Del Ballard Jr., who owns 10 professional titles, moved into the overall lead in the men's division Thursday with a 27-game pinfall of 6,047.
Shannon O'Keefe, leads the women with 5,843. Ballard holds a slim lead over Derek Eoff, who is second just nine pins back while John Janawicz is 18 pins off the lead.
Tina Stickney, who had a string of 18 games of 200 or better dating back to Tuesday, moved into second place, trailing O'Keefe by 29 pins. Competition concludes Friday with the last of four nine-game blocks.
After waiting anxiously last year to see if he would be one of the selections to join Team USA, Derek Eoff (l.) was determined to avoid that situation again this year. Eoff jumped from fourth place to first in the last game of the 2008 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials on Friday, claiming the title with a 36-game pinfall of 7,997 (222.14 average) and securing a spot on Team USA for the second consecutive year. Shannon O'Keefe (r.) came out on top in the women's division with 7,730 (214.72 average) at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center.
Hall of Famer Tish Johnson put her experience to the test Wednesday at the 2008 USBC Team USA Trials, firing a 300 game to roll into the lead in the women's division. Johnson (l.) fired 2,171 for nine games in Round 2, an average of 241 per game, to take the overall lead with 3,942 at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center. Former Denny's PBA Tour exempt player Nathan Bohr (r.) had a Round 2 total of 2,332, an average of 259, and leads the men with 4,157.
After expecting to grind it out on what they thought was the most difficult of the four lane conditions, Stefanie Nation (l.) and J.R. Raymond (r.) were pleasantly surprised to be leading Tuesday at the 2008 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials. With no games under 192 in her nine-game block, Nation totaled 1,890 Tuesday to take the lead in the women's division. Raymond started with 183 and closed with 187 but still managed to shoot 1,989 to lead the men.
When Tina Stickney of Phoenix was selected to join Team USA at last year's USBC Team USA Trials, it was the culmination of years of work and the realization of a long-time dream. Heading into the 2008 USBC Team USA Trials, which will be held at Sunset Station in Las Vegas from Jan. 15-18, Stickney is even more motivated to remain a member of Team USA. With a recent rule change allowing professional bowlers to compete in international events, 13 of the best players in the country were selected to lay the groundwork for 2008 Team USA. 
