Pictured above (from left): Jason Dias, Duke Matties, Joshua Alvarez, Christian Amendola, Harrison Neuharth

UPDATE (April 4, 2026): Neuharth and Amendola also took over the lead in Standard Doubles with a 1,269 series. Additional details were added to the story below.

RENO, Nev. – Rolando’s OC Guys of Santee, California, rewrote the leaderboard in Standard Team after taking the lead Friday evening at the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.

The group shot games of 952, 1,057 and 950 to close with 2,959, 16 pins better than the previous team, Prairie Wolf Construction of Helena, Montana, that bowled just one day prior.

The team was led by Jason Dias’ 655 series, followed by Harrison Neuharth (617), Joshua Alvarez (607), Duke Matties (546) and Christian Amendola (534). Neuharth clinched the lead for the team with a strike to open the final frame, but was quick to point out the massive team effort it took.

“It came down to the very end, and I really have to give it to my team,” Neuharth said. “They grinded through the whole event. I couldn’t be more thankful for the guys I bowled with.”

He noted how important it was for the team to have an open dialogue while they bowled to stay ahead of the game.

“It was just constant communication between all of us. Christian and I both started bowling at the same time in college at Cal Poly State in early 2022, so our communication is always there. We’re constantly talking back and forth, kind of ping-ponging off each other, trying to figure out what’s working.

“The rest of the team was always chatting, too – pointing out what’s working, what’s not – just making sure we’re sharing what we see. I think that’s really the key to success.”

Neuharth also said that the team had only met a few weeks ago and were able to keep conversations away from the scores they were putting up.

“I think we managed to just stay level. In the back, we kept things pretty light, just outside conversation, really. We weren’t talking about scores at all. We still talked about bowling and ball motion, but not about exactly what the scoreboard looked like.”

Still, it was hard to ignore what they were doing heading into the final game.

“I think it crossed everyone’s mind right away because the pace we were on was incredible,” he said. “You can’t not notice. You see your scores, then you look at the big scrolling leaderboard and think, ‘OK, if we keep this up, we’re way up there.’

“We slowed down a little toward the end, but I couldn’t be happier with the adjustments we made and how we handled it.”

Of the five on the team, only Dias had bowled the Open Championships prior to this year and the rest were all making their first trip to the event, making it surreal to be at the top early in their careers.

“I can’t even describe it,” said Neuharth. “I’ve only been bowling for three years, and honestly, I didn’t even know I was going to bowl this event until about two and a half weeks ago when someone dropped out.

“I never thought I’d be here bowling with such great guys and sitting at the top of the leaderboard, especially this early in a lot of our bowling careers.”

With the leaderboard ever-changing through the first three weeks of the tournament, Neuharth and the rest of the team know anything can happen to push them down the leaderboard. For now, though, they’ll enjoy seeing themselves at the top.

“I think we all know the lead could slip, but we’re just happy with how we bowled. You can’t sit there thinking about a spare you missed and what it might’ve cost you. We’re happy with how we performed, and we know we bowled really well. We gave it our best, and as a bowler, you really can’t ask for more.”

Standard Team includes five-player groups with combined entering averages of 801-905.



UPDATE (April 4): Neuharth and Amendola returned to the National Bowling Stadium on Saturday to also take the lead in Standard Doubles, combining for a 1,269 score. Reese Harvey of Reno, Nevada, and Jacob Mickelson of Pullman, Washington, previously held the top spot with 1,254.

Neuharth led the way Saturday, rolling games of 236, 241 and 192 for a 669 series. Amendola had 201, 239 and 160 for 600. Both players marked in the 10th frame of Game 3 to secure the lead.

Some early scouting at the NBS helped the pair get lined up quickly for doubles.

"We had the right idea going into the tournament and tried to replicate what we did yesterday," Amendola said. "We talked about ball motion and tried to figure out the lanes. We knew from previous squads that we were going to be playing straighter and probably with more surface, and we made the correct adjustments in practice.

"Harrison and I were talking almost every shot and were watching everyone else on our pair, trying to make adjustments based on their ball reaction. It worked out really well. We both got into a good zone where we were able to create some friction and miss room and just ran with it."

Although their styles vary a bit, with Amendola attacking the lanes as a two-hander and Neuharth playing the right side a little straighter, they were able to help each other create some room to work with during the set.

"I think we found more miss room than we thought, and we also played into each other's lines," Neuharth said. "I was playing farther right than Christian and creating some earlier friction so he had a little more miss room. When we both moved in, we had broken the lanes down well to make them pretty playable from wherever."

After taking the lead on Friday night, the pair had an idea of the number they needed to get to in doubles for a repeat performance. Through two games, they were well ahead of the pace but battled some transition toward the end of Game 3.

"We did look but didn't memorize the number – we knew we had to average around 210 to be in contention," Amendola said. "After the first game where Harrison carried me and second game where I shot really well, we knew we could do it. Our lines were still holding up. About halfway through the third game, our lines started to break down fast. We were both trying new things and bouncing ideas off each other trying to figure out how to play the lanes. We knew we were close and just needed to grind it out."

Neuharth added, "That last game was damage control, though. Neither of us were confident with where we were, so we just tried to keep the ball as close to the pocket as possible and leave makeable spares."

Closing their first experience at the Open Championships with the lead in two events left the pair looking for the right words.

"I mean how can you describe it," Neuharth said. "I don't think many people get that opportunity, and I'm just really happy with how we bowled."

Amendola added, "It was a fantastic experience. We just had fun with it the whole time."

Standard Doubles features pairs with combined entering averages of 321-362.

The Open Championships is celebrating its 122nd edition in 2026 and making its 15th trip to Reno, Nevada. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature more than 55,000 bowlers and 11,000 five-player teams competing across 128 consecutive days at the National Bowling Stadium.

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