Team USA earns pair of golds in doubles at 2024 PANAM Bowling Championships
August 21, 2024
Tournament Page
RENO, Nev. – The members of Team USA returned to the National Bowling Stadium on Wednesday for doubles competition at the 2024 PANAM Bowling Adult, Senior and Super Senior Championships and added two golds to their collection for the week.
Team USA now holds 11 total medals through two days at the 2024 event, including five golds.
The tournament features Adult (Elite), Senior (age 50 and over) and Super Senior (age 60 and over) classifications with a men’s and women’s division for each event. Competition includes singles, doubles, mixed doubles (Super Senior only), trios (Elite and Senior only) and team disciplines, with medals also being awarded for the top scores in all-events for 24 games.
Wednesday’s doubles event featured six games, with total combined pinfall determining the medalists in each classification.
In the men’s Elite division, a high-scoring squad resulted with Team USA’s Spencer Robarge and Packy Hanrahan finishing with 524 to post a 2,881 score to win the gold medal. Hanrahan now has earned a pair of golds after claiming the top spot in singles Tuesday.
Robarge led the charge Wednesday, rolling 279 in Game 6 on the way to a 1,505 total. Hanrahan closed with 245 to finish with 1,376.
Colombia’s Alfredo Quintana and Oscar Rodriguez are taking home the silver medal with 2,837, and Puerto Rico’s Edward Burgos and Jean Perez collected bronze with 2,767.
Team USA’s Jake Peters and Darren Tang finished sixth with 2,757, while Julian Salinas and AJ Johnson were 10th with 2,653.
Robarge and Hanrahan know each other well through a connection to Wichita State University and are both two-handed southpaws. The pairing was natural from the start, and the communication was constant throughout the performance.
“I think we throw it similar, but we’re different,” Robarge said. “But, we know what the differences between each other are and have bowled with each other so much living in Wichita. We saw what we saw yesterday, and I knew what changes I was going to make. Having him behind me to help me through all those changes was a world of difference for me. I wouldn’t have had that score unless it was for him.”
Hanrahan, who posted 1,473 on the way to gold Tuesday, was looking to show him the path.
“I felt the same yesterday,” Hanrahan said. “Today was my turn. I didn’t have quite the same look and had more of what he had yesterday. So, I was going to do my best to get to 225 or 235 and try to see how high I can make his score, because if he bowled the way I knew he could, we were going to win this thing.”
With big scores across the 78-lane venue, Robarge and Hanrahan entered the final game 24 pins ahead of Quintana and Rodriguez. Another five pairings were within 50 pins of their score.
Knowing a big game was likely going to be necessary to hold off the competition, the teammates already had visualized what Lanes 49 and 50 were going to give them. They brought the vision to reality with 19 strikes on 24 deliveries in Game 6.
Quintana and Rodriguez kept the pressure on, too, finishing with 504.
“Before we even started, we looked at our cross and I told him I think this last pair is going to be huge,” Robarge said. “I have some personal history with this pair of lanes from the last couple times I’ve been here, and I told him I think we’re going to have a monster the last game.
“In Game 5, we hit a pair that was just bad for us. We threw a lot of really good shots and got nine a lot, but we filled a ton in the 10th frame to put ourselves in position to come down here and hit this pair. We knew this pair was good, we had what we needed and went out and did it.”
Robarge’s past experiences pushed the confidence up for Hanrahan as well.
“We did a good job, especially Spencer, in just convincing ourselves that it was going to be a good pair and we were going to have a huge game. He did a good job of explaining his history on this pair and what he sees on it. We came to the pair talking about how 550 was possible. We were short of that, but the fact we thought it was possible put us in position to do it.”
A chat with their teammates and coaches after Tuesday’s block helped set the stage for their performance Wednesday, and now they hope to take that momentum ahead for the rest of the week.
“Winning by yourself is cool, but winning with someone else means so much more,” Hanrahan said. “We had a really good talk last night with the coaches, then had another hour-and-a-half talk after that and put together a game plan with Spencer. Hopefully, we take the momentum to trios and team and have another crack at gold.”
“This team is amazing,” said Robarge, who collected his first medal as a member of the adult team. “The talk last night made a world of difference. I think everybody bowled better today, and we relayed so much information. Packy and I have never bowled doubles together, but I think we’ll bowl doubles when we get back home if it’s going to go like that. This really means the world.”
