Montana bowlers lead Classified Doubles at 2025 USBC Open Championships
March 15, 2025
PHOTO (from left): Daniel King and Hunter Severson
BATON ROUGE, La. – Daniel King and Hunter Severson of Sidney, Montana, each picked up their first league during the 2022-2023 United States Bowling Congress season.
As they competed at Sidney’s ABC Lanes, it didn’t take long for them to hear about the USBC Open Championships – a national tournament open to all USBC adult members featuring three average-based divisions.
Both King, 30, and Severson, 27, signed up that season to make their debut at the 2023 event in Reno, Nevada. They made their way to Las Vegas for last year’s tournament, and this week, they headed to the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge for competition at the 2025 event.
The pair walked away from their time on the lanes with the lead in Classified Doubles, finishing with a combined score of 1,106.
King led the charge Friday with games of 156, 201 and 240 for a 597 series, while Severson had 146, 162 and 201 for 509. In the final game, King posted five consecutive strikes, starting in the third frame. Severson added four straight strikes of his own, beginning in the fifth.
Jason Hausauer of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and Jeffery Reuss of Benson, Minnesota, had held the lead with 1,030.
“Our buddy Lucas (Polkow) – he’s our captain – had us join a league and right away said we should go to nationals,” Severson said. “We weren’t expecting anything crazy like this to happen. We all got the idea that it would be fun, and we’ve had a great time. We really started getting into it after the second year, and it kind of took off now.”
Both King and Severson are right-handers that do not use a thumb in the ball, so they’re able to work off each other and communicate what they’re seeing on the lanes. They both felt comfortable on the oil pattern used for doubles and singles.
“We throw a pretty identical shot, so that helps us play off each other,” King said. “It helps us make adjustments, too, so it works out really well. We came in today calm and just went out there and threw it. Everything felt good and the ball was rolling off my hand well. The lanes were awesome, and we found a good line and kept playing it.”
They knew they were bowling well at the River Center as the set came to a close, but the pair didn’t realize they had cruised into the top spot on the leaderboard.
“We knew we were doing pretty well, but we didn’t know where everyone else was sitting,” Severson said. “We didn’t know, but we’re pretty excited about it now.”
The duo now will keep an eye on the standings to see how well their score holds up, and the performance also will help serve as motivation as they look ahead to their appearance in 2026 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada.
“It would be awesome if it held on – it’d make my day,” King said. “Obviously, it’s a long time to go and a lot of people still will bowl, but I’d feel pretty good and pretty confident going into next year, too.
“It’s been a blast. We don’t always bowl the best, but we have a good time every time we’re here.”
Classified Doubles includes bowlers with combined entering averages of 310 and 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. – Daniel King and Hunter Severson of Sidney, Montana, each picked up their first league during the 2022-2023 United States Bowling Congress season.
As they competed at Sidney’s ABC Lanes, it didn’t take long for them to hear about the USBC Open Championships – a national tournament open to all USBC adult members featuring three average-based divisions.
Both King, 30, and Severson, 27, signed up that season to make their debut at the 2023 event in Reno, Nevada. They made their way to Las Vegas for last year’s tournament, and this week, they headed to the Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge for competition at the 2025 event.
The pair walked away from their time on the lanes with the lead in Classified Doubles, finishing with a combined score of 1,106.
King led the charge Friday with games of 156, 201 and 240 for a 597 series, while Severson had 146, 162 and 201 for 509. In the final game, King posted five consecutive strikes, starting in the third frame. Severson added four straight strikes of his own, beginning in the fifth.
Jason Hausauer of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and Jeffery Reuss of Benson, Minnesota, had held the lead with 1,030.
“Our buddy Lucas (Polkow) – he’s our captain – had us join a league and right away said we should go to nationals,” Severson said. “We weren’t expecting anything crazy like this to happen. We all got the idea that it would be fun, and we’ve had a great time. We really started getting into it after the second year, and it kind of took off now.”
Both King and Severson are right-handers that do not use a thumb in the ball, so they’re able to work off each other and communicate what they’re seeing on the lanes. They both felt comfortable on the oil pattern used for doubles and singles.
“We throw a pretty identical shot, so that helps us play off each other,” King said. “It helps us make adjustments, too, so it works out really well. We came in today calm and just went out there and threw it. Everything felt good and the ball was rolling off my hand well. The lanes were awesome, and we found a good line and kept playing it.”
They knew they were bowling well at the River Center as the set came to a close, but the pair didn’t realize they had cruised into the top spot on the leaderboard.
“We knew we were doing pretty well, but we didn’t know where everyone else was sitting,” Severson said. “We didn’t know, but we’re pretty excited about it now.”
The duo now will keep an eye on the standings to see how well their score holds up, and the performance also will help serve as motivation as they look ahead to their appearance in 2026 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada.
“It would be awesome if it held on – it’d make my day,” King said. “Obviously, it’s a long time to go and a lot of people still will bowl, but I’d feel pretty good and pretty confident going into next year, too.
“It’s been a blast. We don’t always bowl the best, but we have a good time every time we’re here.”
Classified Doubles includes bowlers with combined entering averages of 310 and 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.