Tournament Page

RENO, Nev. – Twenty athletes representing Team USA have made their way to Reno, Nevada, for the 2024 PANAM Bowling Adult, Senior and Super Senior Championships, which gets underway Monday at the famed National Bowling Stadium.

The Adult (Elite), Senior (age 50 and over) and Super Senior (age 60 and over) classifications will each feature a men’s and women’s division with competition being held in singles, doubles, mixed doubles (Super Senior only), trios (Elite and Senior only) and team disciplines. Medals also will be awarded for the top scores in all-events.

Team USA will compete in both divisions for the Elite and Senior classifications.

The tournament’s official practice sessions will be held Monday with an opening ceremony taking place at 8 p.m. Eastern. Competition will begin Tuesday at 11 a.m. Eastern as the athletes in the Senior and Super Senior classifications take to the lanes for their six games of singles.

Singles will take place over three squads Tuesday, and doubles (six games) also will be held across three squads Wednesday. Six games of trios will be contested across a pair of squads Thursday in the Elite and Senior classifications, while competitors in the Super Senior classification will bowl mixed doubles.

The team event will be split into two three-game blocks over two squads Friday and Saturday.

Total pinfall for six games in each discipline will determine the medal winners in each event, while the top overall performers for 24 games will earn medals in all-events.

The tournament’s closing ceremony will take place Saturday at 10 p.m. Eastern.

Competition at the 2024 PANAM Bowling Adult, Senior and Super Senior Championships will be streamed live at BowlTV.com.

In the Elite classification, both Team USA programs will aim to defend the team titles captured in 2022 (Women’s Championships in Lima, Peru) and 2023 (Men’s Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).

The women’s team also claimed gold medals in singles, trios and all-events in 2022, while the men’s group secured gold in trios in 2023.

The six-player contingent representing the women’s team in 2024 includes Breanna Clemmer of Lebanon, Illinois; Crystal Elliott of Palm Bay, Florida; Hope Gramly of Aubrey, Texas; Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio; and Lauren Russo of Ballwin, Missouri.

Clemmer and Russo helped Team USA win gold in team at the 2022 event in Lima, while Clemmer also earned gold in trios in 2022. At the 2021 event in Cali, Colombia, they claimed gold in team and paired together for gold in doubles and bronze in trios. Clemmer capped the trip with gold in all-events.

Pluhowsky is no stranger to success at the PANAM Bowling Women’s Championships over her 24 years on Team USA, including team golds in 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014.

Martin, Gramly and Elliott will represent the adult team for the first time in their young careers starting this week at the National Bowling Stadium.

Elliott has put together a spectacular showing across 2024, which included another milestone earlier in August during the final stop of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour season.

The 23-year-old right-hander hoisted the PWBA Rookie of the Year award after finishing the season with three top-five finishes.

She started her 2024 campaign in Las Vegas at the USBC Team USA Trials and United States National Amateur Bowling Championships, where she emerged as the U.S. Amateur champion to earn her spot on Team USA for the first time after three years on Junior Team USA (2018, 2020-2021).

Elliott was named a National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) first-team All-American for the third time in her collegiate career as a student-athlete at Jacksonville State University, and she helped the Gamecocks win the NCAA Bowling Championships in April during the program’s first year.

Jacksonville State finished as the runner-up at the 2024 Intercollegiate Team Championships, and Elliott also was a semifinalist at the Intercollegiate Singles Championships before starting her run toward rookie-of-the-year honors during the PWBA Tour season.

Now, Elliott will look to continue the momentum from her big year at the 78-lane NBS.

“It means so much,” said Elliott, who also will represent Team USA in October at the PANAM Champion of Champions in Lima. “This is my opportunity to wear the red, white and blue, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. When I received the phone call, I had happy tears. It’s an honor to even be on the team itself, and the fact I got that phone call makes everything so much sweeter.”

She’s gotten to know her teammates well throughout the PWBA Tour season, and the trip gives her a chance to reunite in the team environment with Pluhowsky and Martin from her time competing collegiately at the University of Nebraska.

“I was coached by Shannon at Nebraska for a year and was teammates with Jillian for a season, so I’m really fortunate to get the opportunity to compete with them,” Elliott said. “I have a special connection with Hope, so it’s really exciting we get to share this opportunity together, especially with this being our first year on the adult team. Breanna and Lauren are two people I’ve always looked up to, especially in the collegiate and professional bowling realm of things. I’m really excited to be on the lanes with them.”

The men’s team in 2024 features Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; AJ Johnson of Kenosha, Wisconsin; Jake Peters of Henderson, Nevada; Spencer Robarge of Springfield, Missouri; Julian Salinas of Richmond, Texas; and Darren Tang of Las Vegas.

Tang was part of the team victory in 2023 and also collected a bronze medal in trios in Santo Domingo. He also earned a gold medal in team alongside Johnson at the 2019 event in Lima. Johnson claimed gold in doubles and all-events in 2019, while Tang took home silver in singles and all-events and bronze in Masters.

Hanrahan, Peters, Robarge and Salinas will be donning the red, white and blue for the first time on the adult team in Reno. Peters, Robarge and Salinas have previously represented the United States on the lanes as part of Junior Team USA, while Hanrahan will make his program debut at the NBS.

Hanrahan collected a pair of titles on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour during the 2023 season, and the talented two-hander entered Team USA Trials in 2024 looking to capitalize on his breakout performance.

