Twelve players earn titles at 2024 USBC Senior Championships in Cincinnati
August 02, 2024
COMPLETE STANDINGS
CINCINNATI – A dozen competitors earned titles as the 2024 United States Bowling Congress Senior Championships concluded Friday at Western Bowl Strike and Spare.
The top six bowlers across two divisions – Open and Women’s – in six age-based classifications – 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75 and older, rolled their final round of three games Friday morning to decide who walked away with championship trophies.
The national event featured men’s and women’s bowlers age 50 and older who qualified through either a state or province (Canada) senior tournament.
Qualifying scores from the first six games of competition were not carried over to the championship rounds, but bonus pins were awarded to each player based on his or her qualifying position. The top qualifier in each classification received 50 bonus pins, while the second seed received 40. Bonus pins decreased by 10 pins for each spot, with the sixth qualifier receiving zero bonus pins. The bowlers authoring the highest three-game totals on Friday, including handicap and bonus pins, earned titles.
Below are the top three finishers in each classification:
WOMEN’S DIVISION:
50-54:
No. 2 seed Karla Keller-Rook of Centertown, Missouri, bowled a three-game scratch series of 449 and combined that with 231 pins of handicap and 40 bonus pins to finish in first place at 720.
Keller-Rook, who was making her inaugural appearance in the event, had high expectations despite it being her first time.
“For the last month I’ve been so nervous and excited,” Keller-Rook said. “But I filled out the paperwork for the event with expectations that I could be standing here at the end. I just stayed focused and tried to stay in the zone and it all worked out.”
Amy Cole of Scappoose, Oregon, was seeded first after qualifying, but ended up in second place, 23 pins behind Keller-Rook.
No. 5 seed Karin Kehlenbeck of Huguenot, New York, finished third with 653.
55-59:
Debra Fitzpatrick of Claremont, New Hampshire, entered the final round tied for the No. 4 seed, but posted the high three-game series (586) and used her 171 pins of handicap and 15 bonus pins to claim the title with an overall total of 772. Fitzpatrick’s 211 game was the highest scratch game in this group on the final day.
Coming in second place was No. 1 seed Lelia Hamilton of Hazel Crest, Illinois, with an overall total of 679. Hamilton was looking for back-to-back wins in this age classification, but was denied by Fitzpatrick’s strong performance.
Nancy Cote, of Granby, Massachusetts, had the second-highest scratch series on Friday (580) and ended up third at 647.
60-64:
No. 4 seed Beth Morris of Oxford, Pennsylvania, combined a 488 scratch pinfall with 246 pins of handicap and 20 bonus pins to post an overall score of 754 to walk away with the title in this group.
No. 5 seed Carolyn Cota of Essex Junction, Vermont, had a similar scratch total as Morris (485), but had a little less handicap and fewer bonus pins, resulting in a second-place finish, 43 pins behind Morris.
No. 1 seed Sharon Jones of La Junta, Colorado, who led after Rounds 1 and 2, ended up third (666).
65-69:
Carmen Baeckel of Oxford, Pennsylvania, went wire-to-wire to take home first place in this group. Baeckel was the No. 1 seed and finished up with a 481 scratch set, 210 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins for a winning total of 741.
No. 4 seed Diane Marget of Mesquite, Nevada, had the highest scratch game (255) in this group on Friday, but came up 15 pins short as she finished second with an overall total of 726.
No. 5 seed Cheryl Bachelder of Pembroke, Maine, bowled well enough on Friday to claim the third spot (688).
70-74:
Like Baeckel in the 65-69 classification, Susan Wanner of Bowman, North Dakota, also went wire-to-wire for the win.
Wanner combined nearly equal parts scratch pinfall (356) and handicap (324) with 50 bonus pins to claim the title with an overall total of 730.
Paulette Latta of Bloomington, Illinois, entered the final day as the No. 3 seed and posted the best scratch series (540) in the group on Friday, helping her move up one spot into second place (705).
No. 4 seed Annie Long of Millbrook, Alabama, wasn’t far behind Latta’s scratch series total with 532. She combined that with 135 pins of handicap and 20 bonus pins to finish in third place (687).
