Eight athletes selected to represent Team USA at 2023 World Senior Championships
October 02, 2023
ARLINGTON, Texas – From a long list of talented applicants, the National Selection Committee has chosen eight bowlers to represent Senior Team USA at the International Bowling Federation 2023 World Senior Championships in Cali, Colombia.
Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas; Tom Hess of Granger, Iowa; John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida; and Troy Lint of Blandon, Pennsylvania, will comprise the men’s team while the women’s squad will be represented by Dana Ausec and Tish Johnson, both of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado; and Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio.
The group will be coached by Team USA Coach Kelly Kulick, a United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer who also serves as the head coach of Junior Team USA. She will be assisted by Kendra Cameron-Curry, USBC Program Director-High Performance.
The 2023 World Senior Championships will run from Dec. 7-14 and be contested at a 20-lane bowling center in Cali’s sports complex, which is the same venue that hosted the 2021 Pan American Youth Games and 2013 World Games.
The official practice sessions are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 7, with tournament play set to begin one day later when women’s competitors take to the lanes for singles qualifying.
Men’s singles qualifying will follow on Dec. 9 before the page turns to doubles competition, which will be held on Dec. 10-11 starting with women’s qualifying and concluding with the men.
Singles and doubles competition will end and medals will be awarded after the semifinals and finals are conducted in each event on Dec. 12.
Thereafter, the focus will be on team competition, which begins with men’s and women’s qualifying on Dec. 13 and wraps up with the semifinals and finals on Dec. 14.
Historically, the Americans have fared quite well at the World Senior Championships; however, the 2021 trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, fell a bit short of expectations as Team USA came home with just one gold medal and five bronze.
The gold was secured by Hess, who made the most of his first opportunity donning the red, white and blue by winning the men’s singles event.
Although Hess was thrilled to win an individual gold medal during his first international competition, he was disappointed that the men’s team was unable to reach the podium in Dubai.
He’s hoping that he and Barnes, who also competed in 2021, will have the opportunity to erase the bad taste from two years ago and get back on top with the help of Senior Team USA rookies Janawicz and Lint.
“Dubai was bittersweet,” Hess said. “It was an honor to be selected to compete for my country for the first time and to start the event by winning the singles gold medal, but not coming away with a medal in team stunk; there’s no other way to put it.
“I’m looking forward to getting on the lanes with my teammates and trying to bring home that team gold. The fire to win is definitely there, and when you’re basically taking the four best bowlers from this year’s senior tour, you should have a pretty good chance.”
Hess’ assessment appears to be right on as the four men combined to tally seven titles, $216,000 in earnings and a 226.58 average during the 2023 Professional Bowlers Association 50 season. Those numbers allowed the quartet to sweep the top four spots on the season points list and secure both Player of the Year (Lint) and Rookie of the Year (Janawicz) honors.
Janawicz, who will be representing Senior Team USA for the first time after bowling for Team USA in the past, is hoping to continue riding the considerable momentum that has carried him to so many great performances this year.
It started in January with a runner-up finish at the 2023 U.S. Amateur in Las Vegas, continued with a double gold-medal performance (trios and team) at the PANAM Bowling Male Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in May and carried right on through the entirety of his rookie season on the PBA50 Tour.
Nevertheless, Janawicz knows that anything can happen at a given tournament, so he won’t be taking anything for granted in Cali.
“I’ve been throwing it pretty well as of late, so I expect to bowl well. Still, like anything, it’s another tournament, and some don’t go as well as you’d like,” Janawicz said. “I’m just going to keep an open mind and prepare as best I can as we get closer to the event. If nothing else, it will be special to bowl worlds on the senior side because I bowled a regular one back in 2013. This will kind of be like an anniversary 10 years later.”
Anniversaries are a great time to stop and reflect upon special moments from the past.
However, Lint doesn’t have any prior international experience to reflect upon as the 2023 World Senior Championships will be his first competition for Team USA at any level. That doesn’t bother Lint though; he prefers to look forward, not backward.
“I’m not one of those guys who takes a picture and looks around; I just stay focused on everything I’m doing and try to live in the moment,” Lint said. “I just want to be out there competing, and when I’m done, I hope that people respect what I’ve done as a player and teammate; that’s all I can ask for.”
Authoring a strong performance the first time out is no easy task in international competition as, oftentimes, success or failure depends on whether or not a player can get into his or her comfort zone.
Ausec should have a leg up in that regard as she will have the opportunity to draw upon the support and experience of Team USA veterans and fellow Coloradoans Johnson and Powers while competing in Colombia.