After earning his spot on the team for the year, he put forth another strong season and posted a runner-up finish at the PBA Scorpion Championship. He finished the season in the top 15 in points, and now, he’s excited to take on a new opportunity alongside his teammates during his time in The Biggest Little City in the World.

“It was awesome to get the call,” Hanrahan said. “It’s going to be really special to be able to put on the jersey, and I’m sure it will hit even harder when I get to put it on and partner up with these guys in Reno. It’ll be fun experiencing it all for the first time.”

Much like Elliott, he has spent plenty of time on tour getting to compete against the likes of Johnson, Peters and Tang but looks forward to working together with them. He’s gotten to know Robarge, who’s also a two-hander attacking the left side, through their connection to Wichita State University.

Although Hanrahan hasn’t had as many opportunities to bowl alongside Salinas, he feels the team environment will quickly bring them all together.

“I’m friends with a lot of the guys out on tour, and I see them every week,” Hanrahan said. “It’ll be fun bowling with them instead of against them. I live in Wichita and see Spencer three or four times a week, but Julian will be the one I don’t see as often. It’ll be fun to learn more about his personality and see how he bowls and thinks, especially since it's all on the fly.”

The 2024 event will mark the first PANAM Bowling event for Team USA in the Senior classification since 2018 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The women’s and men’s teams for the United States combined for eight gold medals and 18 medals overall at that event.

The women’s team in 2024 will be represented by Dana Ausec of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Liz Johnson of Niagara Falls, New York; Kathy Ledford of Boise, Idaho; and Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio.

Woessner (2022), Ausec (2023) and Ledford (2024) have collected wins in the last three editions of the USBC Senior Queens. Johnson turned 50 in May and quickly made an impact by becoming the first woman to advance to a championship round in a PBA50 Tour event during the Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship in July.

Ausec and Woessner got their first taste of Team USA competition in 2023 at the International Bowling Federation World Senior Championships in Cali.

Both athletes medaled in each discipline, with Ausec taking home three golds (singles, team, all-events) and one bronze (doubles). Woessner, a USBC Hall of Famer, finished with a pair of gold (doubles and team) and silver (singles and all-events) medals.

Ledford is making her program debut, while Johnson will wear the red, white and blue for the first time since retiring from the adult team after a memorable performance at the 2015 IBF World Women’s Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The USBC Hall of Famer fired a 300 game in the finals of the team event to help Team USA capture the coveted gold medal, and she finished the event with a pair of silver medals (all-events, Masters) and a bronze in trios.

“Turning 50 has provided some opportunities for me,” Johnson said. “I found out about Senior Team USA and put my application in for it. It’s been almost nine years since I was last on the team, and I’m looking forward to bowling with some great players and just having some fun. I’m going to enjoy it and have a fun week in Reno.”

Johnson has been finding her rhythm as of late after a slow start on the lanes in 2024, and she’s been able to enjoy competing while putting together performances the bowling world is accustomed to seeing from the 25-time PWBA Tour champion.

“It wasn’t a great start to the season for me, and I had to take a step back and realize that I still got this,” Johnson said. “I still have a lot of gas left in the tank. I’ve been trying to go out and just enjoy the sport of bowling again. I’ve been doing that for the last couple of months, and it has given me a new perspective on everything and the confidence that I can continue to do what I’m doing.”

The men’s team in Reno includes Tom Adcock of Forsyth, Illinois; Steve Badovinac of Littleton, Colorado; John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida; and Dan Knowlton of Dade City, Florida.

Badovinac collected five medals during the 2018 event in Calgary, including gold in doubles, trios and team. He also earned silver in all-events and bronze in Masters.

Adcock and Knowlton, both PBA50 Tour champions, will make their first appearances with Team USA during their time at the National Bowling Stadium, while Janawicz will look to add onto his resume after spending 10 years on the adult team.

Janawicz also competed at the 2023 IBF World Senior Championships, winning gold medals in doubles and team. He’s collected 14 medals at the PANAM Bowling Men’s Championships during his time with the program, including 11 golds. The USBC Hall of Famer was part of the winning team with Tang at the 2023 event in Santo Domingo and also won gold in trios.

He recently completed his run on the PBA50 Tour for 2024 by claiming five titles for the season – including two majors – and earning player-of-the-year honors.

Although it will be a quick turnaround to Reno from the final PBA50 stop, Janawicz always appreciates the chance to compete as part of Team USA.

“It was definitely a dream season, there’s no doubt about it,” Janawicz said. “It was a fantastic year, and a lot of things went right for me – especially on the TV shows.

“Anything regarding Team USA is always very special, and there’s nothing quite like the feeling of standing on the podium and hearing our national anthem. I’m definitely looking forward to it and being able to bowl with three of the guys I’m used to butting heads with on the senior tour. It’ll be great to work together in the team atmosphere and will be fun to root everyone on.”

The experience of having four teams and 20 athletes in Reno representing Team USA will be a new one for Janawicz, but he’s excited to see how all of the teams work together to find success.

“I think it will be awesome,” Janawicz said. “It’s the first time I remember having all these different athletes together at the same time. I’m looking forward to the communication we’ll share, and it will be great to root on your fellow teammates from the different teams.”

The group tasked with managing the excitement at the National Bowling Stadium for Team USA will include head coach Bryan O’Keefe and assistant coaches Andy Diercks and Bob Learn Jr.

The 2024 PANAM Bowling Adult, Senior and Super Senior Championships will feature 19 countries from within the Western Hemisphere.