Wisconsin's Abby Schleicher named recipient of Annual Zeb Scholarship
April 02, 2026
ARLINGTON, Texas – Abby Schleicher of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, has been chosen by the United States Bowling Congress as the Annual Zeb Scholarship recipient for 2026.
The Annual Zeb Scholarship recognizes a USBC Youth member who has achieved academic success and gives back to their community through service. The recipient, who must be a junior or senior in high school, receives a $2,500 scholarship.
Schleicher was pleasantly surprised to receive the scholarship.
“My first words after learning I had received the scholarship were ‘Are you for real?!’ I had filled out the application knowing there were a lot of qualified kids out there, so I didn’t have my hopes necessarily set on getting it,” Schleicher admitted. “So, receiving that phone call was mind-blowing to me.
“Winning this scholarship shows me that I’m able to do things and accomplish things even when I think I might not stand out against the people I’m competing against,” Schleicher continued. “It shows me that the hours that I’ve put in both on the lanes and volunteering within my community and the hours I’ve spent doing homework paid off.”
Despite her surprise, Schleicher’s academic record coupled with her extracurricular activities and her exemplary volunteer work in the community made her stand out as a worthy recipient of the Annual Zeb Scholarship.
Schleicher, 18, is completing her senior year at Sheboygan Falls High School in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, where she carries a 3.9 GPA while taking numerous AP (Advanced Placement and AS (Advanced Standing) courses. She also takes online classes for which she is receiving both high school and college credit.
“A lot of my college credit is taken online through a local technical college (Fox Valley Technical College),” Schleicher said. “I’ve been able to take some college level agricultural and teaching classes, which has allowed me to take a deeper dive into something I have a passion for.”
In the classroom, Schleicher has made honor roll in each semester of high school and has received National Honor Society honors for both her junior and senior years.
She is secretary for the Sheboygan Falls Future Business Leaders of America, is a council member for the Sheboygan Falls High School band, is a member of the Sheboygan Falls Robotics team and with Project Grill, having served as documentation lead last year and project lead this year.
“With Project Grill, we’re developing hands-on skills while we build a grill in partnership with a local company,” Schleicher said. “We’re learning different communication skills that push you to develop not only in the classroom, but also as a person.”
Her community involvement includes six years with the Sheboygan County 4-H and as a past president of the Johnsonville Hustlers 4-H. She is currently a member of a Junior Leadership Program through the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce.
Schleicher has served as both chaplain and secretary for the Sheboygan Falls Future Farmers of America. In these roles, she demonstrated a high level of responsibility and organizational skill, contributing significantly to the success of the chapter’s events.
“One of my favorite projects is the kindergarten field trip for FFA,” Schleicher said. “The FFA president and I are currently coordinating more than 500 kindergartners to come out to a local farm and learn about agriculture. We schedule the vendors and speakers and take care of the event details. I’ve worked on this event before and it helped spark my interest in teaching and agriculture. It’s just really cool to see all the kindergartners so excited to learn about agriculture.”
During her high school tenure, Schleicher has accounted for more than 200 hours of volunteer work from her collection of extracurriculars and community service.
“I’ve had people in my life who have been willing to give their time to me to help me on my journey,” said Schleicher. “I feel like now it’s my turn to give back to the next generation.”
Not to be forgotten is her dedication to the sport of bowling, where Schleicher is leaving her mark both as a competitor and through coaching.
“I started bowling two or three years before COVID hit. I think I was around 10 years old but wasn’t taking it too seriously,” Schleicher recalled. “Post-COVID, I started bowling at two local centers and started taking a deeper dive into it. I was able to bowl on my middle school team and was able to kind of find my place and decided it was something I wanted to be more committed to, and it just kind of snowballed from there.”
During her sophomore year, Schleicher helped propel her high school team (a girls’ co-op team featuring student-athletes from Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan North and Oostburg High Schools) to a Wisconsin Division I Girls’ Team State title after having finished as runner-up the previous season.
