06/15/2026
Way to go Ashtyn!! Champions Crowned As Youth Bowlers Share In Over $4,800 in SMART Scholarships
ODENTON, MD-On a sunny morning just south of Baltimore, four champions were crowned in the 2026 Spotlight Sport Shot Youth Championships at Greenway Bowl. Where the qualifying was held on the 52 foot US Open Pattern #3 from last year, the finals were held on the 2025 European Men's Championship pattern, 47 feet with multiple speed bumps to challenge the bowlers.
The 150 and under Handicap Division featured two of the youngest bowlers in the Friday Night Spotlight Sport Shot League held through the winter at Greenway, 10-year-old Cayden DeAbreu and 11-year-old Scarlett Morris. Cayden, who was spotting 15 pins per game to Scarlett in the 2-game match, opened with a 136-122 advantage, which meant that Scarlett had to match Cayden's second game score to win with her 15 pins of handicap that game.
It came down to the 10th frame, with Cayden needing to pick up the 1-2-4 spare, which he did and followed with a strike to earn the title and $725 in SMART scholarship. Finishing second still earned Scarlett a healthy $375 in SMART. A third spot was paid out of the finals, which went to Tristan Lewis with a 981 handicap score, and he received $132 in SMART.
The 151 and over Handicap division featured Friday Night Spotlight bowlers Aria Gbollie and Finley Ingraham. Aria came out on fire in game 1 with a 212 game, and cruised to victory with a 375-312 total against Finley, as they were competing scratch since they both carried 159 averages into the event. Aria's win earned her $750 in SMART, while Finley earned $390 for the runner up finish. A third spot was also paid out in this division, as 9-year-old Aayden Szczepaniak earned $140 with his qualifying score of 930. Aayden also came into the event with a 159 sport average from Friday Nights at Greenway.
The Girls' scratch division featured another battle of Friday Night Spotlight stars, Lindsey Reardon and Ashtyn DeVries, who happened to finish 1-2 at the GOAL tournament held in Delaware last Saturday. Lindsey came out strong out of the gate, winning the first match 203-157 to create a cushion that she made sure to keep by winning game 2 by a 197-195 score, earning the 400-352 win and $625 in SMART scholarship, while Ashtyn came away with $322 in SMART. Lindsey is moving on to college at the U of Indy, while Ashtyn is entering her senior year in High School.
The Boys' Scratch division took 3 bowlers to the finals. The first match featured #3 seed Blake Butler from Pennsylvania, who rolled 866 in qualifying, against #2 seed Misael Garcia from Woodbridge, VA. Misael came out fast shooting 197 in game 1, and cruised to a 374-289 win to move on to the finals and face the #1 seed, Arryn Odujebe, who was fresh off winning the PBA Jr. World Championship and EJ Tackett pattern championships at the PBA Jr. World Series of Bowling. Two friends and competitors, and they shared some light banter during the match. In game 1, Arryn opened up with a split, but quickly turned things around, and hung on to win 214-206, giving him a slim 18 pin lead going into game 2. Game 2 was a back and forth battle. Misael took an early lead with a string of strikes, but a split in the 5th evened up the match. In frame 6, Misael left the difficult 3-4-6-7 split, but converted it perfectly to stay in the match. It came down to the 10th frame, where Misael finished with 210, forcing Arryn to mark for the title. However, Arryn's ball jumped high, and he left the 6-7 split which he was unable to convert, giving Misael the 210-191 win in game 2, and the 416-405 win for the title and $780 in SMART. Arryn received $390 for 2nd place, and Blake Parker took home $196 for third place.
Thank you again to all of our sponsors, East Coast Rigging & Scaffolding, TNT Pro Shop, Pin Chaser Pro Shop, The Lanes at Fort Meade Pro Shop, and Coolwick for their support of our event and of youth bowling. Our sport is stronger through the support of these amazing sponsors! Thank you to Andrew Sass for assisting with the event and today's play-by-play, Derrick Massie Jr. for his incredible pictures during qualifying, and every parent who brought their kids to this event. There is nothing like seeing the future stars of our sport on display, and we couldn't have them there without you!
