Benard breaks into men's record book, Brandolino leads women on Day 4 of 2026 Team USA Trials
January 06, 2026
Deo Benard of Henderson, Nevada (left), and Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, took advantage of high scoring conditions and led their respective divisions on Day 4 at the 2026 Team USA Trials and U.S. National Amateur Bowling Championships at Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
FULL RESULTS
LAS VEGAS – There were high scores aplenty at Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday, but two performances outshined all others during Day 4 of competition at the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials and United States National Amateur Bowling Championships.
Those efforts were authored by Deo Benard of Henderson, Nevada, and Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois.
Benard didn’t just lead the 175-player men’s field during Round 4, he dominated it, recording the fifth-highest men's six-game series in Team USA Trials history with a score of 1,554 (a 259 average), which he posted thanks to games of 268, 289, 233, 221, 244 and 299.
That mark placed Benard 86 pins ahead of second-place finisher Spencer Robarge of Springfield, Missouri, who started with a 299 of his own en route to a 1,468 total on Tuesday – Robarge is the current men’s Team USA Trials six-game record holder thanks to a 1,578 series shot during the 2024 event at Gold Coast.
The remaining spots in the men’s Day 4 top five went to Jacob Bockstie of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1,455), Derrick Lewandowski of Blue Grass, Iowa (1,452), and Bruno Brandao of Orlando, Florida (1,447).
Luke Switalski of Oak Forest, Illinois, who led the men’s field during Round 3 on Monday, finished 68th on Tuesday with 1,274. That score included the day’s only perfect game, which Switalski recorded during Game 5.
Kaitlyn Stull of Raleigh, North Carolina, tried to match Switalski’s effort with a 300 of her own, but her 12th shot of Game 5 went high, forcing Stull to settle for 296 for the game and 1,371 for the day. Stull fired the women’s division’s first perfect game of the 2026 Team USA Trials during Round 1 on Saturday.
Brandolino didn’t make any runs at perfection on Tuesday, but what she did do was bowl a perfectly consistent six-game block, notching games of 258, 244, 237, 222, 224 and 256 to lead the 132-player women’s division with a total of 1,441 (a 240.17 average).
Avery Domaguin of San Diego was close behind with 1,430 while Elizabeth Teuber of Holly, Michigan (1,415), Maggie Thoma of New Braunfels, Texas (1,401), and Melia Mitskavich of DuBois, Pennsylvania (1,398), were slotted in places three, four, and five, respectively.
Tuesday’s first-place finish moved Brandolino into a tie with Bryanna Coté of Marana, Arizona, for fifth place in the women’s Team USA Trials overall standings with 68 ranking points heading into Wednesday’s fifth and final six-game block.
Competitors earn ranking points based on their finishing positions during each of the five qualifying rounds – the top bowler of the round will earn one ranking point, second place will earn two points, etc. – with the lowest total of ranking points after five rounds determining the men’s and women’s Team USA Trials champions.
Teuber, who hasn’t finished lower than eighth during the first four days of competition, retained the women’s Team USA Trials overall lead with 22 points. She is joined in the top five by Stull (42), Domaguin (45), Breanna Clemmer of Pikeville, Kentucky (67), Brandolino and Coté.
The top five spots in the men’s Team USA Trials overall standings currently feature Day 1 leader Cameron Crowe of Orland Park, Illinois (43), Bryce Oliver of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (51), Julian Salinas of Long Branch, New Jersey (57), defending champion Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas (62), and Bockstie (80).
At the conclusion of Round 5 on Wednesday, the top four age-eligible men and top four age-eligible women in the Team USA Trials standings, based on ranking points, will earn automatic spots on Team USA 2026.
Benard’s big day moved him into 23rd place with 174 points and continued a trend of dramatic improvement.
After finishing in 70th place on Day 1 and 97th during Round 2, the 22-year-old lefty two-hander placed sixth in the third round before leading the pack on Tuesday.
Benard didn’t come to Gold Coast expecting to put up big numbers on the 50-foot lane condition the men faced during Round 4; nevertheless, he was quite pleased with how the day played out.
“I came in today thinking I would have to grind a lot like I did yesterday, but I liked what I saw in practice and caught a few good pairs to get off to a strong start,” Benard said. “From there, I just tried to manage my speed and rev rate, and it worked out pretty well.
“I didn’t know that my score was good enough to reach the top five all time here; that’s insane to me. I haven’t bowled this tournament in six years, but it’s one of my favorite events. It’s good to be back.”