“What was so great about that win was that we were able to beat the team that we had lost to the previous year when we finished second,” said Schleicher. “That stands out because we were able to move on and prove that we were on the same level as them and even beat them. What made it extra special was that the boys’ team also won a state title that day, so we had a clean sweep of Division I.”
Schleicher also is a two-time Junior Gold national qualifier (2025 & 2026), has been named to the Sheboygan County All Stars Team (2021-2022), served as captain for her high school team and owns wins in a handful of local tournaments.
Beyond competition, Schleicher has served as a member of the Sheboygan Area Bowling Association Board of Directors for the last two seasons (youth representative) and owns her Level I Coaching Certification. She has used that certification as a youth league assistant coach at a local bowling center and as assistant bowling coach at Lakeshore Lanes Middle School.
“Coaching has been a passion of mine,” Schleicher said. “I was able to coach at the first center where I bowled league, and then my coaches at Lakeshore were able to welcome me into the middle school program where I’ve been able to work with the girls. It’s been a very relatable experience with them; I find that I’m able to help them with a lot of the same things I struggled with.”
Schleicher notes she’s had some great coaches and mentors in her life, citing bowling coaches Lisa Roerdink and Mike Heling, as well as her adult/youth partner Haley Gilles, as positive influences on the lanes. Additionally, she acknowledged her FFA advisor and agricultural teacher Megan Hand and, of course, she wanted to thank her parents, Alvin and Regina, for all their support and guidance.
Schleicher is planning for a collegiate future where she intends to major in Agricultural and Technical Education with the idea of continuing her bowling career.
“I’m 95% certain that I’ll be attending the University of Wisconsin-Platteville,” Schleicher said. “Platteville does have a bowling team, but the most important thing for me is to get a degree that I want and can use because I’ll always be able to go back to bowling whether I compete collegiately or not. That said, chances are that I will try to bowl at Platteville, but that wasn’t the deciding factor in choosing a school.”
Schleicher will be presented with her scholarship later this month at the 2026 USBC Convention and Annual Meeting at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada.
For a list of past Annual Zeb Scholarship recipients, click here.
Learn more about awards for adult youth leaders and scholarship opportunities for youth bowlers by clicking here.
The Annual Zeb Scholarship recognizes a USBC Youth member who has achieved academic success and gives back to their community through service. The recipient, who must be a junior or senior in high school, receives a $2,500 scholarship.
Schleicher was pleasantly surprised to receive the scholarship.
“My first words after learning I had received the scholarship were ‘Are you for real?!’ I had filled out the application knowing there were a lot of qualified kids out there, so I didn’t have my hopes necessarily set on getting it,” Schleicher admitted. “So, receiving that phone call was mind-blowing to me.
“Winning this scholarship shows me that I’m able to do things and accomplish things even when I think I might not stand out against the people I’m competing against,” Schleicher continued. “It shows me that the hours that I’ve put in both on the lanes and volunteering within my community and the hours I’ve spent doing homework paid off.”
Despite her surprise, Schleicher’s academic record coupled with her extracurricular activities and her exemplary volunteer work in the community made her stand out as a worthy recipient of the Annual Zeb Scholarship.
Schleicher, 18, is completing her senior year at Sheboygan Falls High School in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, where she carries a 3.9 GPA while taking numerous AP (Advanced Placement and AS (Advanced Standing) courses. She also takes online classes for which she is receiving both high school and college credit.
“A lot of my college credit is taken online through a local technical college (Fox Valley Technical College),” Schleicher said. “I’ve been able to take some college level agricultural and teaching classes, which has allowed me to take a deeper dive into something I have a passion for.”
In the classroom, Schleicher has made honor roll in each semester of high school and has received National Honor Society honors for both her junior and senior years.
She is secretary for the Sheboygan Falls Future Business Leaders of America, is a council member for the Sheboygan Falls High School band, is a member of the Sheboygan Falls Robotics team and with Project Grill, having served as documentation lead last year and project lead this year.
“With Project Grill, we’re developing hands-on skills while we build a grill in partnership with a local company,” Schleicher said. “We’re learning different communication skills that push you to develop not only in the classroom, but also as a person.”