The second gold medal on the day for Team USA came from Dana Ausec and Liz Johnson in the women’s Senior division with a 2,369 total. The United States also collected silver in doubles as Kathy Ledford and Jodi Woessner bounced back after a slow start to get to 2,273.
Canada’s Lauraine Fast and Kerrie Watson earned the bronze medal with 2,239.
The scoring pace offered a different look for the competitors compared to Tuesday’s singles round, as Johnson was the only bowler to average more than 200 on Wednesday, finishing with 1,210. Ausec posted 1,159.
“It was a grind,” said Johnson, a United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer. “If there was ever a day to keep the ball in the 1-3 and fill your frames, today was that day. We started out in pretty much the same spot as yesterday, but the moves were a little quicker. I think we did pretty well with going back and forth and making moves.”
The pair saved their best performance of the day for Game 6, as Ausec posted 243 and Johnson contributed 191.
“Liz did a great job of just grinding through what really was a tough shot,” Ausec said. “The scoring pace was a lot lower than yesterday, and I had some mishaps through Games 3, 4 and 5. She was great to say it was OK and could help me work through those games. In Game 6, I was finally able to settle in and start making some good shots. It was frustrating it took that long to feel it, but we definitely learned a lot and have something we can take forward.”
Team USA now has won four medals in the women’s Senior classification, as Woessner collected the victory in singles and Johnson placed second Tuesday.
Ausec recorded her first medal at the 2024 event after a strong showing in her Team USA debut last year at the International Bowling Federation World Senior Championships in Cali, Colombia, where she earned four medals (three golds, one bronze).
She hopes the best it yet to come for the group, however, as she appreciates the opportunity to compete alongside her teammates in the red, white and blue.
“It feels great,” Ausec said. “Just to have the opportunity to bowl with one of the greatest bowlers of all-time is incredible, but I’m not going to lie, it can get a little stressful. When things started to go south for me, it was compacted a little bit because I wanted to bowl so well for her. She was great trying to help keep me calm and work through the issues I was having. We don’t get a lot of opportunities to bowl for others, since bowling usually is such an individual sport. Getting to bowl for others in doubles, trios, team – I think that’s the best part of these events.”
“She made a great ball change at the end of Game 5 and made some really good shots to help get us there,” Johnson said. “I started with an early open and didn’t want to finish on a bad note. I wanted to finish on a good note for her. There was some great team and doubles bowling today, and this is what bowling and the love of bowling is all about.”
The excitement in the women’s Elite field came down to the final frame in doubles, with Guatemala’s Sofia Granda and Ana Morales winning the gold medal with a 2,613 total.
Team USA’s Breanna Clemmer and Crystal Elliott earned silver with 2,601, while a strong final game from Colombia’s Juliana Franco and Maria José Rodriguez helped push them to bronze with 2,567.
Jillian Martin and Shannon Pluhowsky from the United States finished fifth with 2,562, while Lauren Russo and Hope Gramly combined for 2,444.
Clemmer and Elliott had finished their block with games of 247 and 215, respectively, to post the number to beat at the NBS as Granda and Morales approached their final frame.
Granda was able to strike on her first delivery and closed with a nine count (4 pin) and spare to finish with 238. Morales, working on a spare, needed a mark to claim the outright lead and was able to roll a strike to secure gold.
Granda paced the pair with a 1,322 total, while Morales, the bronze medalist in singles Tuesday, finished with 1,291.
Clemmer led the way for the Team USA pairing with a 1,363 total, while Elliott added 1,238 to secure her first medal as part of the adult team.
“I didn’t realize we actually medaled at first,” said Elliott, who’s making her debut on Team USA this week after spending three years on Junior Team USA. “Bob (Learn Jr.) had come up to me after we finished and said, ‘Congratulations on your first medal.’ I looked at Bre and said, ‘We medaled?’ She said yes, and then the happy tears started happening.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s an honor to even wear this jersey, and the fact we were able to get a medal in this event is even more exciting.”
Clemmer now has represented the red, white and blue in the last three editions of the PANAM Bowling Championships, and she added a silver medal to five golds and one bronze from the 2021 (Cali, Colombia) and 2022 (Lima, Peru) events.
It took her some time to get going during singles Tuesday, but she tossed 258 in her final game to finish with some momentum. Some adjustments to the surface of a few of her bowling balls, along with strong communication between the team and coaching staff, allowed her to average more than 227 on Wednesday.
“I was not comfortable yesterday at all and did not see the picture until the end,” Clemmer said. “I was rushing everything. Today, I was bowling with one of my closest friends and really wanted to bowl well for her. I talked to Bob about the game plan, and I needed more surface on some of my stuff, but not everything. I kind of camped out in one area for three games then made the move, communicated very well with Crystal and saw the picture a lot better today.
“It’s always an honor to wear USA on your back, and as I get older, this means more and more. It's special for me to accomplish this with Crystal and help her get her first medal. I think of her like a little sister, and watching her do what she did today makes my heart swell.”
In the men’s Senior division, Team USA posted third- and fourth-place finishes as Tom Adcock and Dan Knowlton earned the bronze medal with a 2,458 total. Steve Badovinac and John Janawicz were just 11 pins behind, posting 2,447.
Mexico swept the top spots, as Francisco Peralta and Mario Quintero claimed gold with a 2,565 total. Quintero led the way with 1,316, and Peralta added 1,249.
Jose De Alba and Marco Martinez rolled a 2,475 score to collect the silver medal.
Adcock and Knowlton have medaled in each event so far at the 2024 PANAM Bowling Championships. Knowlton grabbed the gold medal in singles Tuesday by a pin over Adcock, and Janawicz finished third.
They nearly posted identical efforts again Wednesday, with Adcock knocking down 1,232 pins and Knowlton having 1,226.
The scoring pace also seemed to slow down during doubles, making it a hard-fought climb to the podium.
“They played a lot different today compared to yesterday for us,” Knowlton said. “Urethane didn’t look as good, and it seemed like we were paying the maximum penalty on every bad shot. We had some good games going, and then we ruined them near the end, so it was nice to be able to scrap out that last game to get there.
“It’s going to be important to really be observant looking ahead. It’s not going to play the same tomorrow as it did today or yesterday, and we really need to be able to work together to figure out what's going to work best on team day.”
There were opportunities to learn as they navigated Wednesday’s block, and they hope all the knowledge they put together can keep them ahead of the moves for the rest of the event.
“I actually thought that the fronts hooked a little bit earlier today as opposed to the last couple days, so it felt like it stretched really fast and got tighter way down the lane a lot faster, too,” Adcock said. “I used different areas today quicker than I did yesterday. We talked earlier that maybe I could have stayed in my bigger piece and farther right, and I jumped out of it too quick. Maybe that was the right play, maybe it wasn’t, but we still were able to get some hardware.
“Every time they run the pattern, it’s getting flatter and flatter, so maybe that’s why it seems like the pattern is stretching quicker and the fronts are hooking earlier. We have that in the back of our mind to prep for in trios and team, and hopefully we can take that information and use it to our advantage.”
Wednesday’s pairing was something both Adcock and Knowlton were looking forward to once they found out they were heading to Reno, and they were glad the opportunity turned into a medal-winning performance.
“We were hoping this was going to be the case,” Adcock said. “We didn’t know or have any influence over it, but it was something we talked about since we both got onto the team. We thought it would be great to be paired up.”
“We’re great friends and have been hanging out the whole season,” Knowlton added. “We practice together a lot and are very familiar with each other’s games, so I think that helped a lot today, too.”
Team USA did not field a team for the Super Senior classification. Colombia swept the top spots for the second consecutive day as Gloria Arango and Amanda Galeano claimed the women’s title with 2,196. David Romero and Nicolas Ruiz won gold in men’s doubles with 2,357.
Arango and Romero collected the gold medals in singles on Tuesday.
With singles and doubles in the books, Thursday will feature both trios and mixed doubles. At noon Eastern, the Elite and Senior women’s field will compete in trios, while mixed doubles also will take place for both Super Senior divisions. At 7 p.m. Eastern, the Elite and Senior men will take to the lanes for trios.
The team event will be contested across Friday and Saturday to close the 2024 event.
