Minnesota bowler takes singles lead at 2025 USBC Open Championships
March 09, 2025
BATON ROUGE, La. – Austin Jahnke of Vadnais Heights, Minnesota, posted the first series north of 700 in singles competition at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships on Saturday, finishing with a 741 series at the Raising Cane’s River Center.
The 32-year-old left-hander used games of 266, 247 and 228 to cruise to the top of the leaderboard in Regular Singles. Austin Mertes of Grafton, Wisconsin, previously led with 698.
Jahnke stayed patient during doubles and improved each game (193, 196 and 217 for 606) as he saw the lanes start to shape up to his liking. He worked with two other southpaws on the pair – Matt Johnson and Vincent Thomley – on the way to 23 strikes and just one open frame during singles.
“I started bowling with them during COVID,” said Jahnke, who made his fourth appearance at the USBC Open Championships. “Minnesota was shut down, so I found a new team over in Wisconsin. I liked it so much, I never left. It was a big adjustment at first, because I never really bowled with a lot of lefties. Over the years, I’ve learned their moves, and we are working together in a perfect way now. It was nice to see them on the doubles and singles pair at the same time.
“I liked my ball reaction in doubles, but it wasn’t quite there. I had to keep it slow and keep working on it and making those small moves. Things really came together.”
Jahnke’s trip didn’t start the way he hoped after a session at the Bowlers Journal Championships – which features the same oil pattern being used for doubles and singles at the Open Championships – but the group’s early arrival to Baton Rouge allowed them to watch some of the action at the River Center.
Looking on the left side, he was able to take notes on Christopher Sand’s plan of attack as he moved into the lead in Regular Doubles with USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Mika Koivuniemi on Thursday with a 1,369 total.
“I bowled the Bowlers Journal on Thursday, and it went absolutely terrible,” Jahnke said. “But, after that, we came over here and did a little scouting. We watched Mika’s group, and I started watching Chris Sand throw the ball. He throws it similar to the way I do, so I started formulating a game plan around that.”
Jahnke took in the moment after the conclusion of his singles set, finishing with his highest series and all-events tally at the Open Championships (1,931). He’s worked his way through some troubles with his back over the last few years and was thrilled to see the hard work show on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
“I’ve been struggling for the last couple years,” Jahnke said. “I’ve had some back injuries and dropped from 16 pounds to 15 pounds. I still have some 16-pound equipment, and every time I throw it, it feels all in sync. The 15-pound stuff never feels right, so to be able to put something together at the biggest tournament out there for amateurs meant a lot to me.”
Although its early in the 2025 event and scores are changing daily, Jahnke is happy with his performance and will enjoy watching the action unfold throughout the tournament.
“Last year, we were here on the first day of the tournament and walked away with the team lead,” Jahnke said. “We led for two days. So, I’m not too concerned about where I’m going to finish up. It’s a good number, and it’s going to take a lot of strikes and good ball reaction for someone to beat that number. It’s beatable – that’s for sure – but now they have something to chase. Hopefully, it stays in the top 100.”
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.
The 32-year-old left-hander used games of 266, 247 and 228 to cruise to the top of the leaderboard in Regular Singles. Austin Mertes of Grafton, Wisconsin, previously led with 698.
Jahnke stayed patient during doubles and improved each game (193, 196 and 217 for 606) as he saw the lanes start to shape up to his liking. He worked with two other southpaws on the pair – Matt Johnson and Vincent Thomley – on the way to 23 strikes and just one open frame during singles.
“I started bowling with them during COVID,” said Jahnke, who made his fourth appearance at the USBC Open Championships. “Minnesota was shut down, so I found a new team over in Wisconsin. I liked it so much, I never left. It was a big adjustment at first, because I never really bowled with a lot of lefties. Over the years, I’ve learned their moves, and we are working together in a perfect way now. It was nice to see them on the doubles and singles pair at the same time.
“I liked my ball reaction in doubles, but it wasn’t quite there. I had to keep it slow and keep working on it and making those small moves. Things really came together.”
Jahnke’s trip didn’t start the way he hoped after a session at the Bowlers Journal Championships – which features the same oil pattern being used for doubles and singles at the Open Championships – but the group’s early arrival to Baton Rouge allowed them to watch some of the action at the River Center.
Looking on the left side, he was able to take notes on Christopher Sand’s plan of attack as he moved into the lead in Regular Doubles with USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Mika Koivuniemi on Thursday with a 1,369 total.
“I bowled the Bowlers Journal on Thursday, and it went absolutely terrible,” Jahnke said. “But, after that, we came over here and did a little scouting. We watched Mika’s group, and I started watching Chris Sand throw the ball. He throws it similar to the way I do, so I started formulating a game plan around that.”
Jahnke took in the moment after the conclusion of his singles set, finishing with his highest series and all-events tally at the Open Championships (1,931). He’s worked his way through some troubles with his back over the last few years and was thrilled to see the hard work show on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
“I’ve been struggling for the last couple years,” Jahnke said. “I’ve had some back injuries and dropped from 16 pounds to 15 pounds. I still have some 16-pound equipment, and every time I throw it, it feels all in sync. The 15-pound stuff never feels right, so to be able to put something together at the biggest tournament out there for amateurs meant a lot to me.”
Although its early in the 2025 event and scores are changing daily, Jahnke is happy with his performance and will enjoy watching the action unfold throughout the tournament.
“Last year, we were here on the first day of the tournament and walked away with the team lead,” Jahnke said. “We led for two days. So, I’m not too concerned about where I’m going to finish up. It’s a good number, and it’s going to take a lot of strikes and good ball reaction for someone to beat that number. It’s beatable – that’s for sure – but now they have something to chase. Hopefully, it stays in the top 100.”
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.