2009 Bogotá, COL

Junior Team USA dominated Under-20 Masters match play Saturday sweeping the boys and girls gold and silver medals while also taking a boys bronze in the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships. Puerto Rico swept the gold medals in the Under-16 Masters competition. Kristie Petravich (r.) of West Palm Beach, Fla., defeated Christine Bator of Warren, Mich., 2-0, to take the girls title, while Jake Peters (l.) of Decatur, Ill., beat Daniel Spink of St. Louis, Mo., 2-1, to take the boys gold medal.

The Under-16 Mixed Foursome team from Puerto Rico captured the gold medal in the Team event in the PABCON Youth Championships Friday at Sport Complex Salitre in Bogota, Colombia. Kristie Lopez, Valerie Bermudez, Cristian Azcona and Josh Lee Encarnacion had games of 811, 777 and 796 or a total of 2384 on Day Two to leap one spot and to win the title with 4613 six-game total and an average of 192.21. Lopez and Azcona led the team with 1223 and 1240 six-game total en route to win the girls and boys All Events title.

The Junior Team USA girls earned gold medals Friday in Team and All Events, while the Venezuelan boys cruised to the title in Team and Mexico took the gold in boys all Events in the Sub-20 Division at the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships. The top 16 players in the final All Events standings advanced to the Masters on Saturday.

The Junior Team USA girls (l.) and the Puerto Rican boys (r.) in the Under-20 division and Guatemala's sub-16 Mixed Foursome rolled into the lead after the opening day of the four-player team event Thursday at the 2009 PABCON Youth Championships. All teams bowl three final games Friday to determine the medal winners.

The Junior Team USA girls and the Mexican boys claimed the Under-20 trios titles at the 2009 PABCON Youth Championships. The U.S. trio of Jenn Boisselle, Kristie Petravich and Christine Bator (left) earned the gold medal with a six-game total of 3,765, topping host Colombia by 102 pins. Mexicans Andre Fors Farias, Jorge Ramos and Alejandro Montijo (right) finished with 3,975, topping Junior Team USA's 3,791.

Colombia won the title in the Under-16 Mixed Doublles while  Puerto Rico captured two gold medals in the girls and boys doubles in PABCON Youth Championships. Juliana Franco teamed with Juan Lopez to win her second gold medal in  Mixed Doubles. Cristian Azcona posted the tournament's first 300 game to lead his team mate Josh Lee Encarnacion to the gold medal in Boys Doubles. Kristie Lopez and Valerie Bermudez outaveraged their nearest competitor by 17.5 pins to win the gold medal in Girls Doubles. 

The United States swept the doubles gold medals while also earning a boys silver and girls bronze Tuesday in the Under-20 divisions at the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships. Jake Peters and Chris Pierson won the boys gold with 2,508 six-game total. Brittni Hamilton and Christine Bator combined to shoot 2,499 and breezed to the girls title by nearly 150 pins.

Junior Team USA's Christine Bator (l.) of Warren, Mich., held on to win the singles gold medal Monday night in the girls Under-20 division at the 2009 PABCON Youth Championships. Bator totaled 1,346 for six games, an average of 224.33, at Salitre Bowling Center to beat out Colombia's Laura Fonnegra for the gold medal by five pins. On the boys side, Colombia's Juan Gomez (r.) finished with 258 and 268 to win the gold medal with 1,401 pinfall total (233.50). The gold medals in the Under-16 divisions went to Jose Morales, Guatemala, and Juliana Franco, Colombia.

Bowlers from 17 countries were celebrated Sunday before a standing-room only crowd at Salitre Bowling Center during the opening ceremonies of the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships. More than 120 bowlers will compete in the PABCON Youth Championships, which features two divisions, one for bowlers 20 and younger and the other for bowlers 16 and younger. The competition begins with singles on Monday morning and continues with action in doubles and team and concludes Saturday with Masters. Medals will also be awarded in all-events.

Bogota, Colombia will host the Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships from July 3-12, 2009. 20 countries from North, Central and South America are expected to attend. The event will be conducted at the Sport Complex Salitre in two age groups – under 16 and under 20. Canada will be represented in the under 20 year age division only. Competition will consist of Team, Doubles and Singles events plus a Masters match play event for the top 12 boys and girls All Events finishers.

With a mix of experienced players and newcomers, Junior Team USA enters the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships with its sights set on repeating last year's success. Junior Team USA claimed 10 of a possible 12 gold medals (pictured is Singles champion Geoffrey Young), dominating last year's PABCON Youth Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador. This year, the team travels to Bogota, Colombia, starting this weekend to take on a field of the top junior bowlers from the American Zone.