Robarge authors record-setting performance to highlight day of big scores at 2024 Team USA Trials
January 06, 2024
LAS VEGAS – Any bowler can shoot massive scores at any time, but to break a scoring record for a six-game block at the United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials and United States National Amateur Bowling Championships is a major accomplishment.
Add it to the list of accomplishments for Spencer Robarge out of Springfield, Missouri, who led the men’s division for the second day in a row during a high scoring round of competition at Gold Coast Bowling Center.
Robarge threw games of 289, 259, 259, 277, 268 and 226 for a 1,578 total on Friday, averaging 263 for the day.
That outstanding performance allowed Robarge to eclipse the previous six-game record of 1,566, which was set by A.J. Chapman of Wichita, Kansas, during the 2017 event held at Sunset Station’s Strike Zone Bowling Center in Henderson, Nevada.
Rolling big scores is certainly nothing new for Robarge; nevertheless, the Wichita State bowler may not have had such an outstanding day on Friday if he hadn’t switched up his morning routine.
“I usually start the day off with water, but I woke up really groggy,” Robarge said. “I had a soda before I started bowling, and I think it woke me up.”
The extra pep in his step led the lefty two-hander to start with the first 10 strikes during Game 1, and that momentum continued throughout his round as he easily continued his streak of games above 200 for the week, which now sits at 18 consecutive games.
Robarge, who ended the third round unaware of the fact that he had just broken the Team USA Trials six-game scoring record, didn’t have a great deal of confidence heading into Round 3 based upon how things went during Tuesday’s practice session on the 41-foot oil pattern used on Friday.
“I caught today’s pattern after a while on Tuesday, and I didn’t strike a whole lot, but I had an idea of what I wanted to do and just needed to execute well,” Robarge said.
Robarge threw urethane all day, lofting over the first few feet of the lanes by the end of the squad to get the ball to shape the way he wanted to and avoid the ball hooking early. That plan of attack clearly worked as it led Robarge to another day of seeing himself at the top of the leaderboard and putting his name in the record books.
Robarge wasn’t the only bowler to put up big numbers on Friday, however.
During Friday’s third round of men’s competition, averaging 220 would have only been good for a 50th-place finish in the 174-player men’s field.
To provide some context, during Round 2 action on Thursday, that same 220 average would have netted a 10th-place finish, demonstrating just how effectively the field took advantage of Friday’s slightly less challenging lane condition.
Jacob Bockstie of Nottingham, Maryland, certainly did, finishing second among the men on Friday with a 1,571 total thanks to games of 237, 233, 279, 279, 278 and 265 (an average of just under 262)..
The first three 300 games of the 2024 Team USA Trials were also thrown during men’s action on Friday as Team USA member Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois, and Manny Ferrell of Pleasant Grove, Utah, achieved perfection during Game 2 while Noah Samuels of Canton, Michigan, notched a 300 of his own one game later during Game 3.
Rounding out the men’s top five on Friday were Professional Bowlers Association members Matthew Russo of Ballwin, Missouri (1,535), Patrick Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas (1,502), and Darren Tang of Las Vegas (1,492).
The strong showing on Friday allowed Tang to maintain the overall lead at the Team USA Trials with 16 ranking points through three days of competition. Robarge, meanwhile, leads the men’s U.S. Amateur standings with 28 ranking points with Bockstie in second place with 32 points.
Not quite two hours after the men finished their third round of competition on Friday, the women got their chance to hit the lanes.
The women’s side of the field may not have had any records broken, but Kayla Verstraete of Loves Park, Illinois, averaged 246 on her way to leading the 153-player women’s field on Friday.
The Nebraska enrollee had games of 268, 242, 213, 227, 257 and 269 to finish nearly 40 pins ahead of her nearest pursuer.
Verstraete credits her strong third-round performance to the hard work she’s put in over the years to be able to put herself in that position.
“I’ve had some low lows and some high highs, but I’ve been able to learn from those lows and apply them to this week,” Verstraete said. “It’s just been about being able to learn from (Nebraska) Coach Paul Klempa and put that into action so that I don’t second guess myself.”
Verstraete didn’t feel any different on Friday than she did during the first two rounds of competition, wanting to only stay in the moment and stay loose while throwing the best shots she could.
She had a feeling that she was close to the lead towards the end of the day, but she didn’t want to ask and lose focus on what was in front of her.
Knowing she could have been close to first place, she kept herself grounded by repeating her pre-shot routine. Staying grounded also means not looking too far ahead into the week, which is precisely what Verstraete will try to avoid as she prepares herself for Round 4 on Saturday and Sunday’s final round of competition.
“I’ll go over my notes from the practice session and make any surface changes I need to and hope that everything goes well; every day is a new day,” Verstraete said.
