Small-town duo from Minnesota takes lead in Standard Doubles in Reno
March 08, 2023
Pictured above (from left): Chad Reimer and Justin Weckwerth
RENO, Nev. – Chad Reimer (Granite Falls) and Justin Weckwerth (Montevideo) come from small towns in western Minnesota where everyone knows your name.
On Tuesday night at the National Bowling Stadium, they were able to put together a score of 1,136 to take the lead in Standard Doubles at the 2023 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, giving the bowling world the chance to know their names.
The pair pushed the number in Standard Doubles for the third consecutive squad, edging Matthew McConaughy of Hudson, Iowa, and Derrick Tompkins of Clutier, Iowa, by eight pins. McConaughy and Tompkins had taken over the lead earlier in the day with 1,128.
Weckwerth and Reimer were able to find their rhythm in Game 2 on Tuesday and each marked in the final frame to secure the top spot. Weckwerth led the way with games of 153, 216 and 211 for a 580 series, and Reimer added 177, 201 and 178 for 556.
The duo lives about 15 minutes from town to town but see each other quite often at league and local tournaments.
“There’s only one bowling alley in each of our towns, so it is pretty easy to run into each other when going to shoe up to bowl around our area,” said Reimer, a 52-year-old right-hander making his eighth USBC Open Championships appearance. “We have been bowling together for about 10 years now at many of our local state tournaments and started to bowl the Open Championships together with this group when the event traveled to El Paso in 2015.
“It’s been a long time coming for us. We have been getting beat up bowling here for years, and to finally bowl well at nationals is a huge weight off our shoulders.”
While they were in doubles, they were keeping an eye on some of their friends who had a chance to take the lead before realizing they were approaching the number on their own.
“We were just following along watching our friends on the pair next to us try to take over the lead,” said Weckwerth, a 28-year-old left-hander who made his seventh tournament appearance. “Then it hit me that we had a chance to go around them! I don’t think this will hold up, but it’s pretty cool to say we are leading the tournament, even if it’s for the day.”
Reimer and Weckwerth are going to be watching the leaderboard everyday once they leave Reno with high hopes their score makes it through to the end.
“If we put up this score and took the lead in June, I would be super confident about us winning,” Reimer said. “But, we will leave here with our fingers crossed hoping to get that phone call at the end of the tournament.”
Weckwerth finished his 2023 event with 574 in singles and 545 in team for a 1,699 all-events tally, his best career total at the Open Championships. Reimer had 574 in team and 498 in singles for 1,628.
Standard Doubles features bowlers with combined entering averages of 311-350.
The 2023 Open Championships kicked off March 4 and will conclude July 24. The tournament’s official opening ceremony will take place Saturday, March 11 as more than 9,700 five-player teams make their way to compete in The Biggest Little City in the World.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
RENO, Nev. – Chad Reimer (Granite Falls) and Justin Weckwerth (Montevideo) come from small towns in western Minnesota where everyone knows your name.
On Tuesday night at the National Bowling Stadium, they were able to put together a score of 1,136 to take the lead in Standard Doubles at the 2023 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, giving the bowling world the chance to know their names.
The pair pushed the number in Standard Doubles for the third consecutive squad, edging Matthew McConaughy of Hudson, Iowa, and Derrick Tompkins of Clutier, Iowa, by eight pins. McConaughy and Tompkins had taken over the lead earlier in the day with 1,128.
Weckwerth and Reimer were able to find their rhythm in Game 2 on Tuesday and each marked in the final frame to secure the top spot. Weckwerth led the way with games of 153, 216 and 211 for a 580 series, and Reimer added 177, 201 and 178 for 556.
The duo lives about 15 minutes from town to town but see each other quite often at league and local tournaments.
“There’s only one bowling alley in each of our towns, so it is pretty easy to run into each other when going to shoe up to bowl around our area,” said Reimer, a 52-year-old right-hander making his eighth USBC Open Championships appearance. “We have been bowling together for about 10 years now at many of our local state tournaments and started to bowl the Open Championships together with this group when the event traveled to El Paso in 2015.
“It’s been a long time coming for us. We have been getting beat up bowling here for years, and to finally bowl well at nationals is a huge weight off our shoulders.”
While they were in doubles, they were keeping an eye on some of their friends who had a chance to take the lead before realizing they were approaching the number on their own.
“We were just following along watching our friends on the pair next to us try to take over the lead,” said Weckwerth, a 28-year-old left-hander who made his seventh tournament appearance. “Then it hit me that we had a chance to go around them! I don’t think this will hold up, but it’s pretty cool to say we are leading the tournament, even if it’s for the day.”
Reimer and Weckwerth are going to be watching the leaderboard everyday once they leave Reno with high hopes their score makes it through to the end.
“If we put up this score and took the lead in June, I would be super confident about us winning,” Reimer said. “But, we will leave here with our fingers crossed hoping to get that phone call at the end of the tournament.”
Weckwerth finished his 2023 event with 574 in singles and 545 in team for a 1,699 all-events tally, his best career total at the Open Championships. Reimer had 574 in team and 498 in singles for 1,628.
Standard Doubles features bowlers with combined entering averages of 311-350.
The 2023 Open Championships kicked off March 4 and will conclude July 24. The tournament’s official opening ceremony will take place Saturday, March 11 as more than 9,700 five-player teams make their way to compete in The Biggest Little City in the World.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.