One pin.
That was all that separated Salem graduate Dylan Kuhns from continuing his run at the 2026 Junior Gold Championships in Minneapolis.
After four rounds of qualifying, Kuhns found himself on the wrong side of one of the narrowest margins imaginable in the Boys U18 division. The top 131 bowlers advanced to Friday’s Advancers Round, but Kuhns finished 132nd—just one pin shy of earning another day on the lanes.
Kuhns made a strong charge during Thursday’s final four-game qualifying block, rolling an 835 series while averaging nearly 204 per game. Despite the impressive finish, the late rally came up just short as his Junior Gold tournament ended with one of the toughest possible outcomes.
While Kuhns narrowly missed extending his tournament, Shobonier’s Macy Jones will continue her pursuit of a national championship after qualifying for the Advancers Round in the Girls U18 division. Jones finished 23rd overall to comfortably secure one of the 52 advancing spots. Smithton’s Miranda Duff also moved on after placing 49th.
Salem also had three bowlers competing in the Boys U16 division. Kellen Nix narrowly missed qualifying after posting a strong 847 final four-game block but finishing outside the top 101. Nicholi Marhanka ended qualifying in 135th after a final block of 741, while Carter Shanafelt finished 225th with a final block of 785.
Mt. Vernon’s contingent saw its tournament come to an end in multiple divisions. In Boys U18, Travin Elliott placed 255th, Trace Elliott was 272nd, Sam Klimek finished 594th and Brody Elliott was 670th. In the Girls U14 division, Mollie Jo McGraw finished 146th, while Jaesun Mann placed 93rd and Charles Rutherford finished 177th in the Boys U14 competition.
Several Southern Illinois bowlers will continue into Friday’s Advancers Round, including Harrisburg’s Dalton Wheeler, who qualified 15th in the Boys U16 division after firing an 889 final block for a 219 average. Blake Lane of Columbia (24th) and Tyler Babcock of O’Fallon (92nd) also advanced. In the Girls U16 division, Alton’s Jillian Dwiggins qualified seventh and Collinsville’s Kellen Stephens was 15th. Aviston’s Reese Renth (12th) and Belleville’s Sophia Walter (21st) also advanced in the Girls U14 division.
Area Qualifying Results
Girls U18
- Advanced: Macy Jones (Shobonier) – 23rd
- Advanced: Miranda Duff (Smithton) – 49th
- Briley Dent (Bonnie) – 122nd
- Abigail Parry (Taylorville) – 159th
- Isabella Skipper (Belleville) – 278th
Boys U18
- Dylan Kuhns (Salem) – 132nd (missed Advancers Round by 1 pin)
- Travin Elliott (Mt. Vernon) – 255th
- Trace Elliott (Mt. Vernon) – 272nd
- Cameron Shufelt (Waterloo) – 291st
- Travis Young Jr. (Belleville) – 424th
- Parker Schmidt (Belleville) – 432nd
- Ethan Zirkelbach (Marion) – 434th
- Thomas Whitmore (Mascoutah) – 453rd
- Sam Breitwiser (Waterloo) – 480th
- Raymond Andrews (Opdyke) – 498th
- Sam Klimek (Mt. Vernon) – 594th
- Aaron Hughes (Jerseyville) – 610th
- Marcellus Goodknecht (Belleville) – 642nd
- Jermaine Ferguson (Shiloh) – 664th
- Brody Elliott (Mt. Vernon) – 670th
- Weston Huff (Mascoutah) – 672nd
- Garrett Pryor (Highland) – 728th
- Chase Koppenhofer (Dupo) – 828th
- Matthew Eller (Waterloo) – 850th
Girls U16
- Advanced: Jillian Dwiggins (Alton) – 7th
- Advanced: Kellen Stephens (Collinsville) – 15th
- Taylor Rose (Columbia) – 194th
- Kelsia Hampton (Fairview Heights) – 201st
- Peyton Darnstaedt (Belleville) – 272nd
- Teiryn Andrews (Opdyke) – 309th
Boys U16
- Advanced: Dalton Wheeler (Harrisburg) – 15th
- Advanced: Blake Lane (Columbia) – 24th
- Advanced: Tyler Babcock (O’Fallon) – 92nd
- Tobias Kirchner (Waterloo) – 116th
- Kellen Nix (Salem) – outside top 101
- Nicholi Marhanka (Salem) – 135th
- Carter Shanafelt (Salem) – 225th
- Sam Beck (Waterloo) – 254th
- Ryan Lotz (O’Fallon) – 260th
- Brenden Phillips (Breese) – 281st
- Hudson Dulle (Bartelso) – 316th
- Drew Millen (O’Fallon) – 331st
- Alex Loughary (Waterloo) – 351st
- Khalil Sutton (Metropolis) – 369th
- Colton McKee (Carbondale) – 381st
- Kolby Eugea (Columbia) – 520th
- Brody Zotz (New Baden) – 527th
- Jackson Robbins (Mascoutah) – 560th
- Zachary Ritter (Aviston) – 574th
- Brayden Drevicki (Smithton) – 603rd
- Gabe Gartzke (Columbia) – 688th
- Cooper Bradley (Harrisburg) – 707th
Girls U14
- Advanced: Reese Renth (Aviston) – 12th
- Advanced: Sophia Walter (Belleville) – 21st
- Kaylee Bertoletti (East Alton) – 31st
- Riley Poggi (Mascoutah) – 50th
- Alexis Bellemey (Aviston) – 54th
- Sophie Orris (O’Fallon) – 86th
- Izabel Andrews (Opdyke) – 89th
- Rachel Eller (Waterloo) – 94th
- Hadleigh Johnson (Bonnie) – 104th
- Quinn Collier (O’Fallon) – 122nd
- Mollie Jo McGraw (Mt. Vernon) – 146th
Boys U14
- Trenton King (Fairview Heights) – 58th
- Lukas Pilkey (Shiloh) – 69th
- Jaesun Mann (Mt. Vernon) – 93rd
- Lance Brem (Fairview Heights) – 112th
- Charles Rutherford (Mt. Vernon) – 177th
Boys U12
- Camden Howard (Collinsville) – 88th
