Team USA bowlers look to continue Pan American Games dominance in Santiago
October 26, 2023
ARLINGTON, Texas – Since bowling was added to the Pan American Games in 1991, Team USA has won 23 of a possible 36 gold medals and claimed 39 medals overall, which is nearly 25 more than any other country.
The quartet of Brandon Bonta of Wichita, Kansas; Breanna Clemmer of Clover, South Carolina; A.J. Johnson of Oswego, Illinois; and Jordan Richard of Tipton, Michigan, will be looking to add to those impressive totals when they head to Santiago, Chile, to represent the United States at the 2023 Pan American Games, which began on Oct. 20 and will run through Nov. 5.
The 2023 event is expected to bring together approximately 7,000 athletes from 41 countries and feature 39 sports.
The bowling competition will be held Nov. 2-5 at the Plaza Vespucio Centro de Bowling. In addition to the United States, the following countries will be represented on the lanes: Aruba, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
This year’s Team USA representatives for the event held every four years earned their spots at the Pan American Games by outdistancing their teammates in a two-part, point-based qualifying process that spanned more than five months.
In addition to being respected players and titlists on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association and Professional Bowlers Association Tours, Clemmer, Johnson and Richard have all medaled for Team USA in the past.
Bonta, on the other hand, will be making his adult national team debut; however, he proved himself more than capable of thriving in international competition when he brought home three gold medals and two silver while competing for Junior Team USA at the PANAM Bowling Youth Championship 2023 in Lima, Peru, in August.
While Bonta will certainly be looking to author an equally impressive performance on the lanes in Santiago, he wants his Pan American Games experience to be defined by more than just medals.
“The hope and goal is always to win a gold medal. Going back to this summer with Junior Team USA, stepping on the podium and hearing the national anthem play was one of the coolest and most-surreal moments I’ve ever had in my bowling career, so I’d love to get to do that again,” Bonta said. “However, I also want to just enjoy the experience of the Pan Am Games because you never know if you’ll ever be back at this event, which is pretty much bowling’s Olympics.”
Johnson is also grateful for the chance to represent the red, white and blue at such a prestigious event, both because of the competition’s significance on the world stage and because it was not an opportunity he originally expected to have.
Despite bowling very well, Johnson found himself in third place and on the outside looking in when Team USA’s Pan American Games qualifying race came to an end.
That all changed, however, when second-place finisher Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona, gave his spot up due to injury, which allowed his berth to fall to the next-highest finisher, Johnson.
Although he would have preferred to see Butturff get to compete using the spot that he’d earned, Johnson was grateful for his teammate’s selfless act and the opportunity it will afford him.
“A lot of athletes would have gone anyway even if they knew they weren’t going to be at their best just because they wanted to go so badly,” Johnson said. “Jakob (Butturff) decided to step down because he wasn’t just thinking about himself; he was thinking about the team, and that’s big.
“This is a unique and special event, one that I’ve never gotten the chance to travel for with Team USA but have always wanted to. I just want to go out there and bowl the best that I can while also being that veteran leader and helping Brandon (Bonta) stay calm and get comfortable. I know that sounds strange coming from me because I like to get pretty amped up, especially when wearing the red, white and blue, but I’ve learned to dial that back, and that’s what I want to do to help him be successful during his first trip.”
Clemmer and Richard won’t have to worry about overcoming any rookie jitters in Santiago as not only have both competed for Team USA in the past, but they’ve also bowled together.
The duo teamed up with Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, to capture the trios gold medal at the 2022 PANAM Bowling Women’s Championships in Lima, Peru. The Americans also brought home team gold from that event.
Clemmer is pleased that her hard work and dedication have afforded her the chance to compete for gold again on bowling’s biggest international stage, and she’s looking forward to doing so alongside a friend and fellow elite competitor in Richard, who could easily be considered the world’s No. 1 women’s bowler at this time.
“Jordan (Richard) has had an incredible year on tour, so I’m so excited to be able to do this with her,” Clemmer said. “We’ve known each other for a very long time, so to be able to do this with a close friend is really special. I say it all the time, but opportunities like this show that the hard work pays off.”
Richard certainly knows what it’s like to see hard work pay off. After winning two PWBA Tour titles through her first four years on tour, she exploded for three wins during the 2023 season alone, propelling her to the 2023 PWBA Player of the Year Award and solidifying her status as one of the world’s top bowlers.
Richard was obviously pleased with this past season’s PWBA Tour triumphs, but, for her, there’s nothing quite like winning for Team USA, which is why she is focused on helping the American squad secure as many medals as possible at this year’s Pan American Games.
“It’s hard to put into words what Team USA has meant to me and the experiences I’ve gotten to have over the years,” Richard said. “Having the year that I had on tour was great, but it’s so much different when you’re competing for your country. To win those medals under your country’s name just means so much more.”
Bowling competition at this year’s Pan American Games starts Nov. 2 with the doubles event and will conclude with the singles medal round Nov. 5.
Doubles competition will feature an eight-game block with medalists being determined by each duo’s total pinfall.
Singles will include 16 games of qualifying over two days before the field is cut to the top four bowlers in each division.
Those semifinalists will square off in a match-play format that will see the No. 1 seed battle the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed take on No. 3. The first bowler to win two games – of a possible three – in each match will advance to the finals to bowl one game for the gold medal while those who fall during semifinal competition will earn bronze.
The initial part of Team USA’s qualifying process for the Pan American Games was the 2023 Team USA Trials, a five-day, 30-game tournament contested on five different oil patterns, which was held at Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas from Jan. 2-7.
Men’s qualifying concluded with the United States Bowling Congress Masters at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Michigan, in early April, and the women’s qualifying wrapped up with the conclusion of the 2023 USBC Queens at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas in May.