Haley Lindley of Greenwood, South Carolina, finished second on Friday with 1,437. Maranda Pattison of Redwood Valley, California, was third with 1,409, Vanessa Fuzie of Las Vegas, was fourth with 1,406 and Team USA member Bryanna Coté of Marana, Arizona, rounded out the top five with 1,389.
Verstraete now leads both the Team USA Trials and U.S. Amateur women’s standings with 13 ranking points after three days of competition.
Cassidy Courey of Shiloh, Illinois, can’t lay claim to the overall lead, but she did capture the first 300 game on the women’s side of the 2024 Team USA Trials, firing the perfect game during Game 3 on Friday.
Round 4 action will take place on Saturday with the men kicking things off at 11 a.m. Eastern and the women's block following at 6 p.m. Eastern.
For complete tournament results and standings, CLICK HERE
2024 Team USA Trials (Through Round 3 of 5)
Men’s Top 10 by Ranking Points
Women’s Top 10 by Ranking Points
2024 U.S. Amateur (Through Round 3 of 5)
Men’s Top 10 by Ranking Points
Women’s Top 10 (by Ranking Points)
2024 Junior Team USA Qualifying (Through Round 3 of 5)
Boys Top 10 (By Ranking Points)
Girls Top 10 (By Ranking Points)
Add it to the list of accomplishments for Spencer Robarge out of Springfield, Missouri, who led the men’s division for the second day in a row during a high scoring round of competition at Gold Coast Bowling Center.
Robarge threw games of 289, 259, 259, 277, 268 and 226 for a 1,578 total on Friday, averaging 263 for the day.
That outstanding performance allowed Robarge to eclipse the previous six-game record of 1,566, which was set by A.J. Chapman of Wichita, Kansas, during the 2017 event held at Sunset Station’s Strike Zone Bowling Center in Henderson, Nevada.
Rolling big scores is certainly nothing new for Robarge; nevertheless, the Wichita State bowler may not have had such an outstanding day on Friday if he hadn’t switched up his morning routine.
“I usually start the day off with water, but I woke up really groggy,” Robarge said. “I had a soda before I started bowling, and I think it woke me up.”
The extra pep in his step led the lefty two-hander to start with the first 10 strikes during Game 1, and that momentum continued throughout his round as he easily continued his streak of games above 200 for the week, which now sits at 18 consecutive games.
Robarge, who ended the third round unaware of the fact that he had just broken the Team USA Trials six-game scoring record, didn’t have a great deal of confidence heading into Round 3 based upon how things went during Tuesday’s practice session on the 41-foot oil pattern used on Friday.
“I caught today’s pattern after a while on Tuesday, and I didn’t strike a whole lot, but I had an idea of what I wanted to do and just needed to execute well,” Robarge said.
Robarge threw urethane all day, lofting over the first few feet of the lanes by the end of the squad to get the ball to shape the way he wanted to and avoid the ball hooking early. That plan of attack clearly worked as it led Robarge to another day of seeing himself at the top of the leaderboard and putting his name in the record books.
Robarge wasn’t the only bowler to put up big numbers on Friday, however.
During Friday’s third round of men’s competition, averaging 220 would have only been good for a 50th-place finish in the 174-player men’s field.
To provide some context, during Round 2 action on Thursday, that same 220 average would have netted a 10th-place finish, demonstrating just how effectively the field took advantage of Friday’s slightly less challenging lane condition.
Jacob Bockstie of Nottingham, Maryland, certainly did, finishing second among the men on Friday with a 1,571 total thanks to games of 237, 233, 279, 279, 278 and 265 (an average of just under 262)..
The first three 300 games of the 2024 Team USA Trials were also thrown during men’s action on Friday as Team USA member Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois, and Manny Ferrell of Pleasant Grove, Utah, achieved perfection during Game 2 while Noah Samuels of Canton, Michigan, notched a 300 of his own one game later during Game 3.
Rounding out the men’s top five on Friday were Professional Bowlers Association members Matthew Russo of Ballwin, Missouri (1,535), Patrick Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas (1,502), and Darren Tang of Las Vegas (1,492).
The strong showing on Friday allowed Tang to maintain the overall lead at the Team USA Trials with 16 ranking points through three days of competition. Robarge, meanwhile, leads the men’s U.S. Amateur standings with 28 ranking points with Bockstie in second place with 32 points.
Not quite two hours after the men finished their third round of competition on Friday, the women got their chance to hit the lanes.
The women’s side of the field may not have had any records broken, but Kayla Verstraete of Loves Park, Illinois, averaged 246 on her way to leading the 153-player women’s field on Friday.
The Nebraska enrollee had games of 268, 242, 213, 227, 257 and 269 to finish nearly 40 pins ahead of her nearest pursuer.
Verstraete credits her strong third-round performance to the hard work she’s put in over the years to be able to put herself in that position.
“I’ve had some low lows and some high highs, but I’ve been able to learn from those lows and apply them to this week,” Verstraete said. “It’s just been about being able to learn from (Nebraska) Coach Paul Klempa and put that into action so that I don’t second guess myself.”
Verstraete didn’t feel any different on Friday than she did during the first two rounds of competition, wanting to only stay in the moment and stay loose while throwing the best shots she could.
She had a feeling that she was close to the lead towards the end of the day, but she didn’t want to ask and lose focus on what was in front of her.
Knowing she could have been close to first place, she kept herself grounded by repeating her pre-shot routine. Staying grounded also means not looking too far ahead into the week, which is precisely what Verstraete will try to avoid as she prepares herself for Round 4 on Saturday and Sunday’s final round of competition.
“I’ll go over my notes from the practice session and make any surface changes I need to and hope that everything goes well; every day is a new day,” Verstraete said.
Haley Lindley of Greenwood, South Carolina, finished second on Friday with 1,437. Maranda Pattison of Redwood Valley, California, was third with 1,409, Vanessa Fuzie of Las Vegas, was fourth with 1,406 and Team USA member Bryanna Coté of Marana, Arizona, rounded out the top five with 1,389.
Verstraete now leads both the Team USA Trials and U.S. Amateur women’s standings with 13 ranking points after three days of competition.
Cassidy Courey of Shiloh, Illinois, can’t lay claim to the overall lead, but she did capture the first 300 game on the women’s side of the 2024 Team USA Trials, firing the perfect game during Game 3 on Friday.
Round 4 action will take place on Saturday with the men kicking things off at 11 a.m. Eastern and the women's block following at 6 p.m. Eastern.
For complete tournament results and standings, CLICK HERE
2024 Team USA Trials (Through Round 3 of 5)
Men’s Top 10 by Ranking Points
|
Las Vegas | 16 |
|
Springfield, Mo. | 28 |
|
Nottingham, Md. | 32 |
|
Greensboro, N.C. | 34 |
|
McKean, Pa. | 40 |
|
Greer, S.C> | 51 |
|
Ballwin, Mo | 68 |
|
Lake Wales, Fla. | 68 |
|
St. Clair Shores, Mich | 71 |
|
Jackson, N.J. | 73 |
Women’s Top 10 by Ranking Points
|
Loves Park, Ill. | 13 |
|
Dayton, Ohio | 20 |
|
Palm Bay, Fla. | 34 |
|
Marana, Ariz. | 37 |
|
Grand Rapids, Mich. | 38 |
|
Palm Harbor, Fla. | 54 |
|
Channahon, Ill. | 57 |
|
Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. | 59 |
|
Redwood Valley, Calif. | 59 |
|
Holly, MI | 69 |
2024 U.S. Amateur (Through Round 3 of 5)
Men’s Top 10 by Ranking Points
|
Springfield, Mo. | 28 |
|
Nottingham, Md. | 32 |
|
McKean, Pa. | 40 |
|
Greer, S.C. | 51 |
|
Lake Wales, Fla. | 68 |
|
St. Clair Shores, Mich. | 71 |
|
Jackson, N.J. | 73 |
|
Richmond, TX | 84 |
|
Blaine, Minn. | 85 |
|
Wichita, Kan. | 87 |
Women’s Top 10 (by Ranking Points)
|
Loves Park, Ill. | 13 |
|
Palm Bay, Fla. | 34 |
|
Channahon, Ill. | 57 |
|
Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. | 59 |
|
Redwood Valley, Calif. | 59 |
|
Holly, Mich. | 69 |
|
St. Louis, Mo. | 70 |
|
Bartlesville, Okla. | 71 |
|
Santa Rosa, Calif. | 78 |
|
Stony Point, N.Y. | 87 |
2024 Junior Team USA Qualifying (Through Round 3 of 5)
Boys Top 10 (By Ranking Points)
|
Nottingham, Md. | 32 |
|
Greer, S.C. | 51 |
|
Jackson, N.J. | 73 |
|
Austin, TX | 94 |
|
Coppell, TX | 96 |
|
Eau Claire, Wis. | 106 |
|
Sycamore, Ill. | 110 |
|
Channahon, Ill. | 111 |
|
Waupaca, Wis. | 113 |
|
Poway, Calif. | 116 |
Girls Top 10 (By Ranking Points)
|
Channahon, Ill. | 57 |
|
Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. | 59 |
|
Holly, Mich. | 69 |
|
Santa Rosa, Calif. | 78 |
|
Stony Point, N.Y. | 87 |
|
Worcester, Mass. | 89 |
|
San Diego, Calif. | 104 |
|
Ball Ground, Ga. | 112 |
|
Schaumburg, Ill. | 118 |
|
Derby, Kan. | 118 |