Capron and Reynoso claim U18 titles at 2024 Junior Gold Championships
August 13, 2024
DETROIT – Karina Capron of Fremont, Nebraska, and Ernesto Reynoso of Folsom, California, won in the 18-and-under divisions at the 2024 Junior Gold Championships, which just aired on CBS Sports Network.
The No. 3 seeded Capron avenged her runner-up finish at last year’s Junior Gold to win the U18 Girls title in her final Junior Gold over No. 1 seed Kaitlyn Stull of Raleigh, North Carolina, 204-173.
Capron advanced to the title match after a narrow 192-180 win over No. 3 seed Kayla Starr of Crofton, Maryland. Both bowlers traded strikes early on in the match and open frames in the fifth and seventh, but it was Capron’s double after the second open that moved her forward against Stull.
After a single pin spare to open the game, Capron threw three strikes in a row to gain an early lead over Stull, who was using two different balls in the match. Stull was in the pocket but the right lane was not giving her the hits she needed through the first five frames, going high flush for a 4 pin and a weak 10 pin, converting both.
The wheels started to come off for Stull in the sixth frame, who had a shot go right off her hand for the 1-2-4 combo that she converted, before back to back opens in the seventh and eighth, giving Capron the opportunity to close the door.
Capron promptly did just that, with an open in the ninth not enough to let Stull back in the match, ending with 204 and her second Junior Gold title, previously winning in U12 in 2017.
Not even injury could stop Capron from claiming what she wanted.
“I went to Junior Team USA camp just before this and my quad was hurting really bad, but we thought it was just a stress thing,” said Capron. “I stopped bowling and it was fine for a couple of days, but it got really bad during qualifying so we got cupping therapy shipped to the hotel.”
The silver lining for her was that it made her focus even more on bowling to not think about the nagging pain.
“I couldn’t focus on my leg, I had to focus on what I was doing out there on the lanes. I put that in the back of my mind and kept thinking to post shots, be you and don’t worry about it.”
Her runner-up finish last year gave her extra motivation for 2024 to continue to put in the work behind the scenes at practices.
“It just pushed me harder to keep working on what I know how to do and make myself better.”
U18 Boys
Reynoso made his mark after winning the U18 Boys title in Detroit, becoming the first person in Junior Gold history to win back-to-back titles in two different divisions after winning U15 in 2023. He also won in the closest match of all the others, defeating No. 1 seed Ethan Crouse of Lowville, New York, as the No. 3 seed, 206-199, in a match that came down to the final frame.
Before the title match, Reynoso had to beat No. 2 Owen Williams of Tipton, Michigan, to have a shot at history. The two competitors had clean games, but Reynoso’s 207 topped Williams’ 190 as the left lane started to play a little tricky.
That prompted Reynoso to make a ball change that enabled him to switch up his lines a little, sticking with it even after one shot went light for a baby split that he really liked and put his arms up in the air in confusion.
Reynoso threw the next three strikes in a row and would’ve continued his striking ways if not for a brutal pocket 7-10 split in the seventh, leaving the door open for Crouse to pull ahead. Crouse was clean to that point, before a missed 10 pin brought new life for Reynoso.
The 2023 U15 Boys champion answered the call, doubling in the eighth and ninth to apply pressure on Crouse, who had a double heading into the second shot of the 10th. But Crouse went light and left the 2-4-5-8 bucket, only getting two of the four pins to finish with 199.
Reynoso clinched the win with a strike in the first ball in the 10th and left Detroit as a back-to-back champion with a 206.
“It means a lot to me because I know how much I’ve put in at Junior Team USA camp, off the lanes and mentally,” said Reynoso. “I’m really proud of how I just stayed present in the moment all week.”
He came into the week with higher expectations of himself, exuding the confidence of someone who has been there and won before.
“I expected a lot from myself because I know I’m capable of it, I know I can strike more than anyone out here and held myself to high expectations. I expect to have a good showing every year here.”
Junior Team USA 2024
Six boys and six girls from the U18 division also earned spots on Junior Team USA for 2025 based on their performances this week at the Junior Gold Championships.
Joining Stull and Capron on the girls side is Sydney Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey; Taylor Kretz of Erie, Pennsylvania; Eliana Occhino of Fulton, New York; and Melia Mitskavich of Du Bois, Pennsylvania.
Reynoso, Williams and Crouse will be joined by Chance Mclane of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland; Keaton Ostrowski of Rochester, New York; and Nicolas Trentler of Phoenix, Maryland.
The U18 division featured 1,331 boys and 545 girls at the 2024 Junior Gold Championships.
More than 3,100 United States Bowling Congress Youth members competed at Junior Gold 2024, traveling across eight bowling centers in the Detroit area in hopes of winning a piece of the approximately $500,000 scholarship fund, making a run at a national title and claiming a spot on Junior Team USA.