75 and older:
Pauline McEntee of Wagner, South Dakota, got a little redemption this year after finishing second in this age classification last year in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
McEntee, who entered Friday as the No. 2 seed, put together a scratch total of 396 to go with 282 pins of handicap and 40 bonus to finish first with 718 overall.
McEntee admitted she was a little surprised to win this year even after finishing second last year.
“It’s a shock to win, it really is,” McEntee said. “The older you get, the less you think that you might have the gusto you need to win. But I just love this event; I love the whole thing and I’m glad I was able to win.”
No. 3 seed Jinnie Henry of Hixon, Tennessee, had the two highest scratch games in this group on Friday (198 and 214) and the highest scratch series (580) to help her to a second-place finish with 688.
No. 1 seed Sandra Wince of Somerset, Ohio, ended up third, six pins behind Henry.
OPEN DIVISION:
50-54:
William Cron of Matamoras, Pennsylvania, made his first trip to this event a memorable one as he collected the title by a mere 10 pins over Shaun Seeley of London, Ontario, Canada.
Cron posted consistent games of 190, 204 and 195, for a 589 scratch total. He added 87 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins for being the No. 1 seed to finish at 726.
Cron gave credit to his father (Fred) when asked what the key to his success was over the three days of the tournament.
“My dad got me bowling when I was eight years old, and he always told me to make my spares,” Cron said. “And this is the kind of tournament where you’re not striking a whole lot, so you’ve got to make your spares. I think I only missed four or five spares over nine games, so that helped get me the win.”
Seeley, the No. 5 seed, got off to a good start on Friday with games of 175 and 214, but was hampered by a closing 128 game. Nonetheless, he was able to move up three spots on Friday to finish second.
No. 2 seed Jeffery Harris of Yorktown, Indiana, had the two highest scratch games in his group on Friday (225 and 226) and the high scratch series (622) to help him to a third-place finish (710).
55-59:
Pradip Saha of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, used consistency (games of 170, 173 and 178), along with 156 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins for being the No. 1 seed, to collect the first-place trophy with an overall total of 727.
No. 2 seed Martin Michaud of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, ended up in second place with a 727 total. Michaud had 425 scratch, 225 pins of handicap and 40 bonus pins.
Seven pins behind Michaud in third place was John Leong Jr. of Kailua-kona, Hawaii. Leong Jr. combined a 521 set (same as Saha) with 147 pins of handicap and 15 bonus pins to finish at 683.
Tena Miya of Roy, Utah, was one of two women to make the final round in the Open Division. Miya finished fifth in this group with 654.
60-64:
Jay Jimenez of Grant, Nebraska, successfully defended his title in this age classification by checking in with an overall total of 776.
Jimenez, whose victory last year came in Green Bay, Wisconsin, used games of 182, 178 and 222, to compile a 582 scratch series. His 144 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins for being the No. 1 seed gave him a rather comfortable 86-pin win.
“This is exciting,” Jimenez said. “I wasn’t as stubborn here this week as I normally am. I moved when I needed to move, I hit my mark, and everything just seemed to work. I love this event because you get to meet so many great people, and I love meeting people.”
No. 2 sed Kevin Zilkey of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, finished where he started on Friday, taking home second place with a 690 total.
No. 4 seed Ronnie Carlin of Munford, Alabama, edged up a spot to finish third (673).
65-69:
No. 1 seed Michael Cordes of Crofton, Maryland, won by the narrowest of margins as he bested second-place finisher Ron Braaten of Ludlow, South Dakota, by just one pin, 685 to 684.
According to Cordes, who was bowling in the event for the first time, Braaten was “50 to 60 pins” behind coming down the stretch, but got on a string of strikes.
“The scoring machines don’t add up your string of strikes as you go,” said Cordes. “Given that, plus with the handicap and bonus pins, I don’t think there was any way he (Braaten) knew what he needed in the 10th . . . none of us did. Turns out he needed eight pins on his last shot to tie and nine to win, but he got a seven-count. Very fortunate for me.”
Braaten entered Friday as the No. 6 seed, so he didn’t have the benefit of any bonus pins. His 549 scratch total was 49 pins better than Cordes’ 500, and each bowler got 135 pins of handicap. In the end, it was Cordes’ 50 bonus pins for being the No. 1 seed that made the one-pin difference.
