Schroeder caps big week for group at 2023 Bowlers Journal Championships
June 05, 2023
RENO, Nev. – Jim Schroeder of Waukesha, Wisconsin, rolled his way to the top of the leaderboard in Open Singles and Open Doubles with Christopher Wiley of Bettendorf, Iowa, on Saturday night at the 2023 Bowlers Journal Championships presented by the United States Bowling Congress.
Schroeder, a former collegiate bowler at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, was just looking to get an extra squad of the Bowlers Journal in with his friends after watching the members of his companion team – K and J Finishing 1 – take the lead in four out of the five events at the 2023 USBC Open Championships earlier in the day.
He rolled games of 279, 231 and 276 on the low end of the fourth floor at the National Bowling Stadium for a 786 series. Stepping up in the 10th, Schroeder needed the first strike and at least eight pins on his second delivery for a chance at the lead. He rolled three strikes to cap the performance.
The Open Singles lead at the Bowlers Journal previously was held by Alex Hoskins of Brigham City, Utah, who had shot 772 on Thursday.
By entering singles and doubles during the same session, Schroeder also holds the top spot for the event’s Dual Entry prize fund.
“This is just absolutely crazy,” said Schroeder, who made his ninth appearance at the Open Championships and posted 1,823 for his all-events total. “A couple friends from our group and I were just looking to get in a squad of the Bowlers Journal to fill some time and bowl some doubles sets together, and here we are.”
Christopher Wiley and Jim Schroeder
He partnered with Wiley, who added games of 243, 247 and 231 for a 721 set of his own for a combined total of 1,507 to get to the top of the leaderboard in Open Doubles. Wiley also bowled collegiately for Wisconsin-Whitewater and leads Regular Doubles at the Open Championships with Nick Kruml of St. Peters, Missouri, with 1,438.
Schroeder also paired with Team USA’s Nick Pate of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, during the set to take second place with 1,480. Pate had 694.
Wiley, Kruml and Pate all are part of the K and J Finishing 1 contingent that leads Team All-Events at the 2023 Open Championships (10,394), while Kruml also holds the top spots in Regular Singles (795) and Regular All-Events (2,242).
Two-time Eagle winner Ken Abner of Cincinnati and Professional Bowlers Association Tour star Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, had taken the lead in Open Doubles on Tuesday with 1,430. Abner and O’Neill are part of the group leading Regular Team at the 2023 Open Championships – Riding Kenny’s Coattails of Cincinnati – with 3,578.
“Having the lead in both this event and Regular Doubles at the Open Championships with my friends is just an awesome feeling,” Wiley said. “This year, I decided to approach nationals by just having fun with friends and bowling the best we can. With the results we had this week, I am glad we did.”
Schroeder crossed with K and J Finishing 1 during their run to third place in Regular Team on Friday, helping K and J Finishing 2 to a 3,133 total. He is among great friends with the eight-team group and bowls with them each year.
“Bowling with your friends and having a good time can really put you at ease, and I really think that helped me stay focused for success at the Bowlers Journal,” Schroeder said. “My main focus today was trying to put up a solid doubles scores with all my friends. Walking away with the lead in singles is a bonus to me.
“Winning the Bowlers Journal would be an awesome accomplishment, because I know just how hard this pattern is and how hard it is to even win this tournament.”
On Friday, another member of the K and J Finishing group – Josh Pate of Orlando, Florida – rolled the first 300 game at the 2023 Bowlers Journal Championships. Pate, who also competed at Wisconsin-Whitewater, had games of 190 and 213 before firing 12 consecutive strikes for a 703 series.
The effort was in doubles with Kruml, and they now hold sixth place in Open Doubles with 1,408. Pate also leads the tournament’s high-game jackpot, an optional side pot at the Bowlers Journal Championships, with his perfect performance.
The Bowlers Journal Championships features divisions for Open Singles, Senior Singles, Super Senior Singles and Handicap Singles. There also are options for Open Doubles, Senior Doubles and Handicap Doubles.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
Schroeder, a former collegiate bowler at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, was just looking to get an extra squad of the Bowlers Journal in with his friends after watching the members of his companion team – K and J Finishing 1 – take the lead in four out of the five events at the 2023 USBC Open Championships earlier in the day.
He rolled games of 279, 231 and 276 on the low end of the fourth floor at the National Bowling Stadium for a 786 series. Stepping up in the 10th, Schroeder needed the first strike and at least eight pins on his second delivery for a chance at the lead. He rolled three strikes to cap the performance.
The Open Singles lead at the Bowlers Journal previously was held by Alex Hoskins of Brigham City, Utah, who had shot 772 on Thursday.
By entering singles and doubles during the same session, Schroeder also holds the top spot for the event’s Dual Entry prize fund.
“This is just absolutely crazy,” said Schroeder, who made his ninth appearance at the Open Championships and posted 1,823 for his all-events total. “A couple friends from our group and I were just looking to get in a squad of the Bowlers Journal to fill some time and bowl some doubles sets together, and here we are.”
Christopher Wiley and Jim Schroeder
He partnered with Wiley, who added games of 243, 247 and 231 for a 721 set of his own for a combined total of 1,507 to get to the top of the leaderboard in Open Doubles. Wiley also bowled collegiately for Wisconsin-Whitewater and leads Regular Doubles at the Open Championships with Nick Kruml of St. Peters, Missouri, with 1,438.
Schroeder also paired with Team USA’s Nick Pate of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, during the set to take second place with 1,480. Pate had 694.
Wiley, Kruml and Pate all are part of the K and J Finishing 1 contingent that leads Team All-Events at the 2023 Open Championships (10,394), while Kruml also holds the top spots in Regular Singles (795) and Regular All-Events (2,242).
Two-time Eagle winner Ken Abner of Cincinnati and Professional Bowlers Association Tour star Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, had taken the lead in Open Doubles on Tuesday with 1,430. Abner and O’Neill are part of the group leading Regular Team at the 2023 Open Championships – Riding Kenny’s Coattails of Cincinnati – with 3,578.
“Having the lead in both this event and Regular Doubles at the Open Championships with my friends is just an awesome feeling,” Wiley said. “This year, I decided to approach nationals by just having fun with friends and bowling the best we can. With the results we had this week, I am glad we did.”
Schroeder crossed with K and J Finishing 1 during their run to third place in Regular Team on Friday, helping K and J Finishing 2 to a 3,133 total. He is among great friends with the eight-team group and bowls with them each year.
“Bowling with your friends and having a good time can really put you at ease, and I really think that helped me stay focused for success at the Bowlers Journal,” Schroeder said. “My main focus today was trying to put up a solid doubles scores with all my friends. Walking away with the lead in singles is a bonus to me.
“Winning the Bowlers Journal would be an awesome accomplishment, because I know just how hard this pattern is and how hard it is to even win this tournament.”
On Friday, another member of the K and J Finishing group – Josh Pate of Orlando, Florida – rolled the first 300 game at the 2023 Bowlers Journal Championships. Pate, who also competed at Wisconsin-Whitewater, had games of 190 and 213 before firing 12 consecutive strikes for a 703 series.
The effort was in doubles with Kruml, and they now hold sixth place in Open Doubles with 1,408. Pate also leads the tournament’s high-game jackpot, an optional side pot at the Bowlers Journal Championships, with his perfect performance.
The Bowlers Journal Championships features divisions for Open Singles, Senior Singles, Super Senior Singles and Handicap Singles. There also are options for Open Doubles, Senior Doubles and Handicap Doubles.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.