Just one day after last year's Regular Singles champion was unable to defend his title at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, Jason Price of Grand Island, Neb., put in his bid for this year's crown with an 817 series at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old right-hander rebounded from a 545 doubles effort and opened singles with nine consecutive strikes. He struck 31 times on the way to games of 278, 259 and 280 for the first 800 series of the year and moved past Wilbert Moorer of Dover, Del., who previously held the Regular Singles lead with 784.

"This is the biggest accomplishment of my life, and it gives me chills," said Price, a bowling center mechanic who competed in his eighth consecutive USBC Open Championships. "I discovered a chip in my ball while bowling doubles and switched to one of my other balls, which I also used in singles."

Because of airplane problems on the way out of Omaha, Neb., on Sunday, Price and his two brothers, Dale and Darren, almost didn't make it to Albuquerque in time for their team event Monday night.

Mechanical issues caused their flight from Omaha to be canceled, so they rented a car and drove 90 miles to Sioux City, Iowa, where they were able to get on another flight early Monday morning. Unfortunately, deicing the plane caused another delay, which forced the trio to miss the connecting flight in Denver by one minute. On standby for the next available flight, the three finally made it to Albuquerque on Monday afternoon, just three hours before they were scheduled to bowl team.

The brothers then teamed up with Todd Verplank and Jason VanHoosen and helped Westside Lanes Pro Shop to a 2,774 total. Jason shot 644 and was followed by Darren (583), Dale (542), Verplank (519) and VanHoosen (486).

"The airplane trouble and flying in was frustrating, and we're just glad we got our luggage so we could be here in time for team," said Jason, who finished his 2008 campaign with a career-high 2,006 all-events total."

Price and his brothers are very close, and he attributes his success on the lanes to their influence, while his passion for bowling was passed down from his mother, Connie, who died in March of 2003.

With his honor score Tuesday, Jason now will share a place in Open Championships history with Dale, who rolled a 300 game during the event's inaugural trip to the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., in 1995.

"Our mom used to love bowling, and now we love bowling too," Jason said. "I'm sure she is proud of us. My brothers have been a great help in my bowling, and they encourage me a lot. I'm not sure any of this has sunk in just yet. It's a heck of a feeling to be listed up on the leaderboard, I hope it lasts."

Chip Aki of Nicholasville, Ky., won last year's Regular Singles title with an 814 series, while Wendy Macpherson of Henderson, Nev., won in 2006 with 812.

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, Cambridge 1 (Brian Boghosian, Ron Nelson Jr., Bryan O'Keefe, Bill Webb, Chris Viale), Feeding Hills, Mass., 3,201. 2, Lodge Lanes 1, Saline, Mich., 3,172. 3, Sign Producers 1, Winter Garden, Fla., 3,162. 4, Cambridge 2, Feeding Hills, Mass., 3,149. 5, Central Saw, Racine, Wis., 3,145. 6, Ebonite Kids, Mundelein, Ill., 3,118. 7, Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 3,099. 8, Warrior Lanes, Urbandale, Iowa, 3,096. 9, St. Charles Lanes, O'Fallon, Mo., 3,095. 10, Design Wizards, Mandan, N.D., 3,094.

Doubles
1, Todd Koehler, Appleton, Minn./Doug Blood, Montevideo, Minn., 1,444. 2, Patrick Smart/Ricky Meneley, Santa Maria, Calif., 1,404. 3, George Aboud, San Jose, Calif.,/Jeff Frankos, Daly City, Calif., 1,399. 4, Les Zikes, Palatine, Ill./Hank Sorensen, Rolling Meadows, Ill., 1,389. 5, Jeff Lunde/Joe Crenshaw, Racine, Wis., 1,384. 6, Jim Capps, Kenosha,Wis./Jason Frank, Racine, Wis., 1,381. 7, Julius Awes, Minneapolis,/Charles Hayslett, Apple Valley, Mich., 1,370. 8 (tie), Tim Penner, Wichita, Kan./Justin Hromek, Towanda, Kan., and Paul Nicholas, Romeoville, Ill./George Kontos, Joliet, Ill., 1,368. 9 (tie), Bryan Komornik, Chicago/Chris Jones, Columbus, Ind., and Curtis Odom, Coldwater, Mich./Mark Weller, Jonesville, Mich., 1,365.

