By: Rhonda Hutchison
The 2026 U.S. High School Bowling National Championship was held in Columbus, OH at the Columbus Square Bowling Palace on June 20-22. This was the 10th national championship post-season event showcasing the best boy/girl high school bowlers from across the country.
The event drew 884 bowlers from 25 state. Pendleton County had three of their Wildcat bowling team qualify to attend as singles: Kree Brewer, Braden Brann, Kroy Brewer.
On Sunday, June 21, the singles qualifying competition took place. In this round 549 boys and 293 girls took to the lanes. Each bowler (boy/girl) bowled four individual games for total pin fall, then waited to see if they made it out of the qualifying round. The boy’s division was being cut from 549 to 180 while the girls were being cut from 293 to 96.
The four game scores for the Wildcats are listed below: Braden Brann 218-169-166-233 for a total of 786 and average of 196.5, Kroy Brewer 191-168-160-124 for a total of 643 and average of 160.7, Kree Brewer 185-241-163-186 for a total of 775 and average of 193.7. Brann placed 192 in the qualifying round missing the cut by 10 pins. Kroy Brewer, one of the youngest bowlers competing, placed 462. Although they did not make the cut, both bowlers made a great showing. Kree Brewer placed 51 in the standings and made it to the survivor round one cut which was bowled on Monday the 22nd. In this round each bowler bowled three additional individual games with those scores being added to their first day total. Kree’s three games were as follows: 184-227-200 for a daily pin fall of 611 and average of 203.6. Her total pin fall for the two days was 1351 and average of 193. After the survivor round 1 she found herself tied for 46th place with only the top 40 making the cut to survivor round two but missing the cut by four pins.
While the Wildcats did not bring home a win, these young bowlers met new friends and made memories they will never forget. These home town athletes continue to put their best into the sport they love and represent our county with pride.