The Tennessee State USBC Open Championships, which began January 31 at LTA and Smyrna Bowling Center, wrapped up this past weekend, and bowlers from Greeneville represented The Alley in impressive fashion.
The most spectacular finish came in the team handicap division, where Team Leroy topped the leaderboard with a 3430 pinfall. The victory marked the first adult state championship brought back to Greeneville since 2016. Team members David Painter, Johnny Painter, Mike Swatzell, Cameron Key, and Clifford Doughty combined for a 3031-scratch total and finished 28 pins ahead of second place.
“This one was special,” said David Painter, who came up with the idea of naming the team after Leroy Key, who passed away unexpectedly last summer while doing what he loved — bowling. “I’m so glad we could do it. Seeing that name at the top … could make a grown man cry.”
Another Greeneville squad, Bowling Stones — made up of Mike Swatzell, Greg Dunski, Robert Bucklew, Colby Shoun, and Aaron Keith — finished third with a 3387.
The final two teams from Greeneville also placed within the top 30 out of 475 teams. Striken Ain’t Easy finished 12th, while The Alley came in 27th.
In the handicap doubles division, the father-son duo of Johnny and David Painter rolled a 1477 to place 27th out of 885 entries.
Cameron Key recorded the area’s highest finish in the handicap singles division, placing 19th out of 1,756 entries with a 789. He also finished 28th in the single’s scratch division with a 717.
Scores from all nine games were then combined for the All-Events category. David Painter finished 37th overall with a 2144, while Cameron Key placed 91st with a 2092. In the senior All-Events division, Johnny Painter finished 49th with a 2050 and Robert Bucklew 76th with a 2028.
These results remain unofficial pending a ruling on a protest filed following the competition and could change slightly.
