Kulick, Johnson lead Pan American Games

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LizJohnsonUSAARLINGTON, Texas -
With 80 percent of the qualifying process completed for the 2011 Pan American Games, Team USA's Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., and Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., are in position to earn spots in the event in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Kulick and Johnson finished first and second, respectively, in the 32-game Team USA Women's Pan American Games Trials over the past two days at the International Training and Research Center. Kulick averaged 226.56, while Johnson averaged 217.44.

The Team USA women are in the midst of a qualification process for the right to represent the United States at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara in October. The top two women at the end of the process will advance to the event.

The Pan American Games are an Americas version of the Olympic Games which includes the Olympic program sports and others that are not part of the Olympics. The United States Olympic Committee has specific requirements for selecting players to compete in the event.

Qualification consists of a points list made up of how the 12 Team USA women finish in three different events. The Pan American Games Trials represented 60 percent of the points total, while the United States Bowling Congress Queens and Bowling's U.S. Women's Open represent 20 percent each.

Kulick leads the race with 88 points (72 for winning the Trials and 16 for her finish in the Queens), while Johnson is second with 87 points (66 for second at the Trials and 21 from the Queens).

The players are ranked in order of finish with the highest Team USA finisher in each event earning 12 points, second gets 11 and so on. The points for the Trials were multiplied by six, while the points for the Queens and U.S. Women's Open are doubled. If a player did not compete in an event, they get the same amount of points as the final finisher.

Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, Texas, is third with 72 points, Diandra Asbaty of Chicago is fourth with 69, Brenda Padilla of Mansfield, Texas, is fifth with 68 and Shannon O'Keefe of Arlington, Texas, is sixth with 66. All other players are mathematically eliminated.

The men's qualifying process was completed in March with Bill O'Neill and Chris Barnes earning spots in the event.

2011 TEAM USA PAN AMERICAN GAMES QUALIFYING
(80 percent completed, final 20 percent comes from U.S. Women's Open; top two advance to Pan American Games)

1, Kelly Kulick, 88. 2, Liz Johnson, 87. 3, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, 72. 4, Diandra Asbaty, 69. 5, Brenda Padilla, 68. 6, Shannon O'Keefe, 66. 7, Stefanie Nation, 50. 8, Shannon Pluhowsky, 42. 9, Bryanna Caldwell, 34. 10, Brittni Hamilton, 26. 11, Kim Yioulos, 20. 12, Tennelle Milligan, 14.

2011 TEAM USA PAN AMERICAN GAMES TRIALS

(32 games, makes up 60 percent of qualifying points)

1, Kelly Kulick, 7,250. 2, Liz Johnson, 6,958. 3, Brenda Padilla, 6,929. 4, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, 6,921. 5, Diandra Asbaty, 6,908. 6, Shannon O'Keefe, 6,902. 7, Stefanie Nation, 6,840. 8, Shannon Pluhowsky, 6,815. 9, Bryanna Caldwell, 6,705. 10, Brittni Hamilton, 6,668. 11, Kim Yioulos, 6,539. 12, Tennelle Milligan, 3,274. (Milligan only completed 16 games)