BowlTV provided livestream coverage of every round of the 2024 event leading up to the stepladder finals in each division. All stepladder finals were taped for broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
The No. 3 seeded Capron avenged her runner-up finish at last year’s Junior Gold to win the U18 Girls title in her final Junior Gold over No. 1 seed Kaitlyn Stull of Raleigh, North Carolina, 204-173.
Capron advanced to the title match after a narrow 192-180 win over No. 3 seed Kayla Starr of Crofton, Maryland. Both bowlers traded strikes early on in the match and open frames in the fifth and seventh, but it was Capron’s double after the second open that moved her forward against Stull.
After a single pin spare to open the game, Capron threw three strikes in a row to gain an early lead over Stull, who was using two different balls in the match. Stull was in the pocket but the right lane was not giving her the hits she needed through the first five frames, going high flush for a 4 pin and a weak 10 pin, converting both.
The wheels started to come off for Stull in the sixth frame, who had a shot go right off her hand for the 1-2-4 combo that she converted, before back to back opens in the seventh and eighth, giving Capron the opportunity to close the door.
Capron promptly did just that, with an open in the ninth not enough to let Stull back in the match, ending with 204 and her second Junior Gold title, previously winning in U12 in 2017.
Not even injury could stop Capron from claiming what she wanted.
“I went to Junior Team USA camp just before this and my quad was hurting really bad, but we thought it was just a stress thing,” said Capron. “I stopped bowling and it was fine for a couple of days, but it got really bad during qualifying so we got cupping therapy shipped to the hotel.”
The silver lining for her was that it made her focus even more on bowling to not think about the nagging pain.
“I couldn’t focus on my leg, I had to focus on what I was doing out there on the lanes. I put that in the back of my mind and kept thinking to post shots, be you and don’t worry about it.”
Her runner-up finish last year gave her extra motivation for 2024 to continue to put in the work behind the scenes at practices.
“It just pushed me harder to keep working on what I know how to do and make myself better.”
U18 Boys
Reynoso made his mark after winning the U18 Boys title in Detroit, becoming the first person in Junior Gold history to win back-to-back titles in two different divisions after winning U15 in 2023. He also won in the closest match of all the others, defeating No. 1 seed Ethan Crouse of Lowville, New York, as the No. 3 seed, 206-199, in a match that came down to the final frame.
Before the title match, Reynoso had to beat No. 2 Owen Williams of Tipton, Michigan, to have a shot at history. The two competitors had clean games, but Reynoso’s 207 topped Williams’ 190 as the left lane started to play a little tricky.
That prompted Reynoso to make a ball change that enabled him to switch up his lines a little, sticking with it even after one shot went light for a baby split that he really liked and put his arms up in the air in confusion.
Reynoso threw the next three strikes in a row and would’ve continued his striking ways if not for a brutal pocket 7-10 split in the seventh, leaving the door open for Crouse to pull ahead. Crouse was clean to that point, before a missed 10 pin brought new life for Reynoso.
The 2023 U15 Boys champion answered the call, doubling in the eighth and ninth to apply pressure on Crouse, who had a double heading into the second shot of the 10th. But Crouse went light and left the 2-4-5-8 bucket, only getting two of the four pins to finish with 199.
Reynoso clinched the win with a strike in the first ball in the 10th and left Detroit as a back-to-back champion with a 206.
“It means a lot to me because I know how much I’ve put in at Junior Team USA camp, off the lanes and mentally,” said Reynoso. “I’m really proud of how I just stayed present in the moment all week.”
He came into the week with higher expectations of himself, exuding the confidence of someone who has been there and won before.
“I expected a lot from myself because I know I’m capable of it, I know I can strike more than anyone out here and held myself to high expectations. I expect to have a good showing every year here.”
Junior Team USA 2024
Six boys and six girls from the U18 division also earned spots on Junior Team USA for 2025 based on their performances this week at the Junior Gold Championships.
Joining Stull and Capron on the girls side is Sydney Bohn of Jackson, New Jersey; Taylor Kretz of Erie, Pennsylvania; Eliana Occhino of Fulton, New York; and Melia Mitskavich of Du Bois, Pennsylvania.
Reynoso, Williams and Crouse will be joined by Chance Mclane of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland; Keaton Ostrowski of Rochester, New York; and Nicolas Trentler of Phoenix, Maryland.
The U18 division featured 1,331 boys and 545 girls at the 2024 Junior Gold Championships.
More than 3,100 United States Bowling Congress Youth members competed at Junior Gold 2024, traveling across eight bowling centers in the Detroit area in hopes of winning a piece of the approximately $500,000 scholarship fund, making a run at a national title and claiming a spot on Junior Team USA.
BowlTV provided livestream coverage of every round of the 2024 event leading up to the stepladder finals in each division. All stepladder finals were taped for broadcast on CBS Sports Network.