Striking Spotlight

By Aaron Smith and Brian Hirsch
USBC CommunicationsLAS VEGAS -The members of Minnesota Select Sires 1 of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, averaged nearly 195 as a team Wednesday to cruise into the top spot in Standard Team at the 2017 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.The team posted games of 953, 1,012 and 957 at the South Point Bowling Plaza to finish with a 2,922 total, more than 230 pins ahead of Wildcat Lanes 1 of Wayne, Nebraska, which previously held the lead with 2,688.

Andrew Kasten led the charge for the team with a 725 series, and he was joined by Arvid Strande (639), Paul Buendiger (542), Scott Molnar (528) and Carl Krause (488).

“Our goal coming in was to bowl three team games of 900, knowing that would put us in first place,” said team captain Krause, who made his 19th consecutive USBC Open Championships appearance. “After we got to 953 in the first game, we knew we had a good shot. After Andrew bowled 268 in Game 2, helping us to 1,012, we knew we were in great position. We just wanted to execute that final game and cover our spares. We left a lot of pins out there, but we’re all very happy right now.”

Knowing the lead was within reach, the teammates picked each other up in order to keep the spirits high as they finished out the final game.

“As a team, when one of us had an open, we just encouraged each other to keep going,” Krause said. “We knew we had the potential to get there.”

With the lead in hand, Minnesota Select Sires 1 will focus on doubles and singles Thursday at 4 p.m. Eastern, while still enjoying the success of Wednesday’s performance.

In addition, the team now gets to wait and see if the score will be enough to see the team’s name on a banner at the 2018 Open Championships in Syracuse, New York, where Krause already is looking forward to celebrating his 20th year on the championship lanes. His tournament debut also took place in Salt City in 1999.

“This is such an emotional high right now,” Krause said. “I’ve never felt this way in my life. This is a fabulous feeling, and I hope to match it for many years to come. For tomorrow, we all now know what we can do when we’re together and hope we can continue movitating each other like we do in league.”

Teams competing in the Standard Division consist of five players with combined entering averages of 901-1,045.

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