Utah bowler ties for singles lead at 2024 USBC Open Championships
March 25, 2024
LAS VEGAS – Nerves are natural when taking on a new challenge.
Shannon Haslam of Bountiful, Utah, admitted just that when thinking about her trip this week to the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships to compete in the event for the first time.
But, she had a strong group supporting her, kept her energy positive and was able to cast any nerves to the side. Those factors, along with a strong performance on the lanes at the South Point Bowling Plaza, allowed her to have fun, fill frames and move into a tie for first place in Classified Singles with a 598 series.
The 39-year-old right-hander rolled games of 206, 228 and 164 on Saturday night to match the mark set by Jeri Ault of Broomfield, Colorado, on Feb. 26.
Haslam stayed clean for her first two games of singles, but some of her momentum slowed in the final game. She delivered a double in the seventh and eighth frames to get back on track but was unable to convert the 1-2-4-10 in the ninth.
She had several scenarios working as she prepared for her final frame. Another double would vault her to the lead, a 20-pin fill would push her to a tie with Ault and anything less would mean settling into another spot in the top 10.
Haslam left and converted a 5 pin to start the 10th frame, and she rolled a strike on her fill ball, with the 5 pin falling last, to take a share of the top spot.
“I’m kind of speechless right now,” Haslam said. “I don’t feel like it’s real. The fact I achieved that in my first year is unreal. I couldn’t believe it when everyone told me. I was in shock and very grateful.”
Haslam made her way to Las Vegas with a six-team group led by Al Walter, and the camaraderie among the members helped to ease some of the early nerves as she settled in for team competition Friday.
“I was very nervous to come out here, because I’ve never done this before,” Haslam said. “I had been nervous for weeks thinking am I going to be able to do this? I know it’s a pretty hard shot, and I haven’t been able to bowl a lot lately due to neck and shoulder surgeries, so I was nervous about it.
“We are a tight group, and a lot of us bowl at Bonwood Bowl in South Salt Lake. We bowl together on Fridays and are really close, so to have these guys here to cheer me on just made the experience so much better. To have my boyfriend (Gordon Shelley) here with me, having faith in me the whole time, it makes the experience that much better for us.”
As the strikes and spares started to add up Saturday during her singles set, Haslam was able to find her own rhythm to get into the right mindset.
“Another reason why I was nervous was because you can’t have any music or earbuds in to keep your mind going,” Haslam said. “It seemed like I had my own little boombox going on in my head, though, and I kept singing things and was able to keep my energy up and happy.
“To bowl 206 my first game and come back with 228 felt really good. I haven’t bowled that well in a long time, and to do it here at nationals, I’m really proud of myself.”
As Haslam waits to see where her score eventually settles when the 2024 USBC Open Championships comes to a close in July, she’ll be staying busy with trips around Utah for high school baseball.
Regardless of the final result, she’s proud of her performance and her first experience of competing at the national level.
“Life with my two kids keeps me going, so it’ll be in the back of my mind,” said Haslam, who had 529 in doubles and 454 in team for a 1,581 total. “Whatever the outcome is, I’m grateful and happy for what I achieved this year.”
Classified Singles features bowler with entering averages of 155 and below.
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.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
Shannon Haslam of Bountiful, Utah, admitted just that when thinking about her trip this week to the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships to compete in the event for the first time.
But, she had a strong group supporting her, kept her energy positive and was able to cast any nerves to the side. Those factors, along with a strong performance on the lanes at the South Point Bowling Plaza, allowed her to have fun, fill frames and move into a tie for first place in Classified Singles with a 598 series.
The 39-year-old right-hander rolled games of 206, 228 and 164 on Saturday night to match the mark set by Jeri Ault of Broomfield, Colorado, on Feb. 26.
Haslam stayed clean for her first two games of singles, but some of her momentum slowed in the final game. She delivered a double in the seventh and eighth frames to get back on track but was unable to convert the 1-2-4-10 in the ninth.
She had several scenarios working as she prepared for her final frame. Another double would vault her to the lead, a 20-pin fill would push her to a tie with Ault and anything less would mean settling into another spot in the top 10.
Haslam left and converted a 5 pin to start the 10th frame, and she rolled a strike on her fill ball, with the 5 pin falling last, to take a share of the top spot.
“I’m kind of speechless right now,” Haslam said. “I don’t feel like it’s real. The fact I achieved that in my first year is unreal. I couldn’t believe it when everyone told me. I was in shock and very grateful.”
Haslam made her way to Las Vegas with a six-team group led by Al Walter, and the camaraderie among the members helped to ease some of the early nerves as she settled in for team competition Friday.
“I was very nervous to come out here, because I’ve never done this before,” Haslam said. “I had been nervous for weeks thinking am I going to be able to do this? I know it’s a pretty hard shot, and I haven’t been able to bowl a lot lately due to neck and shoulder surgeries, so I was nervous about it.
“We are a tight group, and a lot of us bowl at Bonwood Bowl in South Salt Lake. We bowl together on Fridays and are really close, so to have these guys here to cheer me on just made the experience so much better. To have my boyfriend (Gordon Shelley) here with me, having faith in me the whole time, it makes the experience that much better for us.”
As the strikes and spares started to add up Saturday during her singles set, Haslam was able to find her own rhythm to get into the right mindset.
“Another reason why I was nervous was because you can’t have any music or earbuds in to keep your mind going,” Haslam said. “It seemed like I had my own little boombox going on in my head, though, and I kept singing things and was able to keep my energy up and happy.
“To bowl 206 my first game and come back with 228 felt really good. I haven’t bowled that well in a long time, and to do it here at nationals, I’m really proud of myself.”
As Haslam waits to see where her score eventually settles when the 2024 USBC Open Championships comes to a close in July, she’ll be staying busy with trips around Utah for high school baseball.
Regardless of the final result, she’s proud of her performance and her first experience of competing at the national level.
“Life with my two kids keeps me going, so it’ll be in the back of my mind,” said Haslam, who had 529 in doubles and 454 in team for a 1,581 total. “Whatever the outcome is, I’m grateful and happy for what I achieved this year.”
Classified Singles features bowler with entering averages of 155 and below.
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.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.