Arizona bowler leads Classified All-Events at 2019 USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas
June 26, 2019
LAS VEGAS - Entering the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, Kyle O'Meara of Peoria, Arizona, simply wanted to improve on his past three tournament appearances, while also having fun with his friends and teammates.
The 30-year-old right-hander exceeded those expectations this week at the South Point Bowling Plaza by making his way to the top of the Classified All-Events standings with a career-best 1,732 total, an improvement of more than 300 pins.
After struggling to a 477 series on the tournament's team oil pattern Tuesday, things fell into place for O'Meara on the doubles and singles oil pattern Wednesday morning, and the result was sets of 614 and 641 in doubles and singles, respectively.
"My expectations were to hit my average, maybe a little bit better, but I never expected to do this well," said O'Meara, who averaged 151.5 in his three previous USBC Open Championships appearances. "The pattern today was right for me, I was able to hit my mark consistently and everything just came together."
Technically, he still never has rolled a 500 series on the tournament lanes. His best effort prior to 2019 was a 482 series in his team event in 2017, and that came on the way to a 1,422 all-events total.
Moments after his singles effort Wednesday, which included games of 244, 181 and 216, O'Meara found out he moved into fourth place in Classified Singles.
The news that the strong finish catapulted him to the top of the Classified All-Events standings came shortly after and was an even bigger surprise, since he and his teammates hadn't looked at the leading score before or during their time on the championship lanes in Las Vegas.
"I was excited just to shoot 600, and after improving each game during doubles, I was hoping to keep that going in singles," O'Meara said. "Even though I didn't keep going up each game of singles, I bowled well overall and was happy. Ultimately, we come here to have fun and bowl with a great group of people, and to bowl this well was a nice bonus."
Jay Stratton of West Valley, Utah, previously held the lead this year in Classified All-Events with 1,718 and remains atop the Classified Singles standings with 653.
O'Meara said he found the team oil pattern tougher to adjust to, and he threw a ball he was less comfortable with. The doubles and singles pattern allowed him to play more in his comfort zone and with a ball he had more confidence in, and it showed on the scoreboard.
"I'm pretty ecstatic right now," O'Meara said. "The last couple times I've been here, I didn't bowl as well as I hoped. This time, I was able to make the right adjustments and bowl really well. I took last year off because of the distance, but I came back as a better bowler, throwing a better ball - just a better everything."
A regular competitor at AMF Peoria Lanes, O'Meara's 2014 debut at the Open Championships was at the invitation of Phoenix's Peggy Cianciola, a 13-time tournament participant who worked hard to make sure her team members had a memorable experience.
Though the Metro Phoenix USBC Bowling Hall of Famer (Meritorious Service) died in 2018, O'Meara is proud to carry on her legacy at the Open Championships and dedicated his performance to her.
Now, the wait to see if his score is enough to land his name on a championship banner has begun. There are less than two weeks left in the 122-day event, and the final ball will be throw on July 8.
"I'll try not to think about it too much," O'Meara said. "I may look at the leaderboard every now and then, but I kind of want it to be a surprise, if it happens. Based on my previous trips to the tournament, I never could've expected this, and to possibly win would be amazing."
The Classified Division includes bowlers with entering tournament averages of 155 and below.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.
The 30-year-old right-hander exceeded those expectations this week at the South Point Bowling Plaza by making his way to the top of the Classified All-Events standings with a career-best 1,732 total, an improvement of more than 300 pins.
After struggling to a 477 series on the tournament's team oil pattern Tuesday, things fell into place for O'Meara on the doubles and singles oil pattern Wednesday morning, and the result was sets of 614 and 641 in doubles and singles, respectively.
"My expectations were to hit my average, maybe a little bit better, but I never expected to do this well," said O'Meara, who averaged 151.5 in his three previous USBC Open Championships appearances. "The pattern today was right for me, I was able to hit my mark consistently and everything just came together."
Technically, he still never has rolled a 500 series on the tournament lanes. His best effort prior to 2019 was a 482 series in his team event in 2017, and that came on the way to a 1,422 all-events total.
Moments after his singles effort Wednesday, which included games of 244, 181 and 216, O'Meara found out he moved into fourth place in Classified Singles.
The news that the strong finish catapulted him to the top of the Classified All-Events standings came shortly after and was an even bigger surprise, since he and his teammates hadn't looked at the leading score before or during their time on the championship lanes in Las Vegas.
"I was excited just to shoot 600, and after improving each game during doubles, I was hoping to keep that going in singles," O'Meara said. "Even though I didn't keep going up each game of singles, I bowled well overall and was happy. Ultimately, we come here to have fun and bowl with a great group of people, and to bowl this well was a nice bonus."
Jay Stratton of West Valley, Utah, previously held the lead this year in Classified All-Events with 1,718 and remains atop the Classified Singles standings with 653.
O'Meara said he found the team oil pattern tougher to adjust to, and he threw a ball he was less comfortable with. The doubles and singles pattern allowed him to play more in his comfort zone and with a ball he had more confidence in, and it showed on the scoreboard.
"I'm pretty ecstatic right now," O'Meara said. "The last couple times I've been here, I didn't bowl as well as I hoped. This time, I was able to make the right adjustments and bowl really well. I took last year off because of the distance, but I came back as a better bowler, throwing a better ball - just a better everything."
A regular competitor at AMF Peoria Lanes, O'Meara's 2014 debut at the Open Championships was at the invitation of Phoenix's Peggy Cianciola, a 13-time tournament participant who worked hard to make sure her team members had a memorable experience.
Though the Metro Phoenix USBC Bowling Hall of Famer (Meritorious Service) died in 2018, O'Meara is proud to carry on her legacy at the Open Championships and dedicated his performance to her.
Now, the wait to see if his score is enough to land his name on a championship banner has begun. There are less than two weeks left in the 122-day event, and the final ball will be throw on July 8.
"I'll try not to think about it too much," O'Meara said. "I may look at the leaderboard every now and then, but I kind of want it to be a surprise, if it happens. Based on my previous trips to the tournament, I never could've expected this, and to possibly win would be amazing."
The Classified Division includes bowlers with entering tournament averages of 155 and below.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.