LIMA, Peru (FNN SPORTS) – When Team USA traveled to Peru to compete in the 2024 PANAM Bowling Champion of Champions, