Scoring pace picks up at 2026 USBC Open Championships
March 17, 2026
Pictured above (from left): Blair Morrison, Deidra Treml, Arryk Wood, Pamper Stone, Harold Newman III
RENO, Nev. – As the scoring pace begins to take shape at the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, a couple of strong showings are already in the books at the National Bowling Stadium.
On Monday, the members of The Bowl Shebang of Windsor, Colorado, moved to the top spot in Classified Team with a 2,521 total. The following morning, Chris Morgan of Marshall, Michigan, put together 24 strikes to place his name at the top of the standings in Regular Singles with 756.
To claim the early lead in the Classified Division, the Colorado crew – featuring Blair Morrison, Deidra Treml, Arryk Wood, Pamper Stone and Harold Newman III – rolled games of 860, 893 and 768.
Their final tally sits 99 pins ahead of last year’s winning total of 2,422, and the performance was led by Wood’s 559 series. He was followed by Morrison (513), Stone (511), Newman (482) and Treml (456).
The group bowls together at both the local and state levels, and they’ve started making their way out to the USBC Open Championships over the last couple years.
“That chemistry and camaraderie is key,” Stone said. “We’re all friends, and we all bowl together during the year.”
Wood – Stone’s nephew – was a last-minute addition to the team for the 2026 event. Stone felt his familiarity was another key factor as they got out of the gates strong at the NBS.
“We were shocked and surprised (to find out about taking the lead),” Stone said. “We were watching some of the teams in the other divisions and tried to keep pace with them – that was kind of our focus.
“Our bowling ball strategy was big today. We were all talking, and I think having my nephew here helped me, too. We bowl together all the time, he knows our bowling balls and how to move and change, so I really think it was super helpful having him bowl with us.”
Stone noted a change in her feel has been helpful this season, and she praised the hard work all of her teammates have put in to get ready for the Open Championships.
“One of the big things I have changed was getting rid of my thumb plugs,” Stone said. “Before we started bowling this year, my pro shop guy – Zach Endres at Highland Park Lanes – drilled me new equipment with new thumbs, and things are way different for me. I’m very happy with them.
“The rest of the team has been practicing and bowling league, and it feels like we’ve all been bowling well. Deidre was great today, and she was holding up the team in Games 2 and 3. Coming together as a team after struggling in the past … this is super exciting for us.”
The Bowl Shebang now gets to see how their score will fare at the 2026 event, but the team enjoyed all the support they received this week both on-site in Reno and from back at home in Colorado.
“We’ve never been in this position, so I don’t how to react just yet,” Stone said. “Our pro shop guy, Zach, is always critical for key things like ball choices and drillings, but the biggest thing he told us was to pick up our spares and don’t get in our own heads. So that was part of the strategy, too.
“There was a lot of cheerleading here, too. We’re always cheering each other on, and I want to thank everybody at home and everybody who came out to support us, because we had a cheering section as well.”
Classified Team includes groups with combined entering averages of 800 and below.
Morgan’s day in doubles and singles may have started off slow, but he settled in nicely on the way to games of 242, 247 and 267 for the lead.
After a 166 start in doubles, the 30-year-old right-hander made a ball change to finish the set with 234 and 192 for 592. Singles, however, started with four spares.
Teammate Ryan O’Rourke of Bronson, Michigan, suggested for Morgan to take another look at the ball he had started the day with, which resulted in six straight strikes.
He went on another impressive string to close Game 2 with seven strikes and started Game 3 with nine more.
“After starting singles with four spares, Ryan’s suggestion was to go to the (Storm) Concept … and I barely missed after that,” said Morgan, who made his seventh appearance at the Open Championships this week. “I threw the Concept the first game of doubles before switching and went back to it in singles.
“My mindset was just to keep my speed soft and don’t overthrow it down lane. It was all out there for us. We had it all set – just had to keep it all in front of you.”
Morgan’s first delivery in the 10th made its way to the pocket, but the 10 pin halted his streak of strikes at 16.
“I was genuinely not nervous,” Morgan said. “I was more nervous on the 10 pin, which I missed, but I had a clear mind. I was more focused on 789, since that would have been a good number to post.”
His final tally nearly topped his singles performance in 2025 by 100 pins (664), and Morgan also posted his top all-events score at the Open Championships along the way, adding 515 in team for a total of 1,863.
“It’s really cool,” Morgan said. “I’ve never been anywhere close to that. So, it’s cool to set a number, even if someone can beat it.”
The Regular Division includes bowlers with entering averages of 182 and above.
The Open Championships is celebrating its 122nd edition in 2026 and making its 15th trip to Reno, Nevada. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature more than 55,000 bowlers and 11,000 five-player teams competing across 128 consecutive days at the National Bowling Stadium.
