Jenny Brown of Deland, Fla., and Adam Martinez of San Antonio (pictured) were crowned U.S. Junior Amateur champions Friday at the 2007 United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships.

The championships featured nearly 1,600 of the top youth bowlers in the country competing for $100,000 in scholarships, individual titles and berths on Junior Team USA 2008.

Martinez, a right-handed bowler who throws a back-up ball, claimed a narrow victory, winning by just three pins with a 30-game total of 6,189, an average of 206.3. Josh Buckhardt of Beavercreek, Ohio, had a chance to pass Martinez to win the title, but left a 4-9 split in the final frame.

"I'm very excited and I still can't even believe that I won," said the 20-year-old Martinez, who finished seventh at last year's Junior Gold. "This means an awful lot to me. It's so hard to explain but it's just an amazing experience."

In addition to Martinez and Buckhardt, another player had a shot to claim the title in the final frames. Dean Richards of Tacoma, Wash., was the last player to finish the final squad and needed a double in the 10th frame to sneak past Martinez. Richards struck on his first shot but left a 2-8-10 split on the next ball and finished in a tie for third with Geoffrey Young of Denton, Texas, four pins behind Martinez.

On the girls side, Brown took the lead after 18 games of qualifying and never looked back. For 30 games, Brown totaled 6,078, an average of 202.6 per game, and finished comfortably ahead of Michelle Carcagente of Palm Harbor, Fla., who was second with 5,928.

"I'm just speechless; I never thought I would ever finish in first place," said Brown, 17, a current member of Junior Team USA. "The fact that I was ahead most of the way took some of the pressure off. If I left a split or made a bad shot, I always had the next frame to look forward to. It gave me some room to breathe."

The top five finishers in each division earned automatic spots on Junior Team USA 2008 with the National Selection Committee picking three boys and three girls to join the team. Selections were made from the pool of athletes who advance to match play competition.

Joining Martinez, Buckhardt, Richards and Young on the boys squad was fifth-place finisher and last year's Junior Gold champion Matt O'Grady of South Amboy, N.J. Additional members of the girls team are Kerry Smith of New Holland, Pa., Emily Maier of Wichita, Kan., and Sarah Germano of Rochester, N.Y.

The National Selection Committee added Michael Marsico of Owings, Md.; John Szczerbinski of Wichita, Kan.; Toby Sambueno of Aiea, Hawaii; Noel Ocasio of Patchogue, N.Y.; Josie Earnest of Vandalia, Ill.; and Ricki Williams of Wichita, Kan., to Junior Team USA 2008 as at-large members.

The picture shows all Junior Team USA 2008 members. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Athletes in both the boys and girls divisions rolled 18 qualifying games July 9-13 at AMF Airport Lanes, AMF Thruway Lanes and Transit Lanes. The qualifying field then was trimmed to the top 96 boys and 48 girls for Friday morning's semifinals, which consisted of one six-game block. The top 32 boys and 32 girls closed with a six-game block in the finals.