JACKSONVILLE—Three Jax State bowlers had a successful trip to the 2025 PANAM Bowling Youth Championship held in Guatemala City last week, competing with Junior Team USA.
 
The girls each picked up a medal in doubles play and the team took silver as a whole after sitting in sixth entering the final day of competition.
 
Incoming freshman Gianna Brandolino took gold in doubles play with Nebraska's Jillian Martin.
 
"I'm super grateful to come home with a gold and silver medal," Brandolino said. "I feel like we really bonded as a team, not just the girls' side and not just the boys' side. All eight of us came together as a team and communicated really well, which made it a fun week on and off the lanes."
 
Silver went to Annalise OBryant and Erin Klemencic.
 
"This was my first time getting to travel with Junior Team USA, and I thought it was a very interesting and unique experience," Klemencic said. "There were definitely some struggles, but we overcame a lot of things, worked together and pulled through, so I enjoyed it."
 
In the team competition, Klemencic's 256 helped push the Americans up the standings. She finished the three-game series with a total of 620. OBryant totaled a 599 in a three-game series on Friday with a best game of 215.
 
"It was a grind for me personally; unfortunately, I felt like I had more downs than ups," OBryant said. "Still, with the support of the teammates and coaches, it was hard to be upset or have a bad state of mind because of the positivity I had around me. I'm going home with some hardware, and I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to represent my country on the lanes again."