The 2024 PANAM Bowling Adult, Senior and Super Senior Championships features 19 countries from within the Western Hemisphere.
RENO, Nev. – The members of Team USA returned to the National Bowling Stadium on Wednesday for doubles competition at the 2024 PANAM Bowling Adult, Senior and Super Senior Championships and added two golds to their collection for the week.
Team USA now holds 11 total medals through two days at the 2024 event, including five golds.
The tournament features Adult (Elite), Senior (age 50 and over) and Super Senior (age 60 and over) classifications with a men’s and women’s division for each event. Competition includes singles, doubles, mixed doubles (Super Senior only), trios (Elite and Senior only) and team disciplines, with medals also being awarded for the top scores in all-events for 24 games.
Wednesday’s doubles event featured six games, with total combined pinfall determining the medalists in each classification.
In the men’s Elite division, a high-scoring squad resulted with Team USA’s Spencer Robarge and Packy Hanrahan finishing with 524 to post a 2,881 score to win the gold medal. Hanrahan now has earned a pair of golds after claiming the top spot in singles Tuesday.
Robarge led the charge Wednesday, rolling 279 in Game 6 on the way to a 1,505 total. Hanrahan closed with 245 to finish with 1,376.
Colombia’s Alfredo Quintana and Oscar Rodriguez are taking home the silver medal with 2,837, and Puerto Rico’s Edward Burgos and Jean Perez collected bronze with 2,767.
Team USA’s Jake Peters and Darren Tang finished sixth with 2,757, while Julian Salinas and AJ Johnson were 10th with 2,653.
Robarge and Hanrahan know each other well through a connection to Wichita State University and are both two-handed southpaws. The pairing was natural from the start, and the communication was constant throughout the performance.
“I think we throw it similar, but we’re different,” Robarge said. “But, we know what the differences between each other are and have bowled with each other so much living in Wichita. We saw what we saw yesterday, and I knew what changes I was going to make. Having him behind me to help me through all those changes was a world of difference for me. I wouldn’t have had that score unless it was for him.”
Hanrahan, who posted 1,473 on the way to gold Tuesday, was looking to show him the path.
“I felt the same yesterday,” Hanrahan said. “Today was my turn. I didn’t have quite the same look and had more of what he had yesterday. So, I was going to do my best to get to 225 or 235 and try to see how high I can make his score, because if he bowled the way I knew he could, we were going to win this thing.”
With big scores across the 78-lane venue, Robarge and Hanrahan entered the final game 24 pins ahead of Quintana and Rodriguez. Another five pairings were within 50 pins of their score.
Knowing a big game was likely going to be necessary to hold off the competition, the teammates already had visualized what Lanes 49 and 50 were going to give them. They brought the vision to reality with 19 strikes on 24 deliveries in Game 6.
Quintana and Rodriguez kept the pressure on, too, finishing with 504.
“Before we even started, we looked at our cross and I told him I think this last pair is going to be huge,” Robarge said. “I have some personal history with this pair of lanes from the last couple times I’ve been here, and I told him I think we’re going to have a monster the last game.
“In Game 5, we hit a pair that was just bad for us. We threw a lot of really good shots and got nine a lot, but we filled a ton in the 10th frame to put ourselves in position to come down here and hit this pair. We knew this pair was good, we had what we needed and went out and did it.”
Robarge’s past experiences pushed the confidence up for Hanrahan as well.
“We did a good job, especially Spencer, in just convincing ourselves that it was going to be a good pair and we were going to have a huge game. He did a good job of explaining his history on this pair and what he sees on it. We came to the pair talking about how 550 was possible. We were short of that, but the fact we thought it was possible put us in position to do it.”
A chat with their teammates and coaches after Tuesday’s block helped set the stage for their performance Wednesday, and now they hope to take that momentum ahead for the rest of the week.
“Winning by yourself is cool, but winning with someone else means so much more,” Hanrahan said. “We had a really good talk last night with the coaches, then had another hour-and-a-half talk after that and put together a game plan with Spencer. Hopefully, we take the momentum to trios and team and have another crack at gold.”
“This team is amazing,” said Robarge, who collected his first medal as a member of the adult team. “The talk last night made a world of difference. I think everybody bowled better today, and we relayed so much information. Packy and I have never bowled doubles together, but I think we’ll bowl doubles when we get back home if it’s going to go like that. This really means the world.”