Follow the action from the tournament’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts.
RENO, Nev. – As the scoring pace begins to take shape at the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, a couple of strong showings are already in the books at the National Bowling Stadium.
On Monday, the members of The Bowl Shebang of Windsor, Colorado, moved to the top spot in Classified Team with a 2,521 total. The following morning, Chris Morgan of Marshall, Michigan, put together 24 strikes to place his name at the top of the standings in Regular Singles with 756.
To claim the early lead in the Classified Division, the Colorado crew – featuring Blair Morrison, Deidra Treml, Arryk Wood, Pamper Stone and Harold Newman III – rolled games of 860, 893 and 768.
Their final tally sits 99 pins ahead of last year’s winning total of 2,422, and the performance was led by Wood’s 559 series. He was followed by Morrison (513), Stone (511), Newman (482) and Treml (456).
The group bowls together at both the local and state levels, and they’ve started making their way out to the USBC Open Championships over the last couple years.
“That chemistry and camaraderie is key,” Stone said. “We’re all friends, and we all bowl together during the year.”
Wood – Stone’s nephew – was a last-minute addition to the team for the 2026 event. Stone felt his familiarity was another key factor as they got out of the gates strong at the NBS.
“We were shocked and surprised (to find out about taking the lead),” Stone said. “We were watching some of the teams in the other divisions and tried to keep pace with them – that was kind of our focus.
“Our bowling ball strategy was big today. We were all talking, and I think having my nephew here helped me, too. We bowl together all the time, he knows our bowling balls and how to move and change, so I really think it was super helpful having him bowl with us.”
Stone noted a change in her feel has been helpful this season, and she praised the hard work all of her teammates have put in to get ready for the Open Championships.
“One of the big things I have changed was getting rid of my thumb plugs,” Stone said. “Before we started bowling this year, my pro shop guy – Zach Endres at Highland Park Lanes – drilled me new equipment with new thumbs, and things are way different for me. I’m very happy with them.
“The rest of the team has been practicing and bowling league, and it feels like we’ve all been bowling well. Deidre was great today, and she was holding up the team in Games 2 and 3. Coming together as a team after struggling in the past … this is super exciting for us.”
The Bowl Shebang now gets to see how their score will fare at the 2026 event, but the team enjoyed all the support they received this week both on-site in Reno and from back at home in Colorado.
“We’ve never been in this position, so I don’t how to react just yet,” Stone said. “Our pro shop guy, Zach, is always critical for key things like ball choices and drillings, but the biggest thing he told us was to pick up our spares and don’t get in our own heads. So that was part of the strategy, too.
“There was a lot of cheerleading here, too. We’re always cheering each other on, and I want to thank everybody at home and everybody who came out to support us, because we had a cheering section as well.”
Classified Team includes groups with combined entering averages of 800 and below.
Morgan’s day in doubles and singles may have started off slow, but he settled in nicely on the way to games of 242, 247 and 267 for the lead.
After a 166 start in doubles, the 30-year-old right-hander made a ball change to finish the set with 234 and 192 for 592. Singles, however, started with four spares.
Teammate Ryan O’Rourke of Bronson, Michigan, suggested for Morgan to take another look at the ball he had started the day with, which resulted in six straight strikes.
He went on another impressive string to close Game 2 with seven strikes and started Game 3 with nine more.
“After starting singles with four spares, Ryan’s suggestion was to go to the (Storm) Concept … and I barely missed after that,” said Morgan, who made his seventh appearance at the Open Championships this week. “I threw the Concept the first game of doubles before switching and went back to it in singles.
“My mindset was just to keep my speed soft and don’t overthrow it down lane. It was all out there for us. We had it all set – just had to keep it all in front of you.”
Morgan’s first delivery in the 10th made its way to the pocket, but the 10 pin halted his streak of strikes at 16.
“I was genuinely not nervous,” Morgan said. “I was more nervous on the 10 pin, which I missed, but I had a clear mind. I was more focused on 789, since that would have been a good number to post.”
His final tally nearly topped his singles performance in 2025 by 100 pins (664), and Morgan also posted his top all-events score at the Open Championships along the way, adding 515 in team for a total of 1,863.
“It’s really cool,” Morgan said. “I’ve never been anywhere close to that. So, it’s cool to set a number, even if someone can beat it.”
The Regular Division includes bowlers with entering averages of 182 and above.
The Open Championships is celebrating its 122nd edition in 2026 and making its 15th trip to Reno, Nevada. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature more than 55,000 bowlers and 11,000 five-player teams competing across 128 consecutive days at the National Bowling Stadium.
Follow the action from the tournament’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts.