National champions crowned at 2026 Junior Gold Championships
Gene J. Kanak
July 19, 2026
Story From Bowl.com.
MINNEAPOLIS – Eight national champions were crowned at Cedarvale Lanes on Saturday to bring the 2026 Junior Gold Championships to a close.
This year’s winners represented four age-based divisions for both boys and girls – U12, U14, U16 and U18 – and reached the winner’s circle by making it through four rounds of qualifying at 10 bowling centers in the Greater Minneapolis area, Advancers’ Rounds, bracket match play and stepladder finals competition in their respective divisions.
All stepladder finals at the 2026 Junior Gold Championships were streamed live on BowlTV and on Bowling TV, the new 24-hour channel dedicated entirely to bowling, which can be found on Prime Video, LG Channels, Xumo Play, DISH TV, Bonusview, Sling Freestream, Plex, Free Live Sports and Bowling TV’s Roku app.
Because the stepladder finals were not be under live national television time constraints, each top seed had to be beaten twice during stepladder competition in order to be denied their division’s title.
WASHINGTON WINS U18 BOYS THRILLER OVER ILLINOIS’ BIONDO.
2026 U18 Boys champion Clayton Washington of Midlothian, Virginia
When eight stepladder finals are conducted and eight national champions crowned in one venue on a single day, it would be difficult to get fans to agree on which show was their favorite.
Nevertheless, if the large gallery exiting Cedarvale Lanes on Saturday night were to be polled, it’s a safe bet more than a few people would say that the evening’s final contest, the U18 Boys stepladder, was the most exciting event of the day.
No. 3 seed Brett Biondo of Carpentersville, Illinois, got things going by starting with the front nine during his semifinal match against second-seeded Will Winkelbauer of Wichita, Kansas. A high-flush 9-pin would prevent Biondo from cashing in the 300, but his 278-194 win was more than good enough to earn a berth in the title match against top seed Clayton Washington of Midlothian, Virginia.
Washinton started strong, posting strikes on each of his first three shots to take the early lead. The advantage was shot-lived, however, as a Washington open in the fourth coupled with strikes from Biondo in frames three through six flipped the script and allowed Biondo to open up a a 23-pin lead with four frames to go.
A late double kept the door open just a crack for Washington, but Biondo promptly slammed it shut when he spared and counted nine on his fill ball to finish at 236. Washington could’ve struck out for 235 but instead went spare-strike to finish to make the final score 236-214 in favor of Biondo.
Biondo started strong once again during the finale, striking on six of his first seven shots. Washington didn’t blink, however, recording five strikes of his own during that same stretch to remain right on Biondo’s heels just one pin back with three frames to go.
Riding a four-bagger, Biondo stepped up in the eighth frame and delivered a picture-perfect shot into the 1-3 pocket. Unfortunately, this time the pins wouldn’t cooperate as the delivery left a vicious solid 8-pin much to the chagrin of the Cedarvale faithful.
The negative vibes didn’t stick around long though as Washington promptly stepped up and notched a double in the eighth and ninth frames to take the lead and remain in control of his own destiny.
Biondo stepped up for the ninth and tenth looking to finish with a four-bagger to get in with 258, which would have forced Washington to double in the 10th frame to win.
But that four-bagger never came. Biondo recorded a strike in the ninth frame, but his first shot in the 10th left a ringing 10-pin. He converted the spare and then left the 3-6-9-10 on the fill to finish with a final score of 234.
Needing a mark to win, Washington calmly went nine-spare, nine to finish at 245 and become the 2026 U18 Boys Junior Gold champion.
It was an accomplishment Washington was having a hard time wrapping his head around.
“This feels surreal,” Washington said. “I’ve never won anything this prestigious, so it’s a crazy moment and nothing like I’ve ever felt before.”
In order to get where he’s never been before, Washington had to execute better than he ever had before, which is precisely what he did during his six days in Minnesota.
“My spare shooting was really good this week, and my shot-making was a lot better too,” Washington said. “
Although Biondo and Washington combined to throw nearly 30 strikes during their two-game title tilt, in the end, the match’s outcome was determined by a spare. Some right-handers would’ve been nervous about having to make the 10-pin to win a title, but Washington thought nothing of it.
“I just said to myself, ‘You’ve done this a thousand time. It’s just another 10-pin,’” Washington said. “As soon as I made it, I had so many thoughts rushing to my head because I did it; I finally realized my dream. It was crazy.”