Benard is hoping to close out this year’s tournament run with a special performance during Round 5. He knows it won’t be easy, however, as most men’s competitors expect Wednesday’s 40-foot oil pattern to be very challenging.
“I’m assuming tomorrow is going to be a lot harder and not nearly as high scoring as today,” Benard said. “Still, I’m just going to try to do the same thing I did today, which is hit the pocket a lot and make my spares. I’m hoping it will be a good day.”
Speaking of good days, nobody in the women’s field was as adept as Brandolino at taming the 48-foot women’s Round 4 oil pattern.
The 19-year-old right-hander anticipated finding success on Tuesday and was happy that things came together as she’d hoped they would.
“Going into today, I was hoping to have a good day and knew that I could,” Brandolino said. “During the practice session, this was one of the patterns that played a little bit easier for me. I still approached it like any other day just wanting to bowl the best that I could, but the pins just fell better for me than anyone else.”
Nevertheless, like Benard, Brandolino expects the degree of difficulty to increase on Day 5. As such, she anticipates possibly having to shift her mindset from attack mode to survival mode.
“I think tomorrow is going to be one of the harder days not just for me but for most people,” Brandolino said. “It’s probably going to be more about the grind, which means staying patient, hitting the pocket, making your spares and hoping it’s enough.”
Brandolino has plenty to shoot for because in addition to sitting in a tie for fifth place in the women’s Team USA Trials overall standings, she currently is fourth in the women’s U.S. Amateur race, trailing only Teuber, Stull and Domaguin. Thoma is one spot behind Brandolino in fifth place.
The men’s U.S. Amateur top five heading into the final round consists of Oliver, Salinas, Bockstie, Dawson Peterson of Stewartville, Minnesota (86), and Landin Jordan of Sycamore, Illinois (93).
At the conclusion of Round 5, the top three amateur men and top three amateur women will advance to a stepladder final to determine this year’s U.S. Amateur champions.
Those champions will automatically make Team USA 2026 provided they are age eligible. If the champions have already earned spots, invitations will be extended to the next-highest qualifier in each division based on ranking points.
The National Selection Committee will name two additional men and two additional women to Team USA from the pool of players competing at the 2026 Team USA Trials.
In order to be eligible for a spot on Team USA 2026, a bowler must be at least 18 years old as of the end of this year’s tournament.
Round 5 will begin Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. Eastern with the men. The women will hit the lanes later in the day, starting their final six-game block at 6 p.m. Eastern. All rounds of competition will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.
FULL RESULTS
LAS VEGAS – There were high scores aplenty at Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday, but two performances outshined all others during Day 4 of competition at the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials and United States National Amateur Bowling Championships.
Those efforts were authored by Deo Benard of Henderson, Nevada, and Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois.
Benard didn’t just lead the 175-player men’s field during Round 4, he dominated it, recording the fifth-highest men's six-game series in Team USA Trials history with a score of 1,554 (a 259 average), which he posted thanks to games of 268, 289, 233, 221, 244 and 299.
That mark placed Benard 86 pins ahead of second-place finisher Spencer Robarge of Springfield, Missouri, who started with a 299 of his own en route to a 1,468 total on Tuesday – Robarge is the current men’s Team USA Trials six-game record holder thanks to a 1,578 series shot during the 2024 event at Gold Coast.
The remaining spots in the men’s Day 4 top five went to Jacob Bockstie of Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1,455), Derrick Lewandowski of Blue Grass, Iowa (1,452), and Bruno Brandao of Orlando, Florida (1,447).
Luke Switalski of Oak Forest, Illinois, who led the men’s field during Round 3 on Monday, finished 68th on Tuesday with 1,274. That score included the day’s only perfect game, which Switalski recorded during Game 5.
Kaitlyn Stull of Raleigh, North Carolina, tried to match Switalski’s effort with a 300 of her own, but her 12th shot of Game 5 went high, forcing Stull to settle for 296 for the game and 1,371 for the day. Stull fired the women’s division’s first perfect game of the 2026 Team USA Trials during Round 1 on Saturday.
Brandolino didn’t make any runs at perfection on Tuesday, but what she did do was bowl a perfectly consistent six-game block, notching games of 258, 244, 237, 222, 224 and 256 to lead the 132-player women’s division with a total of 1,441 (a 240.17 average).
Avery Domaguin of San Diego was close behind with 1,430 while Elizabeth Teuber of Holly, Michigan (1,415), Maggie Thoma of New Braunfels, Texas (1,401), and Melia Mitskavich of DuBois, Pennsylvania (1,398), were slotted in places three, four, and five, respectively.