The second gold medal on the day for Team USA came from Dana Ausec and Liz Johnson in the women’s Senior division with a 2,369 total. The United States also collected silver in doubles as Kathy Ledford and Jodi Woessner bounced back after a slow start to get to 2,273.
Canada’s Lauraine Fast and Kerrie Watson earned the bronze medal with 2,239.
The scoring pace offered a different look for the competitors compared to Tuesday’s singles round, as Johnson was the only bowler to average more than 200 on Wednesday, finishing with 1,210. Ausec posted 1,159.
“It was a grind,” said Johnson, a United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer. “If there was ever a day to keep the ball in the 1-3 and fill your frames, today was that day. We started out in pretty much the same spot as yesterday, but the moves were a little quicker. I think we did pretty well with going back and forth and making moves.”
The pair saved their best performance of the day for Game 6, as Ausec posted 243 and Johnson contributed 191.
“Liz did a great job of just grinding through what really was a tough shot,” Ausec said. “The scoring pace was a lot lower than yesterday, and I had some mishaps through Games 3, 4 and 5. She was great to say it was OK and could help me work through those games. In Game 6, I was finally able to settle in and start making some good shots. It was frustrating it took that long to feel it, but we definitely learned a lot and have something we can take forward.”
Team USA now has won four medals in the women’s Senior classification, as Woessner collected the victory in singles and Johnson placed second Tuesday.
Ausec recorded her first medal at the 2024 event after a strong showing in her Team USA debut last year at the International Bowling Federation World Senior Championships in Cali, Colombia, where she earned four medals (three golds, one bronze).
She hopes the best it yet to come for the group, however, as she appreciates the opportunity to compete alongside her teammates in the red, white and blue.
“It feels great,” Ausec said. “Just to have the opportunity to bowl with one of the greatest bowlers of all-time is incredible, but I’m not going to lie, it can get a little stressful. When things started to go south for me, it was compacted a little bit because I wanted to bowl so well for her. She was great trying to help keep me calm and work through the issues I was having. We don’t get a lot of opportunities to bowl for others, since bowling usually is such an individual sport. Getting to bowl for others in doubles, trios, team – I think that’s the best part of these events.”
“She made a great ball change at the end of Game 5 and made some really good shots to help get us there,” Johnson said. “I started with an early open and didn’t want to finish on a bad note. I wanted to finish on a good note for her. There was some great team and doubles bowling today, and this is what bowling and the love of bowling is all about.”
The excitement in the women’s Elite field came down to the final frame in doubles, with Guatemala’s Sofia Granda and Ana Morales winning the gold medal with a 2,613 total.
Team USA’s Breanna Clemmer and Crystal Elliott earned silver with 2,601, while a strong final game from Colombia’s Juliana Franco and Maria José Rodriguez helped push them to bronze with 2,567.
Jillian Martin and Shannon Pluhowsky from the United States finished fifth with 2,562, while Lauren Russo and Hope Gramly combined for 2,444.
Clemmer and Elliott had finished their block with games of 247 and 215, respectively, to post the number to beat at the NBS as Granda and Morales approached their final frame.
Granda was able to strike on her first delivery and closed with a nine count (4 pin) and spare to finish with 238. Morales, working on a spare, needed a mark to claim the outright lead and was able to roll a strike to secure gold.
Granda paced the pair with a 1,322 total, while Morales, the bronze medalist in singles Tuesday, finished with 1,291.
Clemmer led the way for the Team USA pairing with a 1,363 total, while Elliott added 1,238 to secure her first medal as part of the adult team.
“I didn’t realize we actually medaled at first,” said Elliott, who’s making her debut on Team USA this week after spending three years on Junior Team USA. “Bob (Learn Jr.) had come up to me after we finished and said, ‘Congratulations on your first medal.’ I looked at Bre and said, ‘We medaled?’ She said yes, and then the happy tears started happening.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s an honor to even wear this jersey, and the fact we were able to get a medal in this event is even more exciting.”
Clemmer now has represented the red, white and blue in the last three editions of the PANAM Bowling Championships, and she added a silver medal to five golds and one bronze from the 2021 (Cali, Colombia) and 2022 (Lima, Peru) events.