No. 4 seed Charles Richter of Gering, Nebraska, moved up a spot and finished third with 668.
70-74:
It was a different age classification for Eugene McNeely of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, but the result was the same. McNeely won the 65-69 classification last year in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and backed that up with a win this year in the 70-74 group.
McNeely, the No. 1 seed, shot 478 scratch, had 228 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins to end at 756. He’s now two-for-two, having won both years he’s qualified for the event.
“I wouldn’t have ever thought I could win two years in a row,” McNeely said. “I came in this year with higher expectations since I won last year, but these guys this year were tough. Coming in with such a low average and getting the handicap does help. In the end, it’s the people that make this event so good. Everyone is just fantastic.”
No. 4 seed David Long of Durham, North Carolina, moved up to grab second place (708) and No. 2 seed Ron Roberts of Billings, Montana, finished third (682).
Rita Gibbs of Attalla, Alabama, joined Tena Miya of Roy, Utah, as the other woman to make Friday’s finals in the Open Division. Gibbs finished sixth in this classification (620).
75 and older:
No. 1 seed Max Honke of Salem, South Dakota, made it a South Dakota sweep in the 75-and-older division as he joined Women’s Division champion and fellow South Dakotan Pauline McEntee in the winner’s circle. McEntee of Wagner, South Dakota, now lives in what used to be Honke’s hometown.
Honke, who won the 70-74 classification at the 2018 event in Reno, Nevada, posted 503 scratch and added that to his 159 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins to finish at 712.
Honke was asked what the key to his second USBC Senior Championships win was.
“I just tried to slow down and keep things under control with my ball speed,” Honke said. “I didn’t try to over-bowl. I was just letting the ball do the work.”
No. 2 seed Sherwood Nunotani of Mililani, Hawaii, held on to second place, finishing with a total of 694, 18 pins behind Honke.
No. 5 seed William Kozma of Hennepin, Illinois, used the best scratch series in the group on Friday (526) to help him finish third at 644.
The 2025 USBC Senior Championships will be contested at Cityview Lanes in Fort Worth, Texas.
For more information on the USBC Senior Championships, visit BOWL.com/SeniorChamp.
CINCINNATI – A dozen competitors earned titles as the 2024 United States Bowling Congress Senior Championships concluded Friday at Western Bowl Strike and Spare.
The top six bowlers across two divisions – Open and Women’s – in six age-based classifications – 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75 and older, rolled their final round of three games Friday morning to decide who walked away with championship trophies.
The national event featured men’s and women’s bowlers age 50 and older who qualified through either a state or province (Canada) senior tournament.
Qualifying scores from the first six games of competition were not carried over to the championship rounds, but bonus pins were awarded to each player based on his or her qualifying position. The top qualifier in each classification received 50 bonus pins, while the second seed received 40. Bonus pins decreased by 10 pins for each spot, with the sixth qualifier receiving zero bonus pins. The bowlers authoring the highest three-game totals on Friday, including handicap and bonus pins, earned titles.
Below are the top three finishers in each classification:
WOMEN’S DIVISION:
50-54:
No. 2 seed Karla Keller-Rook of Centertown, Missouri, bowled a three-game scratch series of 449 and combined that with 231 pins of handicap and 40 bonus pins to finish in first place at 720.
Keller-Rook, who was making her inaugural appearance in the event, had high expectations despite it being her first time.
“For the last month I’ve been so nervous and excited,” Keller-Rook said. “But I filled out the paperwork for the event with expectations that I could be standing here at the end. I just stayed focused and tried to stay in the zone and it all worked out.”
Amy Cole of Scappoose, Oregon, was seeded first after qualifying, but ended up in second place, 23 pins behind Keller-Rook.
No. 5 seed Karin Kehlenbeck of Huguenot, New York, finished third with 653.
55-59:
Debra Fitzpatrick of Claremont, New Hampshire, entered the final round tied for the No. 4 seed, but posted the high three-game series (586) and used her 171 pins of handicap and 15 bonus pins to claim the title with an overall total of 772. Fitzpatrick’s 211 game was the highest scratch game in this group on the final day.