SMITH STRIKES TO TOP TEVES, WIN U18 GIRLS NATIONAL TITLE:
2026 U18 Girls champion Madison Smith of Elmira, New York
Fans who came to Cedarvale Lanes on Saturday to watch this year’s Junior Gold stepladder finals were treated to more than 12 hours of intense bowling action. As such, those who attended from start to finish were understandably running low on energy by the time the U18 Girls stepladder got underway on Saturday night.
Thankfully, Madison Smith of Elmira, New York, and Ashlin Teves of Machesney Park, Illinois, gave the capacity crowd a much-needed shot of adrenaline, engaging in a two-game thriller that will be talked about for years to come.
Smith struck on eight of her first nine shots during Game 1 of the championship match; nevertheless, an open in the fifth combined with a pair of Teves doubles still forced Smith to spare and fill seven to win the opener and force a deciding second game.
Although it was dicey, Smith was up to the task, converting the 6-10 by sending the 6-pin off the side wall and back into the 10-pin and then getting the seven pins she needed by leaving a 4-6-7 split on her fill ball to win Game 1 by a score of 239-217.
But for as dramatic as the first game was, it paled in comparison to how Game 2 played out.
Smith used an early turkey to grab an eight-pin lead through four frames, but spares in the fifth, sixth and seventh and an open in the eighth – when she failed to convert the 3-10 split – caused her to trail top-seed Teves by 17 pins heading into the last two frames.
That made the math simple. Teves, who was riding a double in the eighth and ninth frames, needed to strike on her first ball in the 10th to win the match. Anything less, and Smith would complete the upset and walk away with the 2026 U18 Girls title.
Not surprisingly, Teves delivered an excellent shot that hit flush in the 1-2 pocket; unfortunately, the 4-pin flew up and around the 7-pin without knocking it over, resulting in a nine count that gave Smith a hard-fought 209-207 title-clinching victory.
The crowd at Cedarvale may have known the ring-seven meant Smith was a winner, but she was a little bit slower to figure it out.
“I honestly didn’t know at first that I’d won,” Smith said. “After Ashlin (Teves) picked up the 7-pin, I saw the score show on the screen, and that’s when I knew I had it.”
What Smith also had all night long was a knack for delivering the shot she needed when she needed it, which she claims occurs by keeping her focus narrow.
“I just focus on the little things,” Smith said. “You know, at the end of the day, I was just happy to make it to this stage no matter the outcome. I think that mindset helped me a lot.”
Smith opened the U18 Girls stepladder with a 216-165 win against No. 3 seed Taylor Kretz of Erie, Pennsylvania.
U16 BOYS TITLE GOES TO MISSOURI’S BURNETT:
2026 U16 Boys champion Harper Burnett of Jackson, Missouri
Winning a Junior Gold title is never easy, but Harper Burnett of Jackson, Missouri, sure made it look that way on Saturday, besting Ryan Carmichael of South Bend, Indiana, 237-191 at Cedarvale Lanes to capture the first U16 Boys title in tournament history.
Burnett entered as the stepladder’s No. 1 seed, and he wasted no time showing why as he struck on six of his first eight shots, including a five-bagger in frames four through eight, to seize control of the match from the outset.
Carmichael, on the other hand, took a while to get going. The No. 3 seed left the 4-6-7-9-10 split in the first frame and a pocket 7-10 in the third to quickly ball behind Burnett by 24 pins.
Carmichael rebounded by posting strikes on five of his next six shots, but Burnett matched him ball for ball to maintain a healthy lead.
Burnett’s advantage went from sizable to insurmountable when Carmichael left a 4-9 split and opened the 10th frame to give Burnett the win on the bench.
The victory meant a lot to Burnett, who was quick to thank his supporters for helping make it happen.
“My parents have helped me so much along the way, taking me to all these tournament,” Burnett said. “Also, I have a lot of people back home trusting in me. It means a lot.”
Burnett was, however, willing to accept some degree of credit for the work he put in to make Saturday’s victory happen.
“For me to get here, it took practicing every day, just tons of practice,” Burnett said. “Winning today means a lot because it shows all the work I’ve been putting in pays off.”
Saturday’s U16 Boys stepladder finals began with Carmichael topping second seed Lucas Drisdel of Chicago, 257-166.
PRESSLEY PERSEVERES, WINS U16 GIRLS STEPLADDER IN THREE.
more to come.