Daryl Peake of Mount Holly, N.C., has passed on numerous opportunities to compete at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, but now that he found success in his tournament debut, he doesn't plan on missing another year.

On the way to third place in Classified All-Events at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Saturday night, the 37-year-old left-hander became the second Classified bowler this year to roll three 600 series. Peake finished with 628 in team, 618 in doubles and 603 in singles for a 1,849 all-events total. Daniel Dabkowski of Columbia, S.C., leads with 1,857.

"I'll never miss another one of these again," said Peake, who owns a lawn care and pressure washing business. "This was never really something I wanted to do, but it was totally different than what I expected. I thought it was just going to be in a regular bowling center, so seeing the atmosphere, the people and everything going on was a little overwhelming, but talking to everyone and walking down Center Aisle really pumped me up and made me want to bowl well."

While most bowlers battle first-time jitters, Peake shot out of the gate and started his USBC Open Championships career with six consecutive strikes on the way to a 233 game Friday. His good fortune continued Saturday as he teamed up with Bob Butts of Charlotte, N.C., to move into sixth place in Classified Doubles with a 1,207 total. Jacqueline Snyder and Bill Calhoon of Cooksville, Ill., lead with 1,282.

"My goal was to stay around the 190s or low 200s because I heard it was a pretty tough shot," Peake said. "I just planned to keep it simple and make the best shots I could and hopefully leave spares I could make. When we got done, I was headed to the snack bar for a soda and then out to the car to put my equipment away. I passed by the leaderboard, but didn't think anything of it and had no idea what my finals totals were."

Peake has signed up and paid to come to the Open Championships before, but because of his hectic work schedule and the responsibilities that come with owning his own business, he's been forced to back out in the past. This time, despite the high price of airfare, he decided to make the trip and is glad he did.

"It turned out to be a really nice experience," Peake said. "I haven't really had the time to work on my game, but this will definitely motivate me to bowl more and try to improve my scores for next year. I am satisfied with how I bowled, and while I can look back at the shots that I thought should've carried, I also have to think about the trips and breaks I got, too. We all want to be first, but it doesn't always work out that way. My hat is off to the guy in first place, and maybe I can do it next year."

Now that he's finally been to the Open Championships, seen the venue, walked down Center Aisle and enjoyed success on the tournament lanes, Peake understands the magnitude of the event and what it means to have your name hanging over the lanes on one of the championships banners.

"It would've been amazing for my wife and little boy to see my name on one of those banners next year," Peake said. "This really was a nice experience. From the worst bowler to the best bowler, I'd tell everyone to come and experience this. Since we've been here, I've been telling everyone that I have no idea what I was waiting on."

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, Turbo Grips 1, Chesterfield, Mich., 3,308. 3, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 3,298. 4, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 3,284. 5, Bluemound Bowl, Milwaukee, Wis., 3,268. 6, Ballard's Bowling Solution 1, North Richland Hills, Texas, 3,258. 7, Bowlers Universe 1, Rockford, Ill., 3,249. 8, Bluegrass Bowling & Golf, Lexington, Ky., 3,244. 9, Woody's, Mulvane, Kan., 3,239. 10, Marcor Technologies, Gaylord, Mich., 3,235.

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, Ryan Shepherd, Collinsville, Va., 769. 10, Don Pyle, Wilmington, Del., 768.

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, D&H Glass, Harrison, Ark., 2,787. 6, Plattsburgh Bowl, Plattsburgh, Mo., 2,773. 7, Sego Electric, Clarion, Iowa, 2,759. 8, Pla-Mor Lanes 5, New Weston, Ohio, 2,750. 9, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 10, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745.

Doubles
1, Jacqueline Snyder/Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,282. 2, Janet Vaccari/Joe Vaccari, Gillette, Wyo., 1,255. 3, Frank Smyle Jr., Reeder, N.D./Jesse Smyle, Bowman, N.D., 1,240. 4, James Whisenhant, Robertsdale, Ala./Dean Swindle, Foley, Ala., 1,237. 5, William Palmer, Sussex, Wis./Henry Dotson, McCool, Miss., 1,220. 6, Daryl Peake, Mount Holly, N.C./Bob Butts, Charlotte, N.C., 1,207. 7, Ron Schara, Big Timber, Mont./Tom Schara, Rio Rancho, N.M., 1,205. 8, Arthur King, Grass Valley, Calif./Sandy Wagner, Loomis, Calif., 1,203. 9, Jim Kohlman, St. Paul, Minn./Michael Roscoe, White Bear Lake, Minn., 1,196. 10, Judy Waliczek, Pflugerville, Texas/Christopher Brown, Jonesboro, Ark, 1,192.

Singles
1, Jeremy Noland, Chelsea, Okla., 696. 2, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 688. 3 (tie), Brian Washington, Hopewell, Va., and Tim Hoffpauir, New Iberia, La., 676. 5, Tim Wagner, Hardin, Mont., 669. 6, Jeffrey Kistler, Marion, Ind., 668. 7, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 8, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658. 9, Ed Wethington, Poplar Grove, Ill., 657. 10 (tie), Dale Fuller, Otter Lake, Mich., and Bill Ingram, Aloha, Ore., 648.

All-Events
1, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 1,857. 2, Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,852. 3, Daryl Peake, Mount Holly, N.C., 1,849. 4, John Millet Jr., Greenland, N.H., 1,821. 5, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 6, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 7, Kenny DeYoung, Valley Springs, Ark., 1,805. 8, Kenny Halsted, Harrison, Ark., 1,805. 9, John Victor, Rockford, Ill., 1,794. 10, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791.