USA Bowling U15 title up for grabs on CBS Sports Network
August 21, 2016
ARLINGTON, Texas – Teams from Georgia and Minnesota will square off Monday on CBS Sports Network to determine the national title in the 15-and-under division of the USA Bowling National Championships.
The Atlanta-based Strikers, representing the South Region, face Upper Great Lakes champion the Clams from Mankato, Minnesota, in the title match. The U15 finals of the first USA Bowling National Championships were held in July in Indianapolis and were taped for broadcast.
The best-three-out-of-five Baker games final from Western Bowl will be televised on CBS Sports Network on Monday, Aug. 22, at 10 p.m. Eastern.
In the Baker format, bowlers on each team alternate frames. With four-player teams for the event, the leadoff bowler would bowl the first, fifth and ninth frames, while the second bowler would bowl the second, sixth and 10th frames.
The Clams were the sixth seed after qualifying but quickly showed they would be a tough out in the bracket. In the second game of their first match, the Clams strung together nine strikes to set up Riley Anfinson for shot at a perfect game. He tossed the first two strikes of the final frame before missing to the right but the game kick-started the team.
The Clams would roll through the bracket to earn their spot on TV. In addition to Riley, team members include Korey Balbach, Nolan Bianchi and Alex Sieberg.
“These guys have a lot of energy and put a lot into this tournament,” said Kurt Balbach, who coaches the team with Dan Anfinson. “It’s going to be fun (bowling on TV). These kids deserve it for all the hard work they’ve done this year.”
Riley, who also bowled in the Junior Gold Championships, liked the opportunity to bowl as a team with his friends.
“It’s been a blast,” Riley said. “I prefer the team, it’s more exciting, more fun.”
The Strikers, as the top seed, rolled in their half of the bracket until the game to decide the TV finalist. The Strikers had knocked Pacific Southwest champion Team Flower Power into the losers’ bracket only to have to face the team again after Team Flower Power made its way through the lower bracket.
After dropping the first game of the match that would decide which team would advance to the TV show, the Strikers won the next two games by scores of 199-178 and 223-195.
“I’m very excited (to make the TV finals),” said Bill Johnson, who coaches the team with his wife, Ellen. “This is the first time, the inaugural year, and the kids have worked hard. As coaches, it makes you proud to see your kids achieve this.”
The bowlers on the Strikers – Jhalen Embery, Faith Hardy, Tyrell Ingalls, and Dawson Stewart – bowl on the Georgia All-Star team. Ingalls, the team’s anchor, also was among the top bowlers at the Junior Gold Championships.
“It sounds like fun,” Ingalls said of the chance to bowl for a title on TV. “It just sounds exciting to me. It means a lot.”
USA Bowling conducted 16 regional events across the country to determine the 32 teams – 16 in the U12 division, 16 in U15 division – that would represent their regions at the national tournament.
At the USA Bowling National Championships, teams bowled 15 games of qualifying to determine seeds for the double-elimination match-play bracket and the teams bowled best two-of-three matches to decide which teams advanced in the bracket. The Baker format was used for all qualifying and match play.
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.
The Atlanta-based Strikers, representing the South Region, face Upper Great Lakes champion the Clams from Mankato, Minnesota, in the title match. The U15 finals of the first USA Bowling National Championships were held in July in Indianapolis and were taped for broadcast.
The best-three-out-of-five Baker games final from Western Bowl will be televised on CBS Sports Network on Monday, Aug. 22, at 10 p.m. Eastern.
In the Baker format, bowlers on each team alternate frames. With four-player teams for the event, the leadoff bowler would bowl the first, fifth and ninth frames, while the second bowler would bowl the second, sixth and 10th frames.
The Clams were the sixth seed after qualifying but quickly showed they would be a tough out in the bracket. In the second game of their first match, the Clams strung together nine strikes to set up Riley Anfinson for shot at a perfect game. He tossed the first two strikes of the final frame before missing to the right but the game kick-started the team.
The Clams would roll through the bracket to earn their spot on TV. In addition to Riley, team members include Korey Balbach, Nolan Bianchi and Alex Sieberg.
“These guys have a lot of energy and put a lot into this tournament,” said Kurt Balbach, who coaches the team with Dan Anfinson. “It’s going to be fun (bowling on TV). These kids deserve it for all the hard work they’ve done this year.”
Riley, who also bowled in the Junior Gold Championships, liked the opportunity to bowl as a team with his friends.
“It’s been a blast,” Riley said. “I prefer the team, it’s more exciting, more fun.”
The Strikers, as the top seed, rolled in their half of the bracket until the game to decide the TV finalist. The Strikers had knocked Pacific Southwest champion Team Flower Power into the losers’ bracket only to have to face the team again after Team Flower Power made its way through the lower bracket.
After dropping the first game of the match that would decide which team would advance to the TV show, the Strikers won the next two games by scores of 199-178 and 223-195.
“I’m very excited (to make the TV finals),” said Bill Johnson, who coaches the team with his wife, Ellen. “This is the first time, the inaugural year, and the kids have worked hard. As coaches, it makes you proud to see your kids achieve this.”
The bowlers on the Strikers – Jhalen Embery, Faith Hardy, Tyrell Ingalls, and Dawson Stewart – bowl on the Georgia All-Star team. Ingalls, the team’s anchor, also was among the top bowlers at the Junior Gold Championships.
“It sounds like fun,” Ingalls said of the chance to bowl for a title on TV. “It just sounds exciting to me. It means a lot.”
USA Bowling conducted 16 regional events across the country to determine the 32 teams – 16 in the U12 division, 16 in U15 division – that would represent their regions at the national tournament.
At the USA Bowling National Championships, teams bowled 15 games of qualifying to determine seeds for the double-elimination match-play bracket and the teams bowled best two-of-three matches to decide which teams advanced in the bracket. The Baker format was used for all qualifying and match play.
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.