INDIANAPOLIS – The opportunity for youth bowlers to compete for a national team title became a reality on Wednesday as competition in the first USA Bowling National Championships started at Woodland Bowl.

The 16 teams in the USA Bowling National Championships’ U15 Division bowled 15 Baker games of head-to-head competition to determine seeds for the double-elimination match-play bracket. All teams advance to Thursday’s match play, which will consist of a best two-out-of-three Baker matches until the field is narrowed to the final two teams.

The two teams remaining at the end of match play advance to Saturday’s finals at Western Bowl. The title match – best three-out-of-five Baker matches – will be taped for broadcast on CBS Sports Network and will be televised in August.

The South Regional qualifier, the Lilburn Strikers V of Atlanta, posted a 12-3 record to earn the top qualifying spot on Wednesday. The four-player team of Tyrell Ingalls, Faith Hardy, Dawson Stewart, and Jhalen Embery averaged just over 203 per game, posting a 3,051 pinfall total.

“This is a unique tournament because it’s Baker (games),” said Ellen Johnson, who coaches the team with her husband, Bill. “For the kids that want to go on and bowl college, this is their first chance to get to bowl Baker games and it’s just a good experience.”

Ohio Valley Regional champion Tennessee Elite is second after posting an 11-4 mark. The all-girls team includes Sarah Sane, who was runner-up in the U12 division at the Junior Gold Championships in 2014, Natily Haro, Faith Welch, and Kailee Channell.

Four regional champions went 10-5: Southeast winner Buffaloe Lanes U15 of Raleigh, North Carolina; Midwest champ Three Right Make A Left of Wichita, Kansas; Lower Great Lakes winner Smyrna Elite Red of Murfreesboro, Tennessee; and Upper Great Lakes champion Clams of Mankato, Minnesota.

For the Strikers, this season marks the second time to compete in a USA Bowling Regional event. Johnson said the Strikers finished second in last year’s regional, but came back this season and knocked out the team they lost to last season.

And now, the Strikers are the top seed for match play.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of them,” Johnson said. “They came to bowl. And I hope they not only came to bowl, they came to win.”

The U12 Division qualifying and match-play bracket will take place Friday at All Star Bowl. 

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, including result from the USA Bowling National Championships.