Kara Mangiola Wins PWBA Greater Cleveland Regional

Kara Mangiola won the 2026 PWBA Greater Cleveland Regional on Saturday at Rebman Recreation in Lorain, Ohio.

She came through the stepladder from the No. 3 seed, winning three one-game matches in a row, and beat top seed Savannah Taillon 166-139 in the title match.

It is the second PWBA Regional Tour title of her career.

The PWBA Regional Tour's events last one day, and Lorain followed the usual format: eight games of qualifying, a cut to the top four and a stepladder final on BowlTV.

A field of 54 bowlers entered, the largest of the last four regionals.

Mangiola wins three matches in a row

Mangiola qualified third with 1,709 pins, a 213.63 average for eight games.

In the opening match she beat No. 4 seed Victoria Giardina, 186-177. She then knocked out No. 2 seed Anna Maxwell, 173-149 to reach the final.

Taillon had been the best bowler in the building all day. She led qualifying with 1,779 (a 222.38 average) and bowled the highest game of the tournament, a 289 in game four.

But the title match didn't go her way. Taillon opened four times in the first six frames. Mangiola strung together five spares and a strike before a split in the seventh and a 4-10 split late in the game, but Taillon left a 4-6-7 split in her fifth open frame and Mangiola held on to win 166-139.

Mangiola earned $2,600 for the win. 

Every regional champion goes straight into match play at the PWBA Regional Showdown, which runs December 3 to 5 at Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Everyone else has to come through an eight-game qualifying round on the Friday morning to fill the rest of the 18-player field.

Mangiola is the eighth 2026 regional champion with a Showdown match play spot, joining Brooke Roberts, Kerry Smith, Alyssa Ferraro, Aleesha Oden, Summer Jasmin, Haley Carroll and Sarah Klassen. The last one goes to the winner of the Greater Pittsburgh Regional at AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes on November 22.

For the previous stop, read our report on Sarah Klassen's win at the PWBA Oklahoma Regional. Next year's dates are in our 2027 PWBA Regional Tour schedule. Full standings are on the official event page.