With his mentor more than a thousand miles away trying to regain his exemption on the Denny's Professional Bowlers Association Tour, Daniel Dabkowski of Columbia, S.C., put months of hard work to the test and found success at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships this weekend.

The 24-year-old right-hander has been under the guidance of Randy Weiss, who rolled a 300 game at the Albuquerque Convention Center earlier in the tournament and now sits in fourth place in Regular All-Events, and Dabkowski made his teacher proud by moving into the lead in Classified Singles and second place in Classified All-Events on Saturday night.

Dabkowski posted games of 190, 254 and 244 for a 688 singles series and passed Tim Hoffpauir of New Iberia, La., and Brian Washington of Hopewell, Va., who previously were tied for the lead with 676. He added 604 in doubles and 565 in team for a 1,857 all-events total, just short of Jeffrey Kistler of Marion, Ind., who leads Classified All-Events with 1,887.

"I bowled pretty well last year, but wanted to shoot spares better this time around," said Dabkowski, who shot 1,768 in his tournament debut last year in Reno, Nev. "I figured if I kept the ball in play and made my spares, I'd be all right. I'm still kind of in shock. I was real nervous at the end for the first time in a long time, and I'm sure it will sink in soon."

After putting his bowling on hold last fall to move to Columbia because of his job as an environmental scientist, Dabkowski returned to the lanes in January and has been working on keeping his feet slow, loosening his arm swing and getting around the ball more.

"I figured that if Randy bowled well, all I had to do was follow his advice and I'd be in good shape, too," said Dabkowski, who bowled collegiately at Sacred Heart University. "I bowled pretty well in my last game of team, and I ended up having the same look in doubles and singles, which worked out great."

Dabkowski also drew on the things he learned in his first USBC Open Championships appearance and plans to use the experience of this year's success as moves into the Regular Division next year.

"I looked at the numbers a lot more before I bowled last year, but this time, my concentration was just on throwing the ball well," Dabkowski said. "I am very happy with my performance overall, and this has been a great experience. Now, I'm looking forward to the challenge of competing against higher-caliber bowlers, and hopefully, I'll bowl as well as I did this year."

And thanks to Weiss' sixth-place finish at the Denny's PBA Tour Trials on Sunday, which earned him an exemption for the 2008-09 PBA Tour season, Dabkowski will not have the chance to beat his teacher on the lanes in Las Vegas next year, since exempt players are not eligible to compete at the Open Championships. Weiss last was exempt during the 2005-06 season.

At one point in his bowling career, Don Fowler of Overland Park, Kan., bowled about 100 games each week, and even though he doesn't tally that much lineage anymore, he still turned in one of the best performances of his USBC Open Championships career.

Despite not having the ball reaction he was hoping for at the Albuquerque Convention Center, the 48-year-old right-hander started his final game of doubles Sunday with 11 consecutive strikes before a 4 pin on his final shot stood between him and the 23rd perfect game of this year's tournament.

"I'm known for tripping a lot of 4 pins back home, so it would have been fitting if the one today went down," said Fowler, who has maintained a 208 average during his 17-year Open Championships career. "To have a 300 here is something you always want to do, and to get it would've been really special. I was a little nervous, which was nice, since I haven't been nervous for a 300 game in a long time."

Fowler started doubles with games of 171 and 205 before some minor adjustments got him close to perfection. He finished with a 675 series and added 632 in singles and 613 in team for a 1,920 all-events total, the fourth-highest of his tournament career.

Presenting sponsors for the 2008 USBC Open Championships are Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Roto Grip, official sponsor of the Roto Grip Sport Bowling Challenge; Isleta Casino & Resort; Santa Ana Star Casino, the official brackets sponsor; Rainbow Ryders, the exclusive hot air balloon company of the 2008 Open Championships; and Sandia Resort & Casino.

Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Team Tilt (Thomas Ault Jr., Russ Wilson, Chris Greene, Joe Keltner, Jay Futrell), Lawrence, Kan., 3,374. 2, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 3,298. 3, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 3,284. 4, Bluemound Bowl, Milwaukee, Wis., 3,268. 5, Bowlers Universe 1, Rockford, Ill., 3,249. 6, Bluegrass Bowling & Golf, Lexington, Ky., 3,244. 7, Woody's, Mulvane, Kas., 3,239. 8, Marcor Technologies, Gaylord, Mich., 3,235. 9, Armstrong Printing 1, Naperville, Ill., 3,231. 10, Clone Huskers, Milwaukee, 3,228.

Doubles
1, John Socha, Oak Creek, Wis./Dennis Rakauskas, Apopka, Fla., 1,467. 2, Skip Wolfe, Dixon, Ill./Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 1,462. 3, Robert Slayton, Apple Valley, Minn./Jason Lutgen, Brooklyn Park, Minn., 1,445. 4, Todd Koehler, Appleton, Minn./Doug Blood, Montevideo, Minn., 1,444. 5, Erik Mattingly, Puyallup, Wash./Robert Hanson, Tacoma, Wash., 1,441. 6, Ted Baer/Josh Edenburn, Omaha, Neb., 1,439. 7, Steven Levering, Landisville, Pa./Jim Rutherford, Coatesville, Pa., 1,428. 8, Ron Case, Oakley, Calif./Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 1,422. 9, Mike Granberg, Batavia, Ill./Dave Rodak, Naperville, Ill., 1,419. 10, Ward Mocaby/Steve Elson, Wichita, Kan., 1,416.

Singles
1, Bryan Young, Everett, Wash., 832. 2, Jason Price, Grand Island, Neb., 817. 3, Wilbert Moorer, Dover, Del., 784. 4, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 779. 5, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 6 (tie), Larry Aldridge, Aurora, Colo., and Alexander Shand, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 774. 8, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 9, Don Pyle, Wilmington, Del., 768. 10, Darren Weiler, Dickinson, N.D., 767.

All-Events
1, Jay Futrell, Derby, Kan., 2,183. 2, Bryan Young, Everett, Wash., 2,165. 3, Mike Rose Jr., Rochester, N.Y., 2,161. 4, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 2,160. 5, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 2,159. 6, Brian Kjergaard, Fulton, Ill., 2,147. 7, Edward Gallagher, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,141. 8, Todd Fenske, Weston, Wis., 2,132. 9, Chris Gibbons, Madison, Wis., 2,122. 10, Don Pyle, Wilmington, Del., 2,118.

Team All-Events
1, Team Tilt (Thomas Ault Jr., Russ Wilson, Chris Greene, Joe Keltner, Jay Futrell), Lawrence, Kan., 9,986. 2, Team Pabst, Madison, Wis., 9,977. 3, MoRich Enterprises, West Bend, Wis., 9,901. 4, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 9,801. 5, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 9,794. 6 (tie), S & B Pro Shop 2, Sterling Heights, Mich., and Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 9,736. 8, Pollard's Bowl, Versailles, Ind., 9,708. 9, J & S Auto Supply Inc., Valparaiso, Ind., 9,684. 10, Buddies Pro Shop, Congers, N.Y., 9,667.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Cardinal Lanes (Edward Hitschmann, Mike Steinert, Reuben Flagor, Tim Higgins, Gary Boxberger), 2,804. 2, Lake Country Rollers 1, Clarissa, Minn., 2,799. 3, T-Rays, Jamestown, N.D., 2,795. 4, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,789. 5, Plattsburgh Bowl, Plattsburgh, Mo., 2,773. 6, Sego Electric, Clarion, Iowa, 2,759. 7, Pla-Mor Lanes 5, New Weston, Ohio, 2,750. 8, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 9, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745. 10, Red Carpet, Sauk Centre, Minn., 2,744.

Doubles
1, Jacqueline Snyder/Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,282. 2, Janet Vaccari/Joe Vaccari, Gillette, Wyo., 1,255. 3, William Palmer, Sussex, Wis./Henry Dotson, McCool, Miss., 1,220. 4, Ron Schara, Big Timber, Mont./Tom Schara, Rio Rancho, N.M., 1,205. 5, Arthur King, Grass Valley, Calif./Sandy Wagner, Loomis, Calif., 1,203. 6, Jim Kohlman, St. Paul, Minn./Michael Roscoe, White Bear Lake, Minn., 1,196. 7, Larry Tschoepe, San Antonio/Ted Smith LaVernia, Texas, 1,188. 8, (tie), Lenny Boogaard, Osakis, Minn./Larry Sorenson, West Union, Minn., and Sue Kendall, Converse, Ind./Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,184. 10, Butch Booker, Clarissa, Minn./Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,181.

Singles
1, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 688. 2 (tie), Brian Washington, Hopewell, Va., and Tim Hoffpauir, New Iberia, La., 676. 4, Tim Wagner, Hardin, Mont., 669. 5, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 668. 6, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 7, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658. 8, Ed Wethington, Poplar Grove, Ill., 657. 9 (tie), Dale Fuller, Otter Lake, Mich., and Bill Ingram, Aloha, Ore., 648.

All-Events
1, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,887. 2, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 1,857. 3, Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,852. 4, John Millet Jr., Greenland, N.H., 1,821. 5, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 6, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 7, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791. 8, Hartsell Duhart, Compton, Calif., 1,789. 9, Dave Dubois, Santa Monica, Calif., 1,782. 9, John Albaugh, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,773.