Pictured above (from left): Jason Dias, Duke Matties, Joshua Alvarez, Christian Amendola, Harrison Neuharth<\/p>\n
RENO, Nev. \u2013 Rolando\u2019s OC Guys of Santee, California, rewrote the leaderboard in Standard Team after taking the lead Friday evening at the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.<\/p>\n
The group shot games of 952, 1,057 and 950 to close with 2,959, 16 pins better than the previous team, Prairie Wolf Construction of Helena, Montana, that bowled just one day prior.<\/p>\n
Rolando\u2019s OC Guys were led by Jason Dias\u2019 655 series, followed by Harrison Neuharth (617), Joshua Alvarez (607), Duke Matties (546) and Christian Amendola (534). Neuharth clinched the lead for the team with a strike to open the final frame, but was quick to point out the massive team effort it took.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt came down to the very end, and I really have to give it to my team,\u201d Neuharth said. \u201cThey grinded through the whole event. I couldn\u2019t be more thankful for the guys I bowled with.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted how important it was for the team to have an open dialogue while they bowled to stay ahead of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just constant communication between all of us. Christian and I both started bowling at the same time in college at Cal Poly State in early 2022, so our communication is always there. We\u2019re constantly talking back and forth, kind of ping-ponging off each other, trying to figure out what\u2019s working.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest of the team was always chatting, too \u2014 pointing out what\u2019s working, what\u2019s not \u2014 just making sure we\u2019re sharing what we see. I think that\u2019s really the key to success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neuharth also said that the team had only met a few weeks ago and were able to keep conversations away from the scores they were putting up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we managed to just stay level. In the back, we kept things pretty light, just outside conversation, really. We weren\u2019t talking about scores at all. We still talked about bowling and ball motion, but not about exactly what the scoreboard looked like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, it was hard to ignore what they were doing heading into the final game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it crossed everyone\u2019s mind right away because the pace we were on was incredible,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t not notice. You see your scores, then you look at the big scrolling leaderboard and think, \u2018Okay, if we keep this up, we\u2019re way up there.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cWe slowed down a little toward the end, but I couldn\u2019t be happier with the adjustments we made and how we handled it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the five on the team, only Dias had bowled the Open Championships prior to this year and the rest were all making their first trip to the event, making it surreal to be at the top early in their careers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t even describe it,\u201d said Neuharth. \u201cI\u2019ve only been bowling for three years, and honestly, I didn\u2019t even know I was going to bowl this event until about two and a half weeks ago when someone dropped out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d be here bowling with such great guys and sitting at the top of the leaderboard, especially this early in a lot of our bowling careers.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the leaderboard ever-changing through the first three weeks of the tournament, Neuharth and the rest of the team know anything can happen to push them down the leaderboard. For now, though, they\u2019ll enjoy seeing themselves at the top.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we all know the lead could slip, but we\u2019re just happy with how we bowled. You can\u2019t sit there thinking about a spare you missed and what it might\u2019ve cost you. We\u2019re happy with how we performed, and we know we bowled really well. We gave it our best, and as a bowler, you really can\u2019t ask for more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Standard Team includes five-player groups with combined entering averages of 801-905.<\/p>\n
The Open Championships is celebrating its 122nd edition in 2026 and making its 15th trip to Reno, Nevada. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature more than 55,000 bowlers and 11,000 five-player teams competing across 128 consecutive days at the National Bowling Stadium.<\/p>\n
Follow the action from the tournament\u2019s official\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0accounts.<\/p>\n