USA Bowling U12 national title to be decided on CBS Sports Network
August 15, 2016
ARLINGTON, Texas – Sixteen regional events set the field for the first USA Bowling National Championships, and after two days of qualifying and match play, the final two teams will square off for the inaugural 12-and-under national title.
Coastal South regional winner, Team Georgia, will face the Indiana U12 All-Stars, the Lower Great Lakes regional winner, in the U12 title match of the USA Bowling National Championships. The national competition took place in Indianapolis in July, with the finals taped for broadcast.
The best-of-five Baker title match from Western Bowl will be televised on CBS Sports Network on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
In Baker competition, team members alternate frames as the teams work together to post a single score. With the four-player teams at the USA Bowling National Championships, the leadoff bowler then bowls the ninth frame, while the second bowler closes things out in the 10th.
Team Georgia was 14-1 in qualifying, which was held at All Star Bowl, to earn the top seed for the double-elimination match-play bracket that used a best two-out-of-three Baker format. In its half of the bracket, Team Georgia swept its first two matches, then used a 2-1 victory over the Upper Midwest regional champion to reach the match to determine which team would bowl for the title.
Ohio Valley regional champion, Team Ohio, which lost its opening match, had worked its way through the lower bracket by winning four matches, but would have to beat Team Georgia twice to reach the title tilt.
Team Ohio won the first match to set up a winner-take-all match, but Team Georgia prevailed.
“This is surreal, it’s very exciting,” said Jeffrey Collins, coach of Team Georgia, along with assistant coach Christopher Griffith. “I’m so proud of these boys. They have achieved so much this year.”
Collins said Team Georgia was comprised of bowlers who compete on the Georgia Youth Bowlers Tour, the Junior Gold qualifier for the state, and he worked with parents to put the team together.
Team members are Joshua Collins, Jacob Ballenger, Bryant Griffith and Braden Sorrentino. Ballenger said the tournament has been fun.
“I’m excited, and I’m glad that we did so well,” Jacob said.
The Indiana U12 All-Stars, the Lower Great Lakes champion, earned the second seed in qualifying and rolled through its half of the bracket, including a 2-0 victory over No. 3 seed Smyrna (Tennessee) Elite Gold, the South regional winner.
“We put together our top middle-school finishers from the state of Indiana to try to compete in this tournament,” Indiana U12 All-Stars coach Chris Toyias said. “It’s turned out exactly how we planned, to compete with the best in the nation. This has got to be the biggest tournament of all these kids’ lives.”
The team members of the Indiana U12 All-Stars are Reece Dunbar, Shayla Gwynn, Hayden Smith and Kyle Toyias, who said the team “had a pretty good day” and that it will be exciting to bowl on TV.
“It’s pretty awesome (to bowl on TV). There are not too many kids that get this opportunity, and it’s just really cool to be able to do it,” Kyle said.
USA Bowling is a product of the Youth Education Services (YES) Fund, a joint initiative of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and United States Bowling Congress supported by top bowling brands including Bowling.com, Brunswick, Columbia 300, Ebonite, Hammer, QubicaAMF, Roto Grip, Storm and Track.
Go to BOWL.com/USABowling for more information about the USA Bowling program and the USA Bowling National Championships.
Coastal South regional winner, Team Georgia, will face the Indiana U12 All-Stars, the Lower Great Lakes regional winner, in the U12 title match of the USA Bowling National Championships. The national competition took place in Indianapolis in July, with the finals taped for broadcast.
The best-of-five Baker title match from Western Bowl will be televised on CBS Sports Network on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
In Baker competition, team members alternate frames as the teams work together to post a single score. With the four-player teams at the USA Bowling National Championships, the leadoff bowler then bowls the ninth frame, while the second bowler closes things out in the 10th.
Team Georgia was 14-1 in qualifying, which was held at All Star Bowl, to earn the top seed for the double-elimination match-play bracket that used a best two-out-of-three Baker format. In its half of the bracket, Team Georgia swept its first two matches, then used a 2-1 victory over the Upper Midwest regional champion to reach the match to determine which team would bowl for the title.
Ohio Valley regional champion, Team Ohio, which lost its opening match, had worked its way through the lower bracket by winning four matches, but would have to beat Team Georgia twice to reach the title tilt.
Team Ohio won the first match to set up a winner-take-all match, but Team Georgia prevailed.
“This is surreal, it’s very exciting,” said Jeffrey Collins, coach of Team Georgia, along with assistant coach Christopher Griffith. “I’m so proud of these boys. They have achieved so much this year.”
Collins said Team Georgia was comprised of bowlers who compete on the Georgia Youth Bowlers Tour, the Junior Gold qualifier for the state, and he worked with parents to put the team together.
Team members are Joshua Collins, Jacob Ballenger, Bryant Griffith and Braden Sorrentino. Ballenger said the tournament has been fun.
“I’m excited, and I’m glad that we did so well,” Jacob said.
The Indiana U12 All-Stars, the Lower Great Lakes champion, earned the second seed in qualifying and rolled through its half of the bracket, including a 2-0 victory over No. 3 seed Smyrna (Tennessee) Elite Gold, the South regional winner.
“We put together our top middle-school finishers from the state of Indiana to try to compete in this tournament,” Indiana U12 All-Stars coach Chris Toyias said. “It’s turned out exactly how we planned, to compete with the best in the nation. This has got to be the biggest tournament of all these kids’ lives.”
The team members of the Indiana U12 All-Stars are Reece Dunbar, Shayla Gwynn, Hayden Smith and Kyle Toyias, who said the team “had a pretty good day” and that it will be exciting to bowl on TV.
“It’s pretty awesome (to bowl on TV). There are not too many kids that get this opportunity, and it’s just really cool to be able to do it,” Kyle said.
USA Bowling is a product of the Youth Education Services (YES) Fund, a joint initiative of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and United States Bowling Congress supported by top bowling brands including Bowling.com, Brunswick, Columbia 300, Ebonite, Hammer, QubicaAMF, Roto Grip, Storm and Track.
Go to BOWL.com/USABowling for more information about the USA Bowling program and the USA Bowling National Championships.