Brian Johnston of Grinnell, Kan., had the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships debut that most bowlers only dream of, and now he's just three days away from becoming one of the tournament's newest champions.

The 36-year-old left-hander, who did not compete in the team event, didn't need much time to get comfortable on the championship lanes before posting games of 234, 255 and 212 to take the Classified Singles lead with a 701 series Thursday, the 139th of 142 days of competition at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Jeremy Noland of Chelsea, Okla., previously held the lead with 696.

"It was all pretty exciting," said Johnston, a science teacher who coaches football, basketball and golf in his free time. "I didn't bowl very well the first two games, but I found a line and things fell into place. At the start of the third game of singles, I got really nervous and everything started getting blurry. I drank a lot of water and the other bowlers around me helped calm me down."

Johnston has only bowled a handful of 600 series in his life, and while he started his USBC Open Championships career with a 528 set in doubles, he soon was in exciting, but uncharted territory. His effort is the first 700 in Classified Singles since 2003, and the fourth since the introduction of the Classified Division in 1999.

"I was more nervous about getting up there near 700, and I wasn't even thinking about winning a title," Johnston said. "I didn't even know what the top scores were, but after the second game, I knew I had a pretty good chance to be up there. It's a pretty amazing feeling to have this type of score, and if I do win, it will be great to know that I was able to hold up under the pressure and the nerves."

Johnston originally hoped to make his first tournament appearance at the 2006 event in Corpus Christi, Texas, because it was the closest to his home, but those plans never came to fruition. This time, though, Johnston and his father, Merrill, decided it was a great opportunity for a family vacation and a stop at the Open Championships.

"We tried to get a couple of teams together, but a few people backed out," Johnston said. "Since we'd already planned on a nice family vacation, we decided to just drive out for doubles and singles. Now we're going to head to Santa Fe, and since we'll be on the road when the tournament ends, I won't know what happened until we get home."

Because of his coaching commitments, Johnston doesn't get to bowl as much as he used to, and he must rely on 25-30 games of league competition to keep him sharp for any tournaments he is able to enter.

"I know my students are going to think this is cool, but I really don't think they're going to believe me at first," Johnston said. "Then they will all want to bowl against me to see if they can beat me."

To be eligible for the Classified Division, bowlers must have an average of 180 or less for singles and all-events, 360 or less for doubles and 900 or less for team.

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, Fox Bowl 2, Wheaton, Ill., 3,303. 4, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 3,298. 5, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 3,284. 6, Bluemound Bowl, Milwaukee, Wis., 3,268. 7, Ballard's Bowling Solution 1, North Richland Hills, Texas, 3,258. 8, Play 2 Win, Lakewood, Ohio, 3,254. 9, Bowlers Universe 1, Rockford, Ill., 3,249. 10, Bluegrass Bowling & Golf, Lexington, Ky., 3,244.

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, Rick Oelkers III, Valdosta, Ga./David Tolson, Summerville, S.C., 1,434. 8, Steven Levering, Landisville, Pa./Jim Rutherford, Coatesville, Pa., 1,428. 9, Ron Case, Oakley, Calif./Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 1,422. 10, Mike Granberg, Batavia, Ill./Dave Rodak, Naperville, Ill., 1,419.

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, Eric Lukins, Fort Myers, Fla., 778. 6, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 7 (tie), Larry Aldridge, Aurora, Colo., and Alexander Shand, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 774. 9, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 10, Ryan Shepherd, Collinsville, Va., 769.

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, Gregg Zicha, Schaumburg, Ill., 2,124. 10, Chris Gibbons, Madison, Wis., 2,122.

Team All-Events
1, Fox Bowl 2 (Anthony Jordan, Pete Spreadbury, Walter Schaub, Gregg Zicha, Mike Nape), Wheaton, Ill., 10,025. 2, Team Tilt, Lawrence, Kan., 9,986. 3, Team Pabst, Madison, Wis., 9,977. 4, MoRich Enterprises, West Bend, Wis., 9,901. 5, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 9,801. 6, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 9,794. 7 (tie), S & B Pro Shop 2, Sterling Heights, Mich., and Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 9,736. 9, Sack Toe, Sacramento, Calif., 9,717. 10, Pollard's Bowl, Versailles, Ind., 9,708.

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, Brian Johnston, Grinnell, Kan., 701. 2, Jeremy Noland, Chelsea, Okla., 696. 3, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 688. 4 (tie), Brian Washington, Hopewell, Va., and Tim Hoffpauir, New Iberia, La., 676. 6, Donald D. Mueller Jr., Fremont, Neb., 672. 7, Tim Wagner, Hardin, Mont., 669. 8, Brion Estis, St. Davids, Bermuda, 666. 9, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 10, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658.

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.