Meier posts first 800 in team at 2024 USBC Open Championships

LAS VEGAS – Joe Meier of Kenosha, Wisconsin, became the first bowler at the 2024 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships to eclipse the 800 mark in team competition, finishing his set Saturday with 801.

The 32-year-old right-hander used games of 275, 289 and 237 at the South Point Bowling Plaza to achieve the feat, and he’s the fifth overall competitor at the 2024 event to record an 800 series.

A pair of 800s have been posted in both doubles (Jonathan Heimann of Troy, Illinois, with 810 and Shawn Evans of Palm Bay, Florida, with 804) and singles (Joe Barket of Morro Bay, California, with 806 and Kevin McCune of Munster, Indiana, with 801) competition.

Meier, making his fourth appearance at the USBC Open Championships, delivered 10 strikes during Game 1, and he started Game 2 with 10 strikes before a 6 pin stood on his 11th attempt.

After converting a spare in his seventh frame of Game 3, Meier had almost no room for error to keep his hopes at 800 intact. He needed strikes on his next four deliveries, and at least nine pins on his fill ball to get to the number. Meier rolled five consecutive strikes to complete the set and earn his spot in the tournament’s record book.

His effort helped push the members of Three & Two of Blaine, Minnesota, to a 3,082 total in Regular Team.  

Meier’s 801 is 50 pins ahead of the next highest set in team competition at the 2024 Open Championships through more than two months at South Point (Brady Stearns of St. Augusta, Minnesota, with 751), and there have been only eight sets higher than 740 rolled in team, including Meier’s series.

Watch the video below as Meier talks about learning from his previous experiences at the Open Championships, knowing what he needed down the stretch and what this moment meant to him.



Meier will return to the Bowling Plaza on Sunday at 6 p.m. Pacific for doubles and singles competition. He’ll be looking to chase the leading total in Regular All-Events at the 2024 event, which currently is held by Derek Magno of Cicero, New York (2,255).

The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.

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