K and J Finishing 1 rewrites leaderboard at 2023 USBC Open Championships
June 04, 2023
Pictured above (from left): Ryne Greenwood, Christopher Wiley, Zachary Woelfel, Nick Pate and Nick Kruml
RENO, Nev. – In what could eventually be viewed as one of the top overall performances in the history of the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, Nick Kruml and his teammates on K and J Finishing 1 of Carpentersville, Illinois, are leaving the National Bowling Stadium with the lead in all but one event at the 2023 tournament after an incredible display on the lanes over the last two days in Reno.
The arguments on where the effort could stand among some of the all-time great showings across the 119-year history of the event will become a little more clear in the next 50-plus days of the 2023 USBC Open Championships, but for now, Kruml is in position to win four titles – Regular Doubles with Christopher Wiley (1,438), Regular Singles (795), Regular All-Events (2,242) and Team All-Events (10,394).
Only three bowlers have won four titles during the same year at the tournament – USBC Hall of Famers Bill Lillard Jr. and Ed Lubanski in 1956 and 1959, respectively, and Mike Neumann in 1990.
As impressive as the numbers are individually for Kruml, the team’s total effort shows why this powerhouse group has been primed for a big run at the event.
Ryne Greenwood moved into third place in Regular All-Events with 2,162, and Wiley now is fourth with 2,134. Team USA’s Nick Pate added 1,969, and Zachary Woelfel had 1,887 as K and J Finishing 1 took the lead in Team All-Events by 376 pins.
The team’s 10,394 total across 45 games is the seventh highest Team All-Events score at the tournament.
Cincinnati’s Riding Kenny’s Coattails became the first team at the 2023 event to surpass the 10,000 barrier Thursday at the NBS with 10,018.
Kruml, a 29-year-old right-hander from St. Peters, Missouri, had games of 268, 280 and 247 to take the singles lead from Kyle Luckett of Indianapolis, who had held the top spot with 775. Kruml officially collected his share of the lead by delivering a strike on his first ball in the 10th frame of Game 3, and he struck out in the final frame in each of his three games in singles.
He added 724 in doubles and 723 in team to cruise to the lead in Regular All-Events by 77 pins. Derek Eoff of DeForest, Wisconsin, had led with 2,165.
Christopher Wiley and Nick Kruml
The excitement started in doubles Saturday, as Kruml and Wiley put up near-identical efforts to take the top spot. Kruml had games of 239, 226 and 259 for his 724 set, and Wiley, who rolled a perfect game in doubles at the 2022 Open Championships in Las Vegas, had 219, 248 and 247 for 714.
Julian Brown of Jonesboro, Georgia, and Zack Carter of Des Plaines, Illinois, previously held the lead in Regular Doubles with 1,401.
On Friday, the group briefly moved into second place in Regular Team with a 3,433 total before dropping to third as The Bowling Shops 1 of Highland Village, Texas, passed their score during the same squad with 3,449.
Riding Kenny’s Coattails took the lead in Regular Team on Wednesday with 3,578.
To top off his performance in Reno, Kruml also is second in Open Singles at the 2023 Bowlers Journal Championships with a 755 series. He briefly held the lead there, too, before being passed by Alex Hoskins of Brigham City, Utah, with 772.
K and J Finishing 1 was the runner-up in Team All-Events at the 2021 Open Championships, and the group finished ninth at the 2022 event.
Kruml, Greenwood, Wiley and Woelfel all competed together at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, while Pate bowled collegiately at Midland University during the same period.
“We worked together for four years,” said Kruml, who made his ninth tournament appearance. “We work off each other very well, so we have a game plan and try to stick to it, and it just worked out pretty well this time.”
After the strong start in team Friday, the plan came together about as well as they could have hoped Saturday during doubles and singles.
They averaged 224 as a unit in doubles, and turned it up in singles to average more than 240 as a team. In addition to Kruml taking the top spot in singles, Wiley now sits in third with 762 (259, 245, 258) and Greenwood is fifth with 757 (244, 245, 268).
“We have really good chemistry together, since we’ve been bowling together for a long time,” said Greenwood, making his eighth Open Championships appearance. “We know how to play off each other. We usually leave the plan up to Nick, and it seemed to pay off. We tried to play up the track with urethane to make some push, because we knew the front part of the lane was really going to be going in minors, and it really paid off.”
Now that their collegiate days are a few years behind them, the group uses the trip to the Open Championships to come together for a couple days to reminisce and put the chemistry and camaraderie they developed over countless road trips, practice sessions and tournaments to use in hopes of putting together a performance like they did this week in Reno.
“It’s just so much fun working with everyone and reliving the college days,” said Wiley, who made his fifth appearance at the tournament. “We don’t even live near each other for the most part anymore, so coming back to nationals is always sick.”
The significance of their showing at the National Bowling Stadium quickly made its way across social media, and the remaining competitors making their way to Reno for the 2023 event know the new numbers sitting at the top of the standings.
They’ll play the waiting game until the end of July to see where the final numbers stand, and they appreciate the history and the chance to add their names to the record book in more ways than one at the Open Championships.
“Well, we’ll see,” Kruml said. “If anything holds up, then that would be my favorite accomplishment so far – winning an Eagle. The first (Professional Bowlers Association) regional was fun, but I think winning an Eagle is going to be better.”
