Illinois bowler celebrates 50 years at 2025 USBC Open Championships
May 12, 2025
BATON ROUGE, La. – When friends, family and a personal milestone all come together, it can be a lot to take in.
Ronald Sereyka of Lemont, Illinois, noted the nerves and emotions of celebrating his 50th appearance at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships as he made his ceremonial trek across the lanes in front of fans, fellow competitors and those closest to him, electing to briefly enjoy the spotlight before preparing to start his team event.
Although he didn’t address the crowd inside the Raising Cane’s River Center as he received his plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin for the achievement, it was easy to see the gratitude Sereyka had for those supporting his journey at the event.
He was joined by his wife (Kathy), son (Steve), daughter (Stacy) and two grandchildren (Atticus and Darcy) during his presentation.
“I tried to put it out of my mind,” Sereyka said. “I was more concerned with some of the details of my daughter and grandkids coming in, since they live in Indianapolis and were coming in on a separate flight, so I was focusing on that. But, when we came in here Tuesday, that’s when it hit me. I didn’t realize it was going to be this extravagant – no idea. I didn’t want to give a speech, because I didn’t want to get emotional. I’m sure I would have cried. And, a couple of my guys said they were glad I didn’t, because they would have been crying, too.”
The 77-year-old made his first trip to the Open Championships during the 1971 event in Detroit, only bowling in doubles and singles. He returned for a second appearance in 1974.
“I had no clue what was going on, but a bunch of guys I bowled with needed a sixth man for Detroit, so I said sure,” Sereyka said. “I only bowled doubles and singles, because I was too intimidated to bowl the team event with strangers – I wasn’t that sure of my game.
“I missed 1972 because I was saving up to get married and missed 1973 because we were saving up to buy a house.”
Sereyka has enjoyed the chance to travel for the tournament, which has included some memorable sights to see to go along with some great performances on the lanes, too.
“Billings, Montana, in 2002 was really an experience for us – the people were unbelievable and they treated us so well,” Sereyka said. “In Baltimore, I won the Bowlers Journal (Championships). You get to see new towns and have different experiences. We went to Little Bighorn during the Billings trip and went on the aircraft carrier in Corpus Christi.”
Some of his favorite moments have taken place in the last few years, with Steve joining in the excitement at the tournament starting in 2018.
In 2022, Sereyka and his son helped the Lemont Bandits take the lead in Standard Team with a 3,097 total, posting three games above 1,000. They finished the year as the runner-up in Las Vegas.
“My son got into bowling about 10 years ago, and one of my highlights was having him join me at the tournament,” Sereyka said. “When we took the lead in 2022, we were stunned. It was in Vegas, and we were bowling on the late squad and ended up doing that. We were so excited we weren’t going to sleep, and we had another 20-30 people with us, so we stayed out until like 4 or 5 in the morning. We didn’t do so well in doubles and singles the next day, but holy cow, we did it.”
The performance in 2022 also earned him a nickname, which was printed on his shirt in Baton Rouge.
“We walked out of here leading, and I was interviewed for it,” Sereyka said. “During the interview, I said I’m kind of the grizzled veteran of the group. If we had a new guy and they were nervous about bowling, I’d be their doubles partner. I’d tell them not to worry about, but the name kind of stuck. So now, I’m the Grizz – the Grizzled Veteran.”
Sereyka plans to continue competing at the tournament, and he would love to make a run at 100,000 pins.
For now, however, he wants to make sure those who have helped his journey to 50 appearances at the Open Championships know how thankful he is for their support.
“I want to thank our squad organizer, Joe DiCola, my family for showing up and all the other guys for supporting and congratulating me,” Sereyka said. “I really appreciate it. I was too nervous to give a speech out there, so I’ll thank them here.”
_845.jpg "Ronald Sereyka and family at the 2025 USBC Open Championships")
Sereyka closed his 50th appearance with a 1,360 score for all-events to bring his pinfall total to 80,641 (180.4 career average at the tournament).
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
Ronald Sereyka of Lemont, Illinois, noted the nerves and emotions of celebrating his 50th appearance at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships as he made his ceremonial trek across the lanes in front of fans, fellow competitors and those closest to him, electing to briefly enjoy the spotlight before preparing to start his team event.
Although he didn’t address the crowd inside the Raising Cane’s River Center as he received his plaque, chevron and diamond lapel pin for the achievement, it was easy to see the gratitude Sereyka had for those supporting his journey at the event.
He was joined by his wife (Kathy), son (Steve), daughter (Stacy) and two grandchildren (Atticus and Darcy) during his presentation.
“I tried to put it out of my mind,” Sereyka said. “I was more concerned with some of the details of my daughter and grandkids coming in, since they live in Indianapolis and were coming in on a separate flight, so I was focusing on that. But, when we came in here Tuesday, that’s when it hit me. I didn’t realize it was going to be this extravagant – no idea. I didn’t want to give a speech, because I didn’t want to get emotional. I’m sure I would have cried. And, a couple of my guys said they were glad I didn’t, because they would have been crying, too.”
The 77-year-old made his first trip to the Open Championships during the 1971 event in Detroit, only bowling in doubles and singles. He returned for a second appearance in 1974.
“I had no clue what was going on, but a bunch of guys I bowled with needed a sixth man for Detroit, so I said sure,” Sereyka said. “I only bowled doubles and singles, because I was too intimidated to bowl the team event with strangers – I wasn’t that sure of my game.
“I missed 1972 because I was saving up to get married and missed 1973 because we were saving up to buy a house.”
Sereyka has enjoyed the chance to travel for the tournament, which has included some memorable sights to see to go along with some great performances on the lanes, too.
“Billings, Montana, in 2002 was really an experience for us – the people were unbelievable and they treated us so well,” Sereyka said. “In Baltimore, I won the Bowlers Journal (Championships). You get to see new towns and have different experiences. We went to Little Bighorn during the Billings trip and went on the aircraft carrier in Corpus Christi.”
Some of his favorite moments have taken place in the last few years, with Steve joining in the excitement at the tournament starting in 2018.
In 2022, Sereyka and his son helped the Lemont Bandits take the lead in Standard Team with a 3,097 total, posting three games above 1,000. They finished the year as the runner-up in Las Vegas.
“My son got into bowling about 10 years ago, and one of my highlights was having him join me at the tournament,” Sereyka said. “When we took the lead in 2022, we were stunned. It was in Vegas, and we were bowling on the late squad and ended up doing that. We were so excited we weren’t going to sleep, and we had another 20-30 people with us, so we stayed out until like 4 or 5 in the morning. We didn’t do so well in doubles and singles the next day, but holy cow, we did it.”
The performance in 2022 also earned him a nickname, which was printed on his shirt in Baton Rouge.
“We walked out of here leading, and I was interviewed for it,” Sereyka said. “During the interview, I said I’m kind of the grizzled veteran of the group. If we had a new guy and they were nervous about bowling, I’d be their doubles partner. I’d tell them not to worry about, but the name kind of stuck. So now, I’m the Grizz – the Grizzled Veteran.”
Sereyka plans to continue competing at the tournament, and he would love to make a run at 100,000 pins.
For now, however, he wants to make sure those who have helped his journey to 50 appearances at the Open Championships know how thankful he is for their support.
“I want to thank our squad organizer, Joe DiCola, my family for showing up and all the other guys for supporting and congratulating me,” Sereyka said. “I really appreciate it. I was too nervous to give a speech out there, so I’ll thank them here.”
Sereyka closed his 50th appearance with a 1,360 score for all-events to bring his pinfall total to 80,641 (180.4 career average at the tournament).
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.