Singles
1, Jason Price, Grand Island, Neb., 817. 2, Wilbert Moorer, Dover, Del., 784. 3, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 4, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 5, Mike Preston, High Springs, Fla., 764. 6, Greg Benefield, Lees Summit, Mo., 763. 7, Andrew Udahl, Elk Grove, Calif., 761. 8, Eddie Martin, Hanford, Calif., 758. 9, Tracy Teeters, Salem, Ore., 751. 10, Mike Kristofik, St. Peters, Mo., 749.

All-Events
1, Edward Gallagher, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,141. 2, John Gaines, Orlando, Fla., 2,092. 3, Richard Thomas, Middleton, Wis., 2,086. 4, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 2,082. 5, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 2,065. 6, Brian Waliczek, Birch Run, Mich., 2,064. 7, Bryan O'Keefe, Rochester, N.Y., 2,052. 8, Carl Marcincavage, Manville, N.J., 2,045. 9 (tie), Jason Mesecher, Des Moines, Iowa, and Rudy Kasimakis, Baldwyn, Miss., 2,040.

Team All-Events
1, Pam's Boys 1 (Jeff True, Tracy Teeters, Rick Guined, Mike Shequin, Kevin Croucher), Salem, Ore., 9,736. 2, Lodge Lanes 1, Saline, Mich., 9,664. 3, Ebonite HQ, Hopkinsville, Ky., 9,501. 4, Gran Prix Pro Shop, St. Charles, Mo., 9,494. 5, Gene's Pro Shop, Livermore, Calif., 9,430. 6, Cambridge 1, Feeding Hills, Mass., 9,392. 7, TPA 2-Rip Holzie, Madison, Wis., 9,385. 8, Cambridge 2, Feeding Hills, Mass., 9,345. 9, St. Charles Lanes, St. Charles, Mo., 9,341. 10, Ebonite Kids, Chicago, 9,313.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Lake Country Rollers (Butch Booker, Dave Lisson, Wayne Booker, Michael Booker, Danny Booker), Clarissa, Minn., 2,799. 2, T-Rays, Jamestown, N.D., 2,795. 3, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,789. 4, Plattsburgh Bowl, Plattsburgh, Mo., 2,773. 5, Sego Electric, Clarion, Iowa, 2,759. 6, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 7, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745. 8, Suburban Lanes, Meade Kan., 2,687. 9, Arrowood Plumbing, Parachute, Colo., 2,644. 10, Nerf Herders, Richmond, Ind., 2,642.

Doubles
1, Sue Kendall, Converse, Ind./Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,184. 2, Butch Booker, Clarissa, Minn./Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,181. 3, Myron Asleson/Tony Haugen, Devils Lake, N.D., 1,179. 4, Larry Kubasiak/Duane Kubasiak, Bronson, Mich., 1,165. 5, Gary Tomhave/Michael Donley, Fergus Falls, Minn., 1,163. 6, Ken Iredale/Kevin Furness, Oxfordshire, England, 1,158. 7, Eric Ohlrogge/William Meyer, Alexandria, Minn., 1,154. 8, Dave Stefl/Charles LaTendresse, Grundy Center, Iowa, 1,150. 9, Kevin Mitchell, Millbrae, Calif./Robert Stephens, San Francisco, 1,149. 10, Trevis Vanderpool, Plains, Kan./Rod Blehm, Meade, Kan., 1,147.

Singles
1, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 668. 2, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 3, Bill Ingram, Aloha, Ore., 648. 4 (tie), Lynn Parker, Berwick, La., and Mike Leblanc, New Iberia, La., 644. 6, Alan Miller, Lexington, N.C., 641. 7, Daniel Riley, North Fork, Ark., 631. 8, Jerry Flanagan, South Bend, Ind., 622. 9 (tie), Sonya Webb, Rosenberg, Texas, and Gregory Krumm, Invergrove Heights., Minn., 619.

All-Events
1, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,887. 2, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 3, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 4, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791. 5, Larry Kubasiak, Bronson, Mich., 1,764. 6, Ken Iredale, Oxfordshire, England, 1,754. 7, Bill Garrett, Hampton, Neb., 1,746. 8, Alan Miller, Lexington, N.C. 1,742. 9, William Meyer, Alexandria, Minn., 1,738. 10, Sonya Webb, Rosenberg, Texas, 1,723.