The 2023 Open Championships kicked off March 4 and will conclude July 24. The 143-day tournament will feature more than 9,700 five-player teams and nearly 50,000 bowlers making their way to compete in The Biggest Little City in the World.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
RENO, Nev. – In what could eventually be viewed as one of the top overall performances in the history of the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, Nick Kruml and his teammates on K and J Finishing 1 of Carpentersville, Illinois, are leaving the National Bowling Stadium with the lead in all but one event at the 2023 tournament after an incredible display on the lanes over the last two days in Reno.
The arguments on where the effort could stand among some of the all-time great showings across the 119-year history of the event will become a little more clear in the next 50-plus days of the 2023 USBC Open Championships, but for now, Kruml is in position to win four titles – Regular Doubles with Christopher Wiley (1,438), Regular Singles (795), Regular All-Events (2,242) and Team All-Events (10,394).
Only three bowlers have won four titles during the same year at the tournament – USBC Hall of Famers Bill Lillard Jr. and Ed Lubanski in 1956 and 1959, respectively, and Mike Neumann in 1990.
As impressive as the numbers are individually for Kruml, the team’s total effort shows why this powerhouse group has been primed for a big run at the event.
Ryne Greenwood moved into third place in Regular All-Events with 2,162, and Wiley now is fourth with 2,134. Team USA’s Nick Pate added 1,969, and Zachary Woelfel had 1,887 as K and J Finishing 1 took the lead in Team All-Events by 376 pins.
The team’s 10,394 total across 45 games is the seventh highest Team All-Events score at the tournament.
Cincinnati’s Riding Kenny’s Coattails became the first team at the 2023 event to surpass the 10,000 barrier Thursday at the NBS with 10,018.
Kruml, a 29-year-old right-hander from St. Peters, Missouri, had games of 268, 280 and 247 to take the singles lead from Kyle Luckett of Indianapolis, who had held the top spot with 775. Kruml officially collected his share of the lead by delivering a strike on his first ball in the 10th frame of Game 3, and he struck out in the final frame in each of his three games in singles.
He added 724 in doubles and 723 in team to cruise to the lead in Regular All-Events by 77 pins. Derek Eoff of DeForest, Wisconsin, had led with 2,165.
Christopher Wiley and Nick Kruml
The excitement started in doubles Saturday, as Kruml and Wiley put up near-identical efforts to take the top spot. Kruml had games of 239, 226 and 259 for his 724 set, and Wiley, who rolled a perfect game in doubles at the 2022 Open Championships in Las Vegas, had 219, 248 and 247 for 714.
Julian Brown of Jonesboro, Georgia, and Zack Carter of Des Plaines, Illinois, previously held the lead in Regular Doubles with 1,401.
On Friday, the group briefly moved into second place in Regular Team with a 3,433 total before dropping to third as The Bowling Shops 1 of Highland Village, Texas, passed their score during the same squad with 3,449.
Riding Kenny’s Coattails took the lead in Regular Team on Wednesday with 3,578.
To top off his performance in Reno, Kruml also is second in Open Singles at the 2023 Bowlers Journal Championships with a 755 series. He briefly held the lead there, too, before being passed by Alex Hoskins of Brigham City, Utah, with 772.
K and J Finishing 1 was the runner-up in Team All-Events at the 2021 Open Championships, and the group finished ninth at the 2022 event.
Kruml, Greenwood, Wiley and Woelfel all competed together at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, while Pate bowled collegiately at Midland University during the same period.
“We worked together for four years,” said Kruml, who made his ninth tournament appearance. “We work off each other very well, so we have a game plan and try to stick to it, and it just worked out pretty well this time.”
After the strong start in team Friday, the plan came together about as well as they could have hoped Saturday during doubles and singles.
They averaged 224 as a unit in doubles, and turned it up in singles to average more than 240 as a team. In addition to Kruml taking the top spot in singles, Wiley now sits in third with 762 (259, 245, 258) and Greenwood is fifth with 757 (244, 245, 268).
“We have really good chemistry together, since we’ve been bowling together for a long time,” said Greenwood, making his eighth Open Championships appearance. “We know how to play off each other. We usually leave the plan up to Nick, and it seemed to pay off. We tried to play up the track with urethane to make some push, because we knew the front part of the lane was really going to be going in minors, and it really paid off.”
Now that their collegiate days are a few years behind them, the group uses the trip to the Open Championships to come together for a couple days to reminisce and put the chemistry and camaraderie they developed over countless road trips, practice sessions and tournaments to use in hopes of putting together a performance like they did this week in Reno.
“It’s just so much fun working with everyone and reliving the college days,” said Wiley, who made his fifth appearance at the tournament. “We don’t even live near each other for the most part anymore, so coming back to nationals is always sick.”
The significance of their showing at the National Bowling Stadium quickly made its way across social media, and the remaining competitors making their way to Reno for the 2023 event know the new numbers sitting at the top of the standings.
They’ll play the waiting game until the end of July to see where the final numbers stand, and they appreciate the history and the chance to add their names to the record book in more ways than one at the Open Championships.
“Well, we’ll see,” Kruml said. “If anything holds up, then that would be my favorite accomplishment so far – winning an Eagle. The first (Professional Bowlers Association) regional was fun, but I think winning an Eagle is going to be better.”
The 2023 Open Championships kicked off March 4 and will conclude July 24. The 143-day tournament will feature more than 9,700 five-player teams and nearly 50,000 bowlers making their way to compete in The Biggest Little City in the World.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.