“For a first-time experience, getting to bowl with Tish (Johnson) and Sharon (Powers) is a best-case scenario for me because it’s kind of like being at a home tournament,” Ausec said. “As rookies, I think Jodi (Woessner) and I will just be trying to soak it all in and learn from them while trying to bring our own talents to the table.”
That talent is without question as Ausec and Woessner are the two most recent USBC Senior Queens champions with Ausec winning the event in 2023 after Woessner took home the tiara the year before.
Despite amassing a long list of impressive finishes in amateur and Professional Women’s Bowling Association tournaments over the years, a full-time job kept Woessner from competing for Team USA in the past.
That’s why when multiple friends and bowling acquaintances suggested she submit her application to be a part of the senior team this year, she jumped at the chance. Suffice it to say, she’s happy with her decision.
“Obviously, I’m very glad that I applied,” Woessner said. “I knew that I had some nice accomplishments the last couple of years that would give me a good chance, but there are so many great bowlers out there that I didn’t want to get my hopes up until I got the call. When I did, it was pretty emotional.”
Powers was emotional when her call came as well, but not because the trip to Colombia would be her first outing for Team USA. It was because, at 66 years old, she knows it could be her last.
“This may sound bad, but this might be my last time; I don’t know,” Powers said. “There’s a lot of good young 50-year-olds coming up, so I was just excited that they chose me.”
Powers certainly earned that selection as she has proudly represented Team USA three times before, most recently during the 2021 trip to Dubai where she earned a pair of bronze medals (doubles with Johnson and mixed team with Tracy Calfee, Bob Learn Jr. and Parker Bohn III).
While Powers was grateful to have brought home bronze the last time, she’s confident that this year’s crew has what it takes to aim even higher.
“We have such a good group of women that I think we should be able to compete for first in team and first and second in doubles,” Powers said. “With the talent we have, we should be able to win some gold medals for sure.”
Johnson has far and away the most Team USA experience of any of the ladies traveling to Colombia, and during the course of her many tournaments, she’s developed quite an affinity for gold medals.
As such, she isn’t just looking for the Americans to bring home “some gold medals;” she wants them all.
“We want to bring home all the gold that we possibly can,” Johnson said. “The more medals we bring back, the better it is for us and for Team USA. That’s our game plan.”
For more information on Senior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/Team-USA/Team-USA-Senior-Bowling.
Chris Barnes of Denton, Texas; Tom Hess of Granger, Iowa; John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida; and Troy Lint of Blandon, Pennsylvania, will comprise the men’s team while the women’s squad will be represented by Dana Ausec and Tish Johnson, both of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Sharon Powers of Lakewood, Colorado; and Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio.
The group will be coached by Team USA Coach Kelly Kulick, a United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer who also serves as the head coach of Junior Team USA. She will be assisted by Kendra Cameron-Curry, USBC Program Director-High Performance.
The 2023 World Senior Championships will run from Dec. 7-14 and be contested at a 20-lane bowling center in Cali’s sports complex, which is the same venue that hosted the 2021 Pan American Youth Games and 2013 World Games.
The official practice sessions are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 7, with tournament play set to begin one day later when women’s competitors take to the lanes for singles qualifying.
Men’s singles qualifying will follow on Dec. 9 before the page turns to doubles competition, which will be held on Dec. 10-11 starting with women’s qualifying and concluding with the men.
Singles and doubles competition will end and medals will be awarded after the semifinals and finals are conducted in each event on Dec. 12.
Thereafter, the focus will be on team competition, which begins with men’s and women’s qualifying on Dec. 13 and wraps up with the semifinals and finals on Dec. 14.
Historically, the Americans have fared quite well at the World Senior Championships; however, the 2021 trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, fell a bit short of expectations as Team USA came home with just one gold medal and five bronze.
The gold was secured by Hess, who made the most of his first opportunity donning the red, white and blue by winning the men’s singles event.
Although Hess was thrilled to win an individual gold medal during his first international competition, he was disappointed that the men’s team was unable to reach the podium in Dubai.
He’s hoping that he and Barnes, who also competed in 2021, will have the opportunity to erase the bad taste from two years ago and get back on top with the help of Senior Team USA rookies Janawicz and Lint.
“Dubai was bittersweet,” Hess said. “It was an honor to be selected to compete for my country for the first time and to start the event by winning the singles gold medal, but not coming away with a medal in team stunk; there’s no other way to put it.
