After two exhausting days on the 39-foot Mike Aulby oil pattern, the marathon of PBA Indiana Classic qualification is finally over.
On Wednesday, the scoring pace was high and the lanes were forgiving. The field averaged a massive 226.53 over the first 12 games.
On Thursday, however, the lanes fought back. Overall field average dropped by nearly three and a half pins down to 223.08 for the final 12 games.
While many players struggled, Ryan Barnes used it to take complete control of the tournament with the top 32 remaining at the the David Small’s Pro Bowl West in Fort Wayne.
Barnes finished the 24-game block at the top of the leaderboard with a 5,910 total. Over two days of bowling, Barnes did not bowl a single game under 200, and his lowest score was a 204. He paired that steady floor with a massive ceiling, completely taking over the tournament in block three by shooting a 1,560 in six games.
Right behind him in second place is Marshall Kent, who also maintained a beautiful pace to finish with a 5,876 total.
Dom Barrett, who led the field after the first day, sits safely in third place. Similar to Barnes, Barrett's lowest game over all 24 games was a 209, and while Barrett cooled off slightly on Thursday, his early cushion kept him at the top 3.
Nick Pate used a late surge to grab the fourth position. He scored a massive 1,514 series in his final block to climb the standings from tenth to fourth position.
Rounding out the top five is Zach Wilkins, who had the highest scoring peak of the entire tournament during block three. He strung together games of 279, 279, and a perfect 300 for an unbelievable 858 three-game series.
Stat of the Day: The Highest Peak
Zach Wilkins Catches Fire
Wilkins strung these together in Block 3 for a massive 858 series—the highest 3-game stretch of the tournament.
EJ Tackett remains very much in the hunt. He bowled steadily through the final blocks to secure the sixth position.
The rest of the top 10 is filled with familiar names - Timmy Tan sits in seventh, followed by Mitch Hupé in eighth. Bill O'Neill and Sean Lavery-Spahr tied in total pinfall with 5,721, taking the ninth and tenth spots respectively.
A bit further down the leaderboard, Kyle Troup, who won the PBA Indiana Classic in 2024, sits comfortably in 13th place with a 5,688 total.
The most dramatic moments happened right around the cut line.
After 24 games, the magic number to advance was a 5,501. Nolan White managed to claim that final position, edging out Eric Jones. Jones finished in 33rd place with a 5,499 total, missing the cut to advance by just two single pins.
After Friday morning’s elimination round, only 16 players will advance to the next stage, where they will bowl another six games.
From there, only the top five will move on to the stepladder finals.
The stepladder finals will air live on Sunday, March 22 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW.
| Pos | Bowler | Total Pins | +/- | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Barnes | 5,910 | +1110 | 246.25 |
| 2 | Marshall Kent | 5,876 | +1076 | 244.83 |
| 3 | Dom Barrett | 5,834 | +1034 | 243.08 |
| 4 | Nick Pate | 5,801 | +1001 | 241.71 |
| 5 | Zach Wilkins | 5,793 | +993 | 241.38 |
| 6 | EJ Tackett | 5,783 | +983 | 240.96 |
| 7 | Timmy Tan | 5,746 | +946 | 239.42 |
| 8 | Mitch Hupé | 5,744 | +944 | 239.33 |
| 9 | Bill O'Neill | 5,721 | +921 | 238.38 |
| 10 | Sean Lavery-Spahr | 5,721 | +921 | 238.38 |
| 32 | Nolan White | 5,501 | +701 | 229.21 |
| 33 | Eric Jones | 5,499 | +699 | 229.13 |