Coming in second place was No. 1 seed Lelia Hamilton of Hazel Crest, Illinois, with an overall total of 679. Hamilton was looking for back-to-back wins in this age classification, but was denied by Fitzpatrick’s strong performance.
Nancy Cote, of Granby, Massachusetts, had the second-highest scratch series on Friday (580) and ended up third at 647.
60-64:
No. 4 seed Beth Morris of Oxford, Pennsylvania, combined a 488 scratch pinfall with 246 pins of handicap and 20 bonus pins to post an overall score of 754 to walk away with the title in this group.
No. 5 seed Carolyn Cota of Essex Junction, Vermont, had a similar scratch total as Morris (485), but had a little less handicap and fewer bonus pins, resulting in a second-place finish, 43 pins behind Morris.
No. 1 seed Sharon Jones of La Junta, Colorado, who led after Rounds 1 and 2, ended up third (666).
65-69:
Carmen Baeckel of Oxford, Pennsylvania, went wire-to-wire to take home first place in this group. Baeckel was the No. 1 seed and finished up with a 481 scratch set, 210 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins for a winning total of 741.
No. 4 seed Diane Marget of Mesquite, Nevada, had the highest scratch game (255) in this group on Friday, but came up 15 pins short as she finished second with an overall total of 726.
No. 5 seed Cheryl Bachelder of Pembroke, Maine, bowled well enough on Friday to claim the third spot (688).
70-74:
Like Baeckel in the 65-69 classification, Susan Wanner of Bowman, North Dakota, also went wire-to-wire for the win.
Wanner combined nearly equal parts scratch pinfall (356) and handicap (324) with 50 bonus pins to claim the title with an overall total of 730.
Paulette Latta of Bloomington, Illinois, entered the final day as the No. 3 seed and posted the best scratch series (540) in the group on Friday, helping her move up one spot into second place (705).
No. 4 seed Annie Long of Millbrook, Alabama, wasn’t far behind Latta’s scratch series total with 532. She combined that with 135 pins of handicap and 20 bonus pins to finish in third place (687).
75 and older:
Pauline McEntee of Wagner, South Dakota, got a little redemption this year after finishing second in this age classification last year in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
McEntee, who entered Friday as the No. 2 seed, put together a scratch total of 396 to go with 282 pins of handicap and 40 bonus to finish first with 718 overall.
McEntee admitted she was a little surprised to win this year even after finishing second last year.
“It’s a shock to win, it really is,” McEntee said. “The older you get, the less you think that you might have the gusto you need to win. But I just love this event; I love the whole thing and I’m glad I was able to win.”
No. 3 seed Jinnie Henry of Hixon, Tennessee, had the two highest scratch games in this group on Friday (198 and 214) and the highest scratch series (580) to help her to a second-place finish with 688.
No. 1 seed Sandra Wince of Somerset, Ohio, ended up third, six pins behind Henry.
OPEN DIVISION:
50-54:
William Cron of Matamoras, Pennsylvania, made his first trip to this event a memorable one as he collected the title by a mere 10 pins over Shaun Seeley of London, Ontario, Canada.
Cron posted consistent games of 190, 204 and 195, for a 589 scratch total. He added 87 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins for being the No. 1 seed to finish at 726.
Cron gave credit to his father (Fred) when asked what the key to his success was over the three days of the tournament.
“My dad got me bowling when I was eight years old, and he always told me to make my spares,” Cron said. “And this is the kind of tournament where you’re not striking a whole lot, so you’ve got to make your spares. I think I only missed four or five spares over nine games, so that helped get me the win.”
Seeley, the No. 5 seed, got off to a good start on Friday with games of 175 and 214, but was hampered by a closing 128 game. Nonetheless, he was able to move up three spots on Friday to finish second.
No. 2 seed Jeffery Harris of Yorktown, Indiana, had the two highest scratch games in his group on Friday (225 and 226) and the high scratch series (622) to help him to a third-place finish (710).
55-59:
Pradip Saha of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, used consistency (games of 170, 173 and 178), along with 156 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins for being the No. 1 seed, to collect the first-place trophy with an overall total of 727.
No. 2 seed Martin Michaud of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, ended up in second place with a 727 total. Michaud had 425 scratch, 225 pins of handicap and 40 bonus pins.
