JUNIOR TEAM USA READY FOR 2017 PABCON YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
ARLINGTON, Texas - Being part of the Team USA
program is a family tradition for Brandon Biondo of Carpentersville,
Illinois, and he hopes to add to the Biondo legacy next week when he
makes his international debut as part of the Junior Team USA contingent
at the 2017 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships.
Biondo, the son of former Team USA members Joey and Vince Biondo, is
one of eight Junior Team USA players headed to Bol Obispado in
Monterrey, Mexico, where the PABCON Youth Championships will be held
from Sept. 2-9.
The 20-year-old right-hander is enjoying a successful 2017, which
includes four top-10 finishes at the United States Bowling Congress Open
Championships, and he hopes that momentum can help him and his
teammates build on Junior Team USA's recent success at the PABCON Youth
Championships.
He will be joined on the lanes by Jeff Mann of West Lafayette,
Indiana, Kennon McFalls of Gastonia, North Carolina, and Cortez Schenck
of Phoenix. Of the four, only Schenck has any international experience.
"I've worked hard to get to this point, and it's such an honor to be
selected to represent the United States on the lanes," Biondo said. "I
would say we do have something to prove as we follow some guys who have
had a lot of success, but I like our team and our chances. It's like a
new era, and we're really looking forward to it."
The PABCON Youth Championships, which features countries from the
American Zone, is split into two categories - Under 21 and Under 16 -
for singles, doubles, mixed doubles (U16 only), trios (U21 only), team
and Masters competition. Medals also are awarded for all-events.
In 2015, the Junior Team USA boys claimed all six gold medals at the
PABCON Youth Championships, and 13 medals overall, so the bar is set
high.
As the oldest member of the boys' team, Biondo also hopes he can
serve a leadership role, offering encouragement and advice along the
way. His own journey has included the unconditional support of his
parents, who represented Team USA in the early 1990s.
"They haven't said too much about it, but I have a pretty good idea
what they'd tell me," said Biondo, who finished second with his father
in Regular Doubles at the 2017 USBC Open Championships in Las Vegas.
"They'd tell me to enjoy the moment and take in everything the
experience has to offer, since I may not have this opportunity again."
The United States will return three competitors on the girls' side,
including collegiate standouts Sydney Brummett of Fort Wayne, Indiana,
Breanna Clemmer of Clover, South Carolina, and Stephanie Schwartz of
Racine, Wisconsin, who have matured in life and in bowling over the last
two years, finding continued success.
The trio will be joined by four-time Junior Team USA member Julia Bond, a collegiate champion at the University of Nebraska.
"I think we all were a little inexperienced in 2015, and that can be a
little overwhelming," said Brummett, who bowls for Wichita State and
claimed the girls title at the 2017 Intercollegiate Singles
Championships. "Now, we can go in with clear heads and really focus on
what we're there to do. Over the past two years, I've learned how to be
more in the present moment. At this event, that means doing everything I
can at that moment to help the United States be successful."
Two years ago, Brummett won the tournament-ending Masters match-play
event to secure the second gold medal for the Junior Team USA girls. The
other was a singles win by Gazmine Mason to start the week, with four
silver and two bronze medals by the group along the way. They earned
silver in team, finishing behind Colombia.
As special as it was to stand atop the medal stand and hear The
Star-Spangled Banner, Brummett would love to share that feeling with her
teammates in Mexico.
"It's the coolest thing in the world," said Brummett, who won six
gold medals at the 2016 Lee Evans Tournament of the Americas. "It's just
not the same winning individually as it would be as a team. Being up
there and hearing the national anthem is amazing, but I'd love to hear
it with the three other girls up there as well."
The teammates have competed with and against each other enough to be
much more comfortable on the lanes. They've experienced and accomplished
enough to be more confident on the lanes. They've been talking about
equipment selection for weeks, so their arsenals will be ready.
Now, Brummett says, the biggest challenge the student-athletes must
overcome together is figuring out how to pack all their textbooks and
keep their suitcases within the airline weight limited.
The group will be led into Mexico by Junior Team USA head coach Bryan O'Keefe and assistant coach Andy Diercks.
Competition officially will get underway Sunday with singles.
Combined, the group from the United States in 2015 topped the medal
table with 21 total medals (eight gold, seven silver and six bronze).
For more information on Junior Team USA, visit BOWL.com/JuniorTeamUSA.