It took her some time to get going during singles Tuesday, but she tossed 258 in her final game to finish with some momentum. Some adjustments to the surface of a few of her bowling balls, along with strong communication between the team and coaching staff, allowed her to average more than 227 on Wednesday.
“I was not comfortable yesterday at all and did not see the picture until the end,” Clemmer said. “I was rushing everything. Today, I was bowling with one of my closest friends and really wanted to bowl well for her. I talked to Bob about the game plan, and I needed more surface on some of my stuff, but not everything. I kind of camped out in one area for three games then made the move, communicated very well with Crystal and saw the picture a lot better today.
“It’s always an honor to wear USA on your back, and as I get older, this means more and more. It's special for me to accomplish this with Crystal and help her get her first medal. I think of her like a little sister, and watching her do what she did today makes my heart swell.”
In the men’s Senior division, Team USA posted third- and fourth-place finishes as Tom Adcock and Dan Knowlton earned the bronze medal with a 2,458 total. Steve Badovinac and John Janawicz were just 11 pins behind, posting 2,447.
Mexico swept the top spots, as Francisco Peralta and Mario Quintero claimed gold with a 2,565 total. Quintero led the way with 1,316, and Peralta added 1,249.
Jose De Alba and Marco Martinez rolled a 2,475 score to collect the silver medal.
Adcock and Knowlton have medaled in each event so far at the 2024 PANAM Bowling Championships. Knowlton grabbed the gold medal in singles Tuesday by a pin over Adcock, and Janawicz finished third.
They nearly posted identical efforts again Wednesday, with Adcock knocking down 1,232 pins and Knowlton having 1,226.
The scoring pace also seemed to slow down during doubles, making it a hard-fought climb to the podium.
“They played a lot different today compared to yesterday for us,” Knowlton said. “Urethane didn’t look as good, and it seemed like we were paying the maximum penalty on every bad shot. We had some good games going, and then we ruined them near the end, so it was nice to be able to scrap out that last game to get there.
“It’s going to be important to really be observant looking ahead. It’s not going to play the same tomorrow as it did today or yesterday, and we really need to be able to work together to figure out what's going to work best on team day.”
There were opportunities to learn as they navigated Wednesday’s block, and they hope all the knowledge they put together can keep them ahead of the moves for the rest of the event.
“I actually thought that the fronts hooked a little bit earlier today as opposed to the last couple days, so it felt like it stretched really fast and got tighter way down the lane a lot faster, too,” Adcock said. “I used different areas today quicker than I did yesterday. We talked earlier that maybe I could have stayed in my bigger piece and farther right, and I jumped out of it too quick. Maybe that was the right play, maybe it wasn’t, but we still were able to get some hardware.
“Every time they run the pattern, it’s getting flatter and flatter, so maybe that’s why it seems like the pattern is stretching quicker and the fronts are hooking earlier. We have that in the back of our mind to prep for in trios and team, and hopefully we can take that information and use it to our advantage.”
Wednesday’s pairing was something both Adcock and Knowlton were looking forward to once they found out they were heading to Reno, and they were glad the opportunity turned into a medal-winning performance.
“We were hoping this was going to be the case,” Adcock said. “We didn’t know or have any influence over it, but it was something we talked about since we both got onto the team. We thought it would be great to be paired up.”
“We’re great friends and have been hanging out the whole season,” Knowlton added. “We practice together a lot and are very familiar with each other’s games, so I think that helped a lot today, too.”
Team USA did not field a team for the Super Senior classification. Colombia swept the top spots for the second consecutive day as Gloria Arango and Amanda Galeano claimed the women’s title with 2,196. David Romero and Nicolas Ruiz won gold in men’s doubles with 2,357.
Arango and Romero collected the gold medals in singles on Tuesday.
With singles and doubles in the books, Thursday will feature both trios and mixed doubles. At noon Eastern, the Elite and Senior women’s field will compete in trios, while mixed doubles also will take place for both Super Senior divisions. At 7 p.m. Eastern, the Elite and Senior men will take to the lanes for trios.
The team event will be contested across Friday and Saturday to close the 2024 event.
The 2024 PANAM Bowling Adult, Senior and Super Senior Championships features 19 countries from within the Western Hemisphere.