Tuesday’s first-place finish moved Brandolino into a tie with Bryanna Coté of Marana, Arizona, for fifth place in the women’s Team USA Trials overall standings with 68 ranking points heading into Wednesday’s fifth and final six-game block.
Competitors earn ranking points based on their finishing positions during each of the five qualifying rounds – the top bowler of the round will earn one ranking point, second place will earn two points, etc. – with the lowest total of ranking points after five rounds determining the men’s and women’s Team USA Trials champions.
Teuber, who hasn’t finished lower than eighth during the first four days of competition, retained the women’s Team USA Trials overall lead with 22 points. She is joined in the top five by Stull (42), Domaguin (45), Breanna Clemmer of Pikeville, Kentucky (67), Brandolino and Coté.
The top five spots in the men’s Team USA Trials overall standings currently feature Day 1 leader Cameron Crowe of Orland Park, Illinois (43), Bryce Oliver of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (51), Julian Salinas of Long Branch, New Jersey (57), defending champion Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas (62), and Bockstie (80).
At the conclusion of Round 5 on Wednesday, the top four age-eligible men and top four age-eligible women in the Team USA Trials standings, based on ranking points, will earn automatic spots on Team USA 2026.
Benard’s big day moved him into 23rd place with 174 points and continued a trend of dramatic improvement.
After finishing in 70th place on Day 1 and 97th during Round 2, the 22-year-old lefty two-hander placed sixth in the third round before leading the pack on Tuesday.
Benard didn’t come to Gold Coast expecting to put up big numbers on the 50-foot lane condition the men faced during Round 4; nevertheless, he was quite pleased with how the day played out.
“I came in today thinking I would have to grind a lot like I did yesterday, but I liked what I saw in practice and caught a few good pairs to get off to a strong start,” Benard said. “From there, I just tried to manage my speed and rev rate, and it worked out pretty well.
“I didn’t know that my score was good enough to reach the top five all time here; that’s insane to me. I haven’t bowled this tournament in six years, but it’s one of my favorite events. It’s good to be back.”
Benard is hoping to close out this year’s tournament run with a special performance during Round 5. He knows it won’t be easy, however, as most men’s competitors expect Wednesday’s 40-foot oil pattern to be very challenging.
“I’m assuming tomorrow is going to be a lot harder and not nearly as high scoring as today,” Benard said. “Still, I’m just going to try to do the same thing I did today, which is hit the pocket a lot and make my spares. I’m hoping it will be a good day.”
Speaking of good days, nobody in the women’s field was as adept as Brandolino at taming the 48-foot women’s Round 4 oil pattern.
The 19-year-old right-hander anticipated finding success on Tuesday and was happy that things came together as she’d hoped they would.
“Going into today, I was hoping to have a good day and knew that I could,” Brandolino said. “During the practice session, this was one of the patterns that played a little bit easier for me. I still approached it like any other day just wanting to bowl the best that I could, but the pins just fell better for me than anyone else.”
Nevertheless, like Benard, Brandolino expects the degree of difficulty to increase on Day 5. As such, she anticipates possibly having to shift her mindset from attack mode to survival mode.
“I think tomorrow is going to be one of the harder days not just for me but for most people,” Brandolino said. “It’s probably going to be more about the grind, which means staying patient, hitting the pocket, making your spares and hoping it’s enough.”
Brandolino has plenty to shoot for because in addition to sitting in a tie for fifth place in the women’s Team USA Trials overall standings, she currently is fourth in the women’s U.S. Amateur race, trailing only Teuber, Stull and Domaguin. Thoma is one spot behind Brandolino in fifth place.
The men’s U.S. Amateur top five heading into the final round consists of Oliver, Salinas, Bockstie, Dawson Peterson of Stewartville, Minnesota (86), and Landin Jordan of Sycamore, Illinois (93).
At the conclusion of Round 5, the top three amateur men and top three amateur women will advance to a stepladder final to determine this year’s U.S. Amateur champions.
Those champions will automatically make Team USA 2026 provided they are age eligible. If the champions have already earned spots, invitations will be extended to the next-highest qualifier in each division based on ranking points.
The National Selection Committee will name two additional men and two additional women to Team USA from the pool of players competing at the 2026 Team USA Trials.
In order to be eligible for a spot on Team USA 2026, a bowler must be at least 18 years old as of the end of this year’s tournament.
Round 5 will begin Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. Eastern with the men. The women will hit the lanes later in the day, starting their final six-game block at 6 p.m. Eastern. All rounds of competition will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.