Seven pins behind Michaud in third place was John Leong Jr. of Kailua-kona, Hawaii. Leong Jr. combined a 521 set (same as Saha) with 147 pins of handicap and 15 bonus pins to finish at 683.
Tena Miya of Roy, Utah, was one of two women to make the final round in the Open Division. Miya finished fifth in this group with 654.
60-64:
Jay Jimenez of Grant, Nebraska, successfully defended his title in this age classification by checking in with an overall total of 776.
Jimenez, whose victory last year came in Green Bay, Wisconsin, used games of 182, 178 and 222, to compile a 582 scratch series. His 144 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins for being the No. 1 seed gave him a rather comfortable 86-pin win.
“This is exciting,” Jimenez said. “I wasn’t as stubborn here this week as I normally am. I moved when I needed to move, I hit my mark, and everything just seemed to work. I love this event because you get to meet so many great people, and I love meeting people.”
No. 2 sed Kevin Zilkey of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, finished where he started on Friday, taking home second place with a 690 total.
No. 4 seed Ronnie Carlin of Munford, Alabama, edged up a spot to finish third (673).
65-69:
No. 1 seed Michael Cordes of Crofton, Maryland, won by the narrowest of margins as he bested second-place finisher Ron Braaten of Ludlow, South Dakota, by just one pin, 685 to 684.
According to Cordes, who was bowling in the event for the first time, Braaten was “50 to 60 pins” behind coming down the stretch, but got on a string of strikes.
“The scoring machines don’t add up your string of strikes as you go,” said Cordes. “Given that, plus with the handicap and bonus pins, I don’t think there was any way he (Braaten) knew what he needed in the 10th . . . none of us did. Turns out he needed eight pins on his last shot to tie and nine to win, but he got a seven-count. Very fortunate for me.”
Braaten entered Friday as the No. 6 seed, so he didn’t have the benefit of any bonus pins. His 549 scratch total was 49 pins better than Cordes’ 500, and each bowler got 135 pins of handicap. In the end, it was Cordes’ 50 bonus pins for being the No. 1 seed that made the one-pin difference.
No. 4 seed Charles Richter of Gering, Nebraska, moved up a spot and finished third with 668.
70-74:
It was a different age classification for Eugene McNeely of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, but the result was the same. McNeely won the 65-69 classification last year in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and backed that up with a win this year in the 70-74 group.
McNeely, the No. 1 seed, shot 478 scratch, had 228 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins to end at 756. He’s now two-for-two, having won both years he’s qualified for the event.
“I wouldn’t have ever thought I could win two years in a row,” McNeely said. “I came in this year with higher expectations since I won last year, but these guys this year were tough. Coming in with such a low average and getting the handicap does help. In the end, it’s the people that make this event so good. Everyone is just fantastic.”
No. 4 seed David Long of Durham, North Carolina, moved up to grab second place (708) and No. 2 seed Ron Roberts of Billings, Montana, finished third (682).
Rita Gibbs of Attalla, Alabama, joined Tena Miya of Roy, Utah, as the other woman to make Friday’s finals in the Open Division. Gibbs finished sixth in this classification (620).
75 and older:
No. 1 seed Max Honke of Salem, South Dakota, made it a South Dakota sweep in the 75-and-older division as he joined Women’s Division champion and fellow South Dakotan Pauline McEntee in the winner’s circle. McEntee of Wagner, South Dakota, now lives in what used to be Honke’s hometown.
Honke, who won the 70-74 classification at the 2018 event in Reno, Nevada, posted 503 scratch and added that to his 159 pins of handicap and 50 bonus pins to finish at 712.
Honke was asked what the key to his second USBC Senior Championships win was.
“I just tried to slow down and keep things under control with my ball speed,” Honke said. “I didn’t try to over-bowl. I was just letting the ball do the work.”
No. 2 seed Sherwood Nunotani of Mililani, Hawaii, held on to second place, finishing with a total of 694, 18 pins behind Honke.
No. 5 seed William Kozma of Hennepin, Illinois, used the best scratch series in the group on Friday (526) to help him finish third at 644.
The 2025 USBC Senior Championships will be contested at Cityview Lanes in Fort Worth, Texas.
For more information on the USBC Senior Championships, visit BOWL.com/SeniorChamp.