Longevity and dedication were the themes at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships this weekend as four bowlers reached personal milestones on the tournament lanes.

Active participation leader, Les Berry of Wooster, Ohio, made his 65th tournament appearance Sunday and is in pursuit of the late Bill Doehrman and late USBC Hall of Famer Joe Norris, who each competed in 71 tournaments.

Berry also inched his way closer to becoming the 11th member of the tournament's elite 100,000-pin club. The 92-year-old right-hander posted a 358 series in team Sunday and left the Albuquerque Convention Center just 1,076 pins shy of the milestone heading into Monday's doubles and singles competition.

"I might have to wait until next year to finish knocking down all those pins, but I love this, and I always get excited when I bowl," said Berry, who made his USBC Open Championships debut at the 1937 event in New York. "I'm a little tired at the end of each game, but I am looking forward to next year. I can do it."

On Saturday night, Judd Hall of Carrollton, Ohio, became the 11th bowler in history to compete in 60 Open Championships.

Hall's first tournament appearance came as a wide-eyed 13-year-old at the 1949 event in Atlantic City, N.J., where he competed alongside his father.

"Bowling is everything to me," said Hall, who once flew in from Indonesia to keep his consecutive streak in tact. "I bowled with my dad in 42 consecutive tournaments until he passed away in 1988, and that was really special. Now, I'm shooting for 70 consecutive tournaments. I'm going to break the record and make it last."

In 60 tournament appearances, Hall has knocked down 86,259 pins for a 168.1 career average. Now just 73 years old, he has no plans to stop competing anytime soon.

"No matter how the times or the rules change in bowling, the good always outweighs the bad, and it's the people who make the difference, " said Hall, who shot 514 in doubles, 489 in singles and 478 in team for an 1,481 all-events total this year. "It's nice to win, but this is one sport where it is easy to remember what is important."

Also on Saturday night, Donald Granberry Jr. of St. Louis added his name to the Open Championships record books as the 98th bowler to make 50 tournament appearances. He was the fifth bowler of the year and the second is as many days to reach the milestone.

"This is a great honor, and I am very proud of this accomplishment," said Granberry, who was a member of the first all-black team from St. Louis to compete at the Open Championships. "My wife and I have been married 46 years, and she broke her ankle when she slipped on some ice on our anniversary in February. The doctor gave her 12 weeks to recover, and that put it pretty close to our scheduled time for bowling here in Albuquerque, but she's getting along pretty well, and I knew she wouldn't miss this for the world. It's just really exciting."

Granberry made his tournament debut at the 1955 event in Fort Wayne, Ind., and in 50 years on the tournament lanes, the 79-year-old has knocked down 79,370 pins for a 178.8 career average. This year, Granberry shot 568 in doubles, 525 in singles and 456 in team for a 1,549 all-events effort.

During his Open Championships career, Granberry and his wife, Nada, have driven to all but a two events, taking each opportunity to enjoy the open road and the sights the country has to offer. In fact, they often take one route to the tournament and another route home so they can see as much as possible.

"He loves bowling, and I love to be with him, so there is nowhere else I would rather be right now than here by his side when he is doing something that he loves so much," Nada Granberry said. "We never would have traveled so much and seen so much of the country without his keen interest in the sport. It seems to keep us both active. Even though I'm still having trouble getting around, I would not have missed this."

On Friday night, Joseph Pursel Jr. (center) of Hellertown, Pa., and his father, Joseph Pursel Sr. (left) became the third father and son duo in 50-year club when Pursel Jr. made his 50th trip down Center Aisle. His father made his 55th tournament appearance.

Next year in Las Vegas, nine bowlers are scheduled to reach the 50-year mark, while one bowler will join the 60-year club.

While working together for 20 years at the Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Henry Dotson of McCool, Miss., and William Palmer of Sussex, Wis., became good friends and shared a lot of time on the lanes during leagues and tournaments.

Since Dotson retired and moved to Mississippi in 2007, the duo's friendship has continued, and their reunion at the Albuquerque Convention Center this weekend turned into a memorable one as they moved into third place in Classified Doubles at the USBC Open Championships.

Palmer led the pair to a 1,220 total with games of 233, 203 and 204 for a 640 series, while Dotson contributed 210, 195 and 175 for 580. Jacqueline Snyder and Bill Calhoon of Cooksville, Ill., lead with 1,282.

"I'm glad we did so well because I've been in a bit of a slump, and I'm coming off my worst year at the Open Championships," said Palmer, who made his 17th tournament appearance. "I'm also really happy that bowling let me get to see my buddy again, since this will be the only time we are able to get together each year. I just didn't want to let him down."

