deal from her experiences at the 2025 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship.
“I want to perform to the best of my ability, have some fun and learn from everybody,” Klemencic said. “I would love to get the chance to win for this country and team, but I am just very excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity.”
The PANAM Bowling Youth Championship will be Junior Team USA’s second competition of 2025 as Katelyn Abigania of San Diego and Connor Fleming of Fort Worth, Texas, represented Junior Team USA at the International Bowling Federation Youth World Cup in Helsingborg, Sweden, in June. Abigania placed 10th at that event while Fleming finished 23rd.
While those were very respectable performances, Jordan, Brandolino, Reynoso and OBryant are hoping for even greater success during their time in Guatemala.
“I’m going to work hard and try to bring home lots of hardware while enjoying every moment on and off the lanes with the team,” OBryant said. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity and represent my country, and I’m looking forward to soaking it all in and making some awesome new memories.”
Reynoso’s outlook was very similar.
“Honestly, I’m just super excited to take this all in and do the best I can,” Reynoso said. “It has always been my dream to win gold medals on the international stage, so I really appreciate the program for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to make that dream come true.”
Brandolino already realized that dream when she brought home one gold medal (team) and one bronze (doubles) at the 2023 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship in Lima, Peru.
Now, she’s in Guatemala hoping for another strong performance that results in needing to make some extra room in the trophy case.
“I think we’re all ready to go out there and win some medals,” Brandolino said. “I think our overall group is going to have great chemistry, which will lead to success on and off the lanes. I’m super excited to be able to compete for Junior Team USA again and have the chance to win more gold medals.”
Brandolino and Jordan have been friends for quite some time. As such, it’s not surprising that Jordan’s outlook was largely the same.
“I’m very much looking forward to this upcoming week with the team in Guatemala,” Jordan said. “I feel like being able to represent the red, white and blue is the highest honor in any sport, so I can’t wait to hit the lanes and get to work with the rest of the team to bring home some gold medals for the USA.”
For more information on Junior Team USA, CLICK HERE.