John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Fla., and Kelsey Muther of Wichita, Kan., took the lead after three rounds Monday at the 2013 United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials.

Janawicz (pictured left) picked up his second first-place finish in three rounds Monday and leads the men with 18 points, while Muther has 25 points to lead the women at The Orleans Bowling Center.

The players in the field earn points based on their finishing position in each round. After five rounds, the top three men and top three women with the least amount of points will advance to the stepladder finals Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pacific live on BowlTV.

Janawicz became the first bowler since the Team USA Trials went to a points system two years ago to win two rounds in the same year. He started Monday's third round with a 197 game and went on to average 270.4 for the last five games (278, 275, 290, 262 and 247) on the 34-foot Stockholm pattern.

PBA star Chris Barnes (right) of Double Oak, Texas, sits in second place with 21 points. Barnes had a chance to take the top spot in Monday's third round but left a pocket 7-10 split in his final frame of the day to finish second (1531 to Janawics' 1549). Second-round leader Robert Gotchall of Lincoln, Neb., is third with 30 points.

"It's a great spot to be in, but there's still two days left, and I can't get too far ahead of myself," Janawicz said. "I have to work on some strategy before tomorrow's pattern because I don't feel too comfortable with how my look was in practice."

Muther (left) has finishes of 17th, fifth and third so far to lead the women's division. Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, is second with 28 points, while second-round leader Sarah Lokker is third with 28 points. Ties for points are broken by total pinfall.

"We were just here bowling a college tournament last month, so it helps that I'm familiar with the surface here," said Muther, who bowls at Wichita State. "I just try not to think about the outcome and focus on making good shots every time I'm up to bowl."

First-round leader Kelly Kulick (right) of Union, N.J. posted a 1,485 series to win her second round of the year. The only woman who has ever won a PBA title sits in 14th place overall with 70 points behind a 68th place finish in Round 2.

Action shifts to the fourth round of the event, which will be contested on the 45-foot Mexico City pattern on Tuesday. All rounds of the Team USA Trials are being broadcast live on BOWL.com's BowlTV.

The top three men and top three women after five rounds of qualifying will be guaranteed spots on Team USA in 2014 and will bowl in the stepladder finals for the right to be declared champion, a spot in the QubicaAMF World Cup and prize money.

Two more men and two more women from the event will be selected to join Team USA, while five men and five women will be selected from a pool of eligible bowlers based on their bowling resumes and Trials performance if they competed.

A total of eight Junior Team USA spots - four boys and four girls - also are available. The top two boys and top two girls in the final points standings will earn automatic spots, while two boys and two girls spots will be at-large selections taken from either the Team USA Trials field or the finals field from the Junior Gold Championships held in July 2013. All bowlers 20 and under as of Jan. 1, 2014 are eligible for Junior Team USA.

 

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2014 USBC Team USA Trials - Round 3 (Top 20)

Players with position, hometown and 6-game total

Men's Division (Full Results)
1, John Janawicz, Winter Haven, Fla., 1,549
2, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,531
3, Greg Young, Viera, Fla., 1,491
4, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,426
5, Michael Fagan, Hurst, Texas, 1,414
6, Josh Mullen, Bellingham, Wash., 1,407
7, Darren Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 1,406
8, Eddie VanDaniker, Chatsworth, Calif., 1,401
8, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 1,401
8, Matthew Gasn, Laurel, Md., 1,401
11, Cameron Weier, Federal Way, Wash., 1,396
12, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 1,395
13, Armando Godoy, Stockton, Calif., 1,392
14, Michael Eaton, Mason, Ohio, 1,378
15, Steve Lemke, Nacogdoches, Texas, 1,376
16, AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 1,375
17, Nicholas Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 1,371
18, Robert Gotchall, Lincoln, Neb., 1,369
19, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 1,367
20, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 1,366

Women's Division (Full Results)
1, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,485
2, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 1,456
3, Kelsey Muther, Wichita, Kan., 1,417
4, Leea Haworth, Tumwater, Wash., 1,358
5, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 1,353
6, Kayla Johnson, Washington, Ill., 1,346
7, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 1,335
8, Elysia Current, Ephrata, Pa., 1,329
8, Amanda Fry, Antelope, Calif., 1,329
10, Holly Harris, Wichita, Kan., 1,324
11, Robyn Renslow, Brentwood, Calif., 1,313
12, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 1,307
13, Brittni Hamilton, Wood-Ridge, N.J., 1,299
14, Elise Bolton, Merritt Island, Fla., 1,292
15, Sarah Lokker, New Baltimore, Mich., 1,284
16, Melanie Hannon, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,283
17, Krystyna Johnson, Montgomery, Ill., 1,277
18, Mary Wells, Westerville, Ohio, 1,274
19, Rebecca Czlapinski, Marengo, Ill., 1,266
19, Samantha Kelly, Streamwood, Ill., 1,266

 

2014 USBC Team USA Trials - Overall (Top 20)

Players with position, hometown and total points. Points based on finishing position in each round; top three advance to stepladder finals after five rounds.

Men's Division (Full Results)
1, John Janawicz, Winter Haven, Fla., 18
2, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 21
3, Robert Gotchall, Lincoln, Neb., 30
4, Matthew Farber, Plainview, N.Y., 40
5, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 48
6, Michael Fagan, Hurst, Texas, 50
7, Jakob Butturff, Chandler, Ariz., 54
8, Josh Mullen, Bellingham, Wash., 62
9, Greg Young, Viera, Fla., 65
10, Cameron Weier, Federal Way, Wash., 66
11, Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., 70
11, Eddie VanDaniker, Chatsworth, Calif., 70
11, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 70
14, Tylor Greene, Davison, Mich., 75
15, Zachary Hattori, Henderson, Nev., 76
16, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 84
17, AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 88
18, Darren Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 92
18, Ryan Zagar, Chicago, Ill., 92
20, Michael Eaton, Mason, Ohio, 95

Women's Division (Full Results)
1, Kelsey Muther, Wichita, Kan., 25
2, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 28
2, Sarah Lokker, New Baltimore, Mich., 28
4, Elysia Current, Ephrata, Pa., 31
5, Holly Harris, Wichita, Kan., 34
6, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 42
7, Brittni Hamilton, Wood-Ridge, N.J., 47
8, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 54
9, Samantha Kelly, Streamwood, Ill., 58
10, Krystyna Johnson, Montgomery, Ill., 63
11, Nicole Parkhurst, Utica, N.Y., 64
12, Elise Bolton, Merritt Island, Fla., 65
13, Bryanna Caldwell, Red Rock, Ariz., 69
14, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 70
14, Amanda Fry, Antelope, Calif., 70
16, Erin McCarthy, Omaha, Neb., 72
17, Mary Wells, Westerville, Ohio, 78
18, Melanie Hannon, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 83
18, Sara Vargas, Albuquerque, N.M., 83
18, Brenda Padilla, Mansfield, Texas, 83