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, Rhino for President (David Haynes, Steve Kloempken, Ted Hannahs, Bill Hoffman, Rhino Page), Pleasant View, Utah, 3,298. 2, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 3,284. 3, Marcor Technologies, Gaylord, Mich., 3,235. 4, Armstrong Printing 1, Naperville, Ill., 3,231. 5, Clone Huskers, Milwaukee, 3,228. 6, Drillsheet.com, Rochester, N.Y., 3,219. 7, K & K Bowling Service 1, Henderson, Nev., 3,208. 8, Cambridge 1, Feeding Hills, Mass., 3,201. 9, Buddy Tierno Senior Tour, Mount Laurel, N.J., 3,197. 10, Ansara Restaurant Group 1, Farmington Hills, Mich., 3,194.

Doubles
1, John Socha, Oak Creek, Wis./Dennis Rakauskas, Apopka, Fla., 1,467. 2, Robert Slayton, Apple Valley, Minn./Jason Lutgen, Brooklyn Park, Minn., 1,445. 3, Todd Koehler, Appleton, Minn./Doug Blood, Montevideo, Minn., 1,444. 4, Erik Mattingly, Puyallup, Wash./Robert Hanson, Tacoma, Wash., 1,441. 5, Steven Levering, Landisville, Pa./Jim Rutherford, Coatesville, Pa., 1,428. 6, Ron Case, Oakley, Calif./Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 1,422. 7, Mike Granberg, Batavia, Ill./Dave Rodak, Naperville, Ill., 1,419. 8, Brian Corley, Piedmont, Okla./Brett Erickson, Oklahoma City, 1,409. 9, Patrick Smart/Ricky Meneley, Santa Maria, Calif., 1,404. 10, Dan Guerrieri/Joe Nuzzo, Youngstown, Ohio, 1,401.

Singles
1, Jason Price, Grand Island, Neb., 817. 2, Wilbert Moorer, Dover, Del., 784. 3, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 779. 4, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 5, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 6, Don Pyle, Wilmington, Del., 768. 7, Mike Preston, High Springs, Fla., 764. 8, Greg Benefield, Lees Summit, Mo., 763. 9, Mike Leonard, Front Royal, Va., 762. 10 (tie), Andrew Udahl, Elk Grove, Calif., and Scott Shimer, Kokomo, Ind., 761.

All-Events
1, Mike Rose Jr., Rochester, N.Y., 2,161. 2, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 2,160. 3, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 2,159. 4, Edward Gallagher, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,141. 5, Chris Gibbons, Madison, Wis., 2,122. 6, Don Pyle, Wilmington, Del., 2,118. 7, Brian Diede, Huron, S.D., 2,113. 8, Jeff Jensen, Fall River, Kan., 2,111. 9, David Beres, Waukesha, Wis., 2,094. 10, John Gaines, Orlando, Fla., 2,092.

Team All-Events
1, Team Pabst (Jeff Prein, Troy Cox, Scott Erickson, Kevin Thompson, Chris Gibbons), Madison, Wis., 9,977. 2, MoRich Enterprises, West Bend, Wis., 9,901. 3, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 9,801. 4, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 9,794. 5 (tie), S & B Pro Shop 2, Sterling Heights, Mich., and Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 9,736. 7, Pollard's Bowl, Versailles, Ind., 9,708. 8, J & S Auto Supply Inc., Valparaiso, Ind., 9,684. 9, Lodge Lanes 1, Saline, Mich., 9,664. 10, Browning Pontiac, Eminence, Ky., 9,662.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Lake Country Rollers 1 (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, Pla-Mor Lanes 5, New Weston, Ohio, 2,750. 7, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 8, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745. 9, Red Carpet, Sauk Centre, Minn., 2,744. 10, All of Them, Warner Robins, Ga., 2,734.

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, Jim Kohlman, St. Paul, Minn./Michael Roscoe, White Bear Lake, Minn., 1,196. 5, Larry Tschoepe, San Antonio/Ted Smith LaVernia, Texas, 1,188. 6, (tie), Lenny Boogaard, Osakis, Minn./Larry Sorenson, West Union, Minn., and Sue Kendall, Converse, Ind./Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,184. 8, Butch Booker, Clarissa, Minn./Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,181. 9, Myron Asleson/Tony Haugen, Devils Lake, N.D., 1,179. 10 (tie), Jim Selgo, Phoenix/Doug Krauss, Archbold, Ohio, and Mark Powell/Barry Fortner, Hobbs, N.M., 1,173.

Singles
1, Brian Washington, Hopewell, Va., 676. 2, Tim Wagner, Hardin, Mont., 669. 3, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 668. 4, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 5, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658. 6, Ed Wethington, Poplar Grove, Ill., 657. 7 (tie), Dale Fuller, Otter Lake, Mich., and Bill Ingram, Aloha, Ore., 648. 9, Stefanie Suntum, Montrose, Colo., 647. 10, (tie), Lynn Parker, Berwick, La., and Mike Leblanc, New Iberia, La., 644.

All-Events
1, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 1,887. 2, Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,852. 3, John Millet Jr., Greenland, N.H., 1,821. 4, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 5, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 6, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791. 7, Hartsell Duhart, Compton, Calif., 1,789. 8, Dave Dubois, Santa Monica, Calif., 1,782. 9, John Albaugh, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,773. 10, Mycaiah Maestas, Hays, Kan., 1,769.