Her community involvement includes six years with the Sheboygan County 4-H and as a past president of the Johnsonville Hustlers 4-H. She is currently a member of a Junior Leadership Program through the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce.
Schleicher has served as both chaplain and secretary for the Sheboygan Falls Future Farmers of America. In these roles, she demonstrated a high level of responsibility and organizational skill, contributing significantly to the success of the chapter’s events.
“One of my favorite projects is the kindergarten field trip for FFA,” Schleicher said. “The FFA president and I are currently coordinating more than 500 kindergartners to come out to a local farm and learn about agriculture. We schedule the vendors and speakers and take care of the event details. I’ve worked on this event before and it helped spark my interest in teaching and agriculture. It’s just really cool to see all the kindergartners so excited to learn about agriculture.”
During her high school tenure, Schleicher has accounted for more than 200 hours of volunteer work from her collection of extracurriculars and community service.
“I’ve had people in my life who have been willing to give their time to me to help me on my journey,” said Schleicher. “I feel like now it’s my turn to give back to the next generation.”
Not to be forgotten is her dedication to the sport of bowling, where Schleicher is leaving her mark both as a competitor and through coaching.
“I started bowling two or three years before COVID hit. I think I was around 10 years old but wasn’t taking it too seriously,” Schleicher recalled. “Post-COVID, I started bowling at two local centers and started taking a deeper dive into it. I was able to bowl on my middle school team and was able to kind of find my place and decided it was something I wanted to be more committed to, and it just kind of snowballed from there.”
During her sophomore year, Schleicher helped propel her high school team (a girls’ co-op team featuring student-athletes from Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan North and Oostburg High Schools) to a Wisconsin Division I Girls’ Team State title after having finished as runner-up the previous season.
“What was so great about that win was that we were able to beat the team that we had lost to the previous year when we finished second,” said Schleicher. “That stands out because we were able to move on and prove that we were on the same level as them and even beat them. What made it extra special was that the boys’ team also won a state title that day, so we had a clean sweep of Division I.”
Schleicher also is a two-time Junior Gold national qualifier (2025 & 2026), has been named to the Sheboygan County All Stars Team (2021-2022), served as captain for her high school team and owns wins in a handful of local tournaments.
Beyond competition, Schleicher has served as a member of the Sheboygan Area Bowling Association Board of Directors for the last two seasons (youth representative) and owns her Level I Coaching Certification. She has used that certification as a youth league assistant coach at a local bowling center and as assistant bowling coach at Lakeshore Lanes Middle School.
“Coaching has been a passion of mine,” Schleicher said. “I was able to coach at the first center where I bowled league, and then my coaches at Lakeshore were able to welcome me into the middle school program where I’ve been able to work with the girls. It’s been a very relatable experience with them; I find that I’m able to help them with a lot of the same things I struggled with.”
Schleicher notes she’s had some great coaches and mentors in her life, citing bowling coaches Lisa Roerdink and Mike Heling, as well as her adult/youth partner Haley Gilles, as positive influences on the lanes. Additionally, she acknowledged her FFA advisor and agricultural teacher Megan Hand and, of course, she wanted to thank her parents, Alvin and Regina, for all their support and guidance.
Schleicher is planning for a collegiate future where she intends to major in Agricultural and Technical Education with the idea of continuing her bowling career.
“I’m 95% certain that I’ll be attending the University of Wisconsin-Platteville,” Schleicher said. “Platteville does have a bowling team, but the most important thing for me is to get a degree that I want and can use because I’ll always be able to go back to bowling whether I compete collegiately or not. That said, chances are that I will try to bowl at Platteville, but that wasn’t the deciding factor in choosing a school.”
Schleicher will be presented with her scholarship later this month at the 2026 USBC Convention and Annual Meeting at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, Nevada.
For a list of past Annual Zeb Scholarship recipients, click here.
Learn more about awards for adult youth leaders and scholarship opportunities for youth bowlers by clicking here.