“I’m looking forward to getting on the lanes with my teammates and trying to bring home that team gold. The fire to win is definitely there, and when you’re basically taking the four best bowlers from this year’s senior tour, you should have a pretty good chance.”
Hess’ assessment appears to be right on as the four men combined to tally seven titles, $216,000 in earnings and a 226.58 average during the 2023 Professional Bowlers Association 50 season. Those numbers allowed the quartet to sweep the top four spots on the season points list and secure both Player of the Year (Lint) and Rookie of the Year (Janawicz) honors.
Janawicz, who will be representing Senior Team USA for the first time after bowling for Team USA in the past, is hoping to continue riding the considerable momentum that has carried him to so many great performances this year.
It started in January with a runner-up finish at the 2023 U.S. Amateur in Las Vegas, continued with a double gold-medal performance (trios and team) at the PANAM Bowling Male Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in May and carried right on through the entirety of his rookie season on the PBA50 Tour.
Nevertheless, Janawicz knows that anything can happen at a given tournament, so he won’t be taking anything for granted in Cali.
“I’ve been throwing it pretty well as of late, so I expect to bowl well. Still, like anything, it’s another tournament, and some don’t go as well as you’d like,” Janawicz said. “I’m just going to keep an open mind and prepare as best I can as we get closer to the event. If nothing else, it will be special to bowl worlds on the senior side because I bowled a regular one back in 2013. This will kind of be like an anniversary 10 years later.”
Anniversaries are a great time to stop and reflect upon special moments from the past.
However, Lint doesn’t have any prior international experience to reflect upon as the 2023 World Senior Championships will be his first competition for Team USA at any level. That doesn’t bother Lint though; he prefers to look forward, not backward.
“I’m not one of those guys who takes a picture and looks around; I just stay focused on everything I’m doing and try to live in the moment,” Lint said. “I just want to be out there competing, and when I’m done, I hope that people respect what I’ve done as a player and teammate; that’s all I can ask for.”
Authoring a strong performance the first time out is no easy task in international competition as, oftentimes, success or failure depends on whether or not a player can get into his or her comfort zone.
Ausec should have a leg up in that regard as she will have the opportunity to draw upon the support and experience of Team USA veterans and fellow Coloradoans Johnson and Powers while competing in Colombia.
“For a first-time experience, getting to bowl with Tish (Johnson) and Sharon (Powers) is a best-case scenario for me because it’s kind of like being at a home tournament,” Ausec said. “As rookies, I think Jodi (Woessner) and I will just be trying to soak it all in and learn from them while trying to bring our own talents to the table.”
That talent is without question as Ausec and Woessner are the two most recent USBC Senior Queens champions with Ausec winning the event in 2023 after Woessner took home the tiara the year before.
Despite amassing a long list of impressive finishes in amateur and Professional Women’s Bowling Association tournaments over the years, a full-time job kept Woessner from competing for Team USA in the past.
That’s why when multiple friends and bowling acquaintances suggested she submit her application to be a part of the senior team this year, she jumped at the chance. Suffice it to say, she’s happy with her decision.
“Obviously, I’m very glad that I applied,” Woessner said. “I knew that I had some nice accomplishments the last couple of years that would give me a good chance, but there are so many great bowlers out there that I didn’t want to get my hopes up until I got the call. When I did, it was pretty emotional.”
Powers was emotional when her call came as well, but not because the trip to Colombia would be her first outing for Team USA. It was because, at 66 years old, she knows it could be her last.
“This may sound bad, but this might be my last time; I don’t know,” Powers said. “There’s a lot of good young 50-year-olds coming up, so I was just excited that they chose me.”
Powers certainly earned that selection as she has proudly represented Team USA three times before, most recently during the 2021 trip to Dubai where she earned a pair of bronze medals (doubles with Johnson and mixed team with Tracy Calfee, Bob Learn Jr. and Parker Bohn III).
While Powers was grateful to have brought home bronze the last time, she’s confident that this year’s crew has what it takes to aim even higher.
“We have such a good group of women that I think we should be able to compete for first in team and first and second in doubles,” Powers said. “With the talent we have, we should be able to win some gold medals for sure.”
Johnson has far and away the most Team USA experience of any of the ladies traveling to Colombia, and during the course of her many tournaments, she’s developed quite an affinity for gold medals.
As such, she isn’t just looking for the Americans to bring home “some gold medals;” she wants them all.
“We want to bring home all the gold that we possibly can,” Johnson said. “The more medals we bring back, the better it is for us and for Team USA. That’s our game plan.”
For more information on Senior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/Team-USA/Team-USA-Senior-Bowling.