For more information on Team USA, visit BOWL.com/TeamUSA.
The quartet of Brandon Bonta of Wichita, Kansas; Breanna Clemmer of Clover, South Carolina; A.J. Johnson of Oswego, Illinois; and Jordan Richard of Tipton, Michigan, will be looking to add to those impressive totals when they head to Santiago, Chile, to represent the United States at the 2023 Pan American Games, which began on Oct. 20 and will run through Nov. 5.
The 2023 event is expected to bring together approximately 7,000 athletes from 41 countries and feature 39 sports.
The bowling competition will be held Nov. 2-5 at the Plaza Vespucio Centro de Bowling. In addition to the United States, the following countries will be represented on the lanes: Aruba, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
This year’s Team USA representatives for the event held every four years earned their spots at the Pan American Games by outdistancing their teammates in a two-part, point-based qualifying process that spanned more than five months.
In addition to being respected players and titlists on the Professional Women’s Bowling Association and Professional Bowlers Association Tours, Clemmer, Johnson and Richard have all medaled for Team USA in the past.
Bonta, on the other hand, will be making his adult national team debut; however, he proved himself more than capable of thriving in international competition when he brought home three gold medals and two silver while competing for Junior Team USA at the PANAM Bowling Youth Championship 2023 in Lima, Peru, in August.
While Bonta will certainly be looking to author an equally impressive performance on the lanes in Santiago, he wants his Pan American Games experience to be defined by more than just medals.
“The hope and goal is always to win a gold medal. Going back to this summer with Junior Team USA, stepping on the podium and hearing the national anthem play was one of the coolest and most-surreal moments I’ve ever had in my bowling career, so I’d love to get to do that again,” Bonta said. “However, I also want to just enjoy the experience of the Pan Am Games because you never know if you’ll ever be back at this event, which is pretty much bowling’s Olympics.”
Johnson is also grateful for the chance to represent the red, white and blue at such a prestigious event, both because of the competition’s significance on the world stage and because it was not an opportunity he originally expected to have.
Despite bowling very well, Johnson found himself in third place and on the outside looking in when Team USA’s Pan American Games qualifying race came to an end.
That all changed, however, when second-place finisher Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona, gave his spot up due to injury, which allowed his berth to fall to the next-highest finisher, Johnson.
Although he would have preferred to see Butturff get to compete using the spot that he’d earned, Johnson was grateful for his teammate’s selfless act and the opportunity it will afford him.
“A lot of athletes would have gone anyway even if they knew they weren’t going to be at their best just because they wanted to go so badly,” Johnson said. “Jakob (Butturff) decided to step down because he wasn’t just thinking about himself; he was thinking about the team, and that’s big.
“This is a unique and special event, one that I’ve never gotten the chance to travel for with Team USA but have always wanted to. I just want to go out there and bowl the best that I can while also being that veteran leader and helping Brandon (Bonta) stay calm and get comfortable. I know that sounds strange coming from me because I like to get pretty amped up, especially when wearing the red, white and blue, but I’ve learned to dial that back, and that’s what I want to do to help him be successful during his first trip.”
Clemmer and Richard won’t have to worry about overcoming any rookie jitters in Santiago as not only have both competed for Team USA in the past, but they’ve also bowled together.
The duo teamed up with Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, to capture the trios gold medal at the 2022 PANAM Bowling Women’s Championships in Lima, Peru. The Americans also brought home team gold from that event.
Clemmer is pleased that her hard work and dedication have afforded her the chance to compete for gold again on bowling’s biggest international stage, and she’s looking forward to doing so alongside a friend and fellow elite competitor in Richard, who could easily be considered the world’s No. 1 women’s bowler at this time.
“Jordan (Richard) has had an incredible year on tour, so I’m so excited to be able to do this with her,” Clemmer said. “We’ve known each other for a very long time, so to be able to do this with a close friend is really special. I say it all the time, but opportunities like this show that the hard work pays off.”
Richard certainly knows what it’s like to see hard work pay off. After winning two PWBA Tour titles through her first four years on tour, she exploded for three wins during the 2023 season alone, propelling her to the 2023 PWBA Player of the Year Award and solidifying her status as one of the world’s top bowlers.
Richard was obviously pleased with this past season’s PWBA Tour triumphs, but, for her, there’s nothing quite like winning for Team USA, which is why she is focused on helping the American squad secure as many medals as possible at this year’s Pan American Games.
“It’s hard to put into words what Team USA has meant to me and the experiences I’ve gotten to have over the years,” Richard said. “Having the year that I had on tour was great, but it’s so much different when you’re competing for your country. To win those medals under your country’s name just means so much more.”
Bowling competition at this year’s Pan American Games starts Nov. 2 with the doubles event and will conclude with the singles medal round Nov. 5.
Doubles competition will feature an eight-game block with medalists being determined by each duo’s total pinfall.
Singles will include 16 games of qualifying over two days before the field is cut to the top four bowlers in each division.
Those semifinalists will square off in a match-play format that will see the No. 1 seed battle the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed take on No. 3. The first bowler to win two games – of a possible three – in each match will advance to the finals to bowl one game for the gold medal while those who fall during semifinal competition will earn bronze.
The initial part of Team USA’s qualifying process for the Pan American Games was the 2023 Team USA Trials, a five-day, 30-game tournament contested on five different oil patterns, which was held at Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas from Jan. 2-7.
Men’s qualifying concluded with the United States Bowling Congress Masters at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Michigan, in early April, and the women’s qualifying wrapped up with the conclusion of the 2023 USBC Queens at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas in May.
For more information on Team USA, visit BOWL.com/TeamUSA.