STANDINGS: Boys | Girls

LINCOLN, Neb. - When Stephanie Schwartz of Racine, Wisconsin, traveled more than 8,000 miles from the United States to Hong Kong for her first World Bowling Youth Championships in 2014, she was there to represent Junior Team USA, the defending champion in both the girls' and boys' team events.

While the boys were able to successfully defend their title, the Junior Team USA girls settled for a bronze medal after falling to Sweden in the semifinals.

The loss was disappointing for Schwartz and her teammates, but now she's back at the World Youth Championships and motivated to reclaim the title on her home soil.

The 2016 tournament is being held at Lincoln's Sun Valley Lanes, and Schwartz, the only returning member of the 2014 team, helped the United States to the top of the standings after the first day of team qualifying Saturday with a near-record 2,600 total for three games, a 216.67 team average.

Malaysia is second through the first half of qualifying with 2,493 and is followed by Korea (2,468) and Canada (2,444). Defending champion Japan is seventh in the 18-team field with 2,406.

All teams will return Sunday for an additional three games on the 45-foot Rome oil pattern, after which, the top four teams will advance to the semifinals based on their six-game total pinfall.

"We actually worked together really well as a team today and picked each other up when we needed it," Schwartz said. "If someone had a bad game, the others seemed to step up their own games. Being home and having a lot of supporters also really helps. It's great to have everyone here behind us and cheering us on."

In the time since Hong Kong, Schwartz has been busy adding to her bowling resume, including 2015 National Tenpin Coaches Association Rookie of the Year and first-team All-America honors (Division 1), NTCA Division I National Player of the Year and first-team All-America honors in 2016, a win at the 2016 U.S. National Amateur Bowling Championships and a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) bowling national title with Stephen F. Austin.

But, despite the streak of success for the 20-year-old right-hander, there's still something missing - a gold medal in international competition and the chance to stand atop the medal stand while The Star-Spangled Banner plays in the background.

Schwartz has been hindered by a leg injury, and the muscle seems to tighten up with the slower pace of the team event, but as long as she constantly stretches, it's not too much trouble.

She was able to contribute a 593 series to the team effort Saturday at Sun Valley Lanes and was joined by Gazmine Mason and Julia Bond, both bowling standouts at the nearby University of Nebraska, who had 716 and 663 respectively, and Jordan Richard (628).

The team had games of 859, 820 and 921, finishing 14 pins short of the three-game team record at the World Youth Championships, a 2,614 mark set by Germany at the 2008 event in Orlando, Florida. Junior Team USA's final game Saturday included a perfect 10th frame, with all four players throwing three strikes.

Schwartz and her teammates had no idea they were in record territory, but finding out they just missed is motivation to bowl better during the second half of qualifying. Schwartz also will be able to use her experience from Hong Kong for a personal push.

"It's not a good feeling to lose, so I hope we can come back tomorrow and keep the momentum going," Schwartz said. "The first goal is to make the semifinals and then take it from there. Winning here definitely would be special."

The United States set the pace on the boys' side Saturday, opening with a 1,012 effort, the highest team game in World Youth Championships history. They bested the previous mark of 992 set by Sweden at the 2012 event.

Led by Anthony Simonsen's 748 series, Junior Team USA added games of 840 and 932 for a 2,784 total, 11 pins shy of the three-game record posted by their predecessors on the way to a second consecutive team gold medal in 2014.

Michael Tang added a 683 series for the United States and was followed by 2016 singles and doubles gold medalist Wesley Low (677) and Kamron Doyle (676). Low and Doyle were part of the team that won gold in 2014.

Japan finished the first day of team qualifying in second place with 2,686, Sweden is third with 2,614 and Norway is fourth with 2,584.

Competition at the 2016 World Youth Championships continues with the second half of team qualifying live on BowlTV throughout the day Sunday. The bottom half of the boys' field will hit the lanes first, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern.

The team semifinals will take place Monday at 10 a.m. EDT, with the finals immediately following.

Instead of complete team games in the medal round, competition will be best-of-three Baker matches. Semifinal winners will compete for the gold medal, while losers share the bronze.

The week's event includes more than 200 competitors from 37 countries competing for medals in five events - singles, doubles, team, all-events and Masters.

The all-events medals also will be decided Sunday with the completion of the final three games of team competition.

Through 15 games, Junior Team USA's Mason leads on the girls' side with a 3,398 total, a 226.53 average. Mason won the gold medal in singles and claimed a silver medal in doubles earlier in the week.

Korea's Pak Yuna, a doubles gold medalist this week, is second in all-events with 3,328. Filippa Persson of Sweden, who rolled a perfect game during singles, is third with 3,192.

In boys' all-events, Sweden's Pontus Andersson tops the standings with a 3,481 total, a 232.07 average, and is followed by Low (3,424) and Hector Simo of the Dominican Republic (3,420).

The top 24 in each set of all-events standings will advance to Masters match play, which begins Monday and will feature best-of-three single-elimination matches. The top eight in each division will receive first-round byes.

Bowling fans from around the globe can watch the competition live on BOWL.com's BowlTV with continued coverage of all qualifying, semifinal and final rounds.

For complete information on the World Youth Championships, visit 2016wyc.worldbowling.org.

The complete live-streaming schedule (all times Eastern) can be found at BOWL.com/LiveStream.