Mento Produce takes lead in Team All-Events at 2025 Open Championships
April 11, 2025
PHOTO (from left): Joseph Conti Jr., Derek Magno, Steve Meyer, Brett Cunningham and Anthony Pepe
BATON ROUGE, La. – Heading into their final game of singles at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, the members of Mento Produce of Auburn, New York, faced a tall order to return to the top of the standings in Team All-Events.
The group – featuring Anthony Pepe, Brett Cunningham, Steve Meyer, Derek Magno and Joseph Conti Jr. – needed to find a way to average more than 250 as a unit to take over the lead at the Raising Cane’s River Center. Through their first five games of doubles and singles Thursday, however, the talented crew had only posted two games over 1,100 (220 team average).
That trend quickly changed in the finale of the 45-game marathon, as the team posted 1,321 (264.2 team average) to place their name at the top of the leaderboard with a 9,887 total.
Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1 of St. Charles, Missouri, had held the lead with 9,817.
The team was across two pairs for doubles and singles, with Conti, Meyer, Magno and Cunningham finishing the set first. Meyer led the excitement on Lanes 41-42 with 279 and was followed by Conti (258), Magno (256) and Cunningham (238).
Pepe, who had found some momentum the game prior with 236, closed with 11 strikes for 290 on Lanes 39-40 to secure the top spot.
Mento Produce rolled 49 strikes on 60 deliveries in the final game of singles, including 13 of 15 strikes in the 10th frame.
Four of the five team members – Pepe, Meyer, Magno and Conti – were part of the group that captured the Team All-Events title at the 2019 USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas with a 9,983 total. TJ Mento was the team’s fifth member in 2019.
In 2022, with Cunningham in the mix, Mento Produce broke the tournament’s Team All-Events record with 10,444. The record had stood since 1996 (Pollard’s Bowl with 10,425), and the team finished the year in third place.
Magno, who entered the 2025 event as the defending Regular All-Events champion, nearly made his way back to the lead and moved into second place with 2,146. He had sets of 753 in singles, 726 in team and 667 in doubles.
The 44-year-old right-hander captured the title in 2024 with a 2,255 score at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas for his second Eagle.
Cunningham followed with 1,959, Meyer had 1,951, Pepe posted 1,923 and Conti closed with 1,908.
Magno’s run at reclaiming the all-events lead nearly made it to the final frame of singles. Needing to finish with 268 to match the 2,158 posted by former Team USA member Cassidy Schaub of Ashland, Ohio, Magno started with a pair of strikes before recording a nine count and spare in the third.
He struck on his next five deliveries, before a 10 pin in the ninth ended his run. Magno was looking to become the first bowler in 121 editions of the Open Championships to successfully defend an all-events title.
Magno’s 753 during the set (239-258-256) currently places him fourth. Isaac Goodman of Ottumwa, Iowa, leads Regular Singles with 777.
Mento Produce kicked off their 2025 appearance Wednesday by moving into third place in Regular Team with 3,180. Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1 leads with 3,270.
The team posted a 3,195 total in doubles Thursday, before the big final game helped them to 3,512 in singles.
Catch up with Magno and Pepe, a three-time Eagle winner with additional victories in Regular Team and Team All-Events in 2017, after their performance at the River Center in the video below.
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.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Heading into their final game of singles at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, the members of Mento Produce of Auburn, New York, faced a tall order to return to the top of the standings in Team All-Events.
The group – featuring Anthony Pepe, Brett Cunningham, Steve Meyer, Derek Magno and Joseph Conti Jr. – needed to find a way to average more than 250 as a unit to take over the lead at the Raising Cane’s River Center. Through their first five games of doubles and singles Thursday, however, the talented crew had only posted two games over 1,100 (220 team average).
That trend quickly changed in the finale of the 45-game marathon, as the team posted 1,321 (264.2 team average) to place their name at the top of the leaderboard with a 9,887 total.
Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1 of St. Charles, Missouri, had held the lead with 9,817.
The team was across two pairs for doubles and singles, with Conti, Meyer, Magno and Cunningham finishing the set first. Meyer led the excitement on Lanes 41-42 with 279 and was followed by Conti (258), Magno (256) and Cunningham (238).
Pepe, who had found some momentum the game prior with 236, closed with 11 strikes for 290 on Lanes 39-40 to secure the top spot.
Mento Produce rolled 49 strikes on 60 deliveries in the final game of singles, including 13 of 15 strikes in the 10th frame.
Four of the five team members – Pepe, Meyer, Magno and Conti – were part of the group that captured the Team All-Events title at the 2019 USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas with a 9,983 total. TJ Mento was the team’s fifth member in 2019.
In 2022, with Cunningham in the mix, Mento Produce broke the tournament’s Team All-Events record with 10,444. The record had stood since 1996 (Pollard’s Bowl with 10,425), and the team finished the year in third place.
Magno, who entered the 2025 event as the defending Regular All-Events champion, nearly made his way back to the lead and moved into second place with 2,146. He had sets of 753 in singles, 726 in team and 667 in doubles.
The 44-year-old right-hander captured the title in 2024 with a 2,255 score at the South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas for his second Eagle.
Cunningham followed with 1,959, Meyer had 1,951, Pepe posted 1,923 and Conti closed with 1,908.
Magno’s run at reclaiming the all-events lead nearly made it to the final frame of singles. Needing to finish with 268 to match the 2,158 posted by former Team USA member Cassidy Schaub of Ashland, Ohio, Magno started with a pair of strikes before recording a nine count and spare in the third.
He struck on his next five deliveries, before a 10 pin in the ninth ended his run. Magno was looking to become the first bowler in 121 editions of the Open Championships to successfully defend an all-events title.
Magno’s 753 during the set (239-258-256) currently places him fourth. Isaac Goodman of Ottumwa, Iowa, leads Regular Singles with 777.
Mento Produce kicked off their 2025 appearance Wednesday by moving into third place in Regular Team with 3,180. Strike It Rich Pro Shop 1 leads with 3,270.
The team posted a 3,195 total in doubles Thursday, before the big final game helped them to 3,512 in singles.
Catch up with Magno and Pepe, a three-time Eagle winner with additional victories in Regular Team and Team All-Events in 2017, after their performance at the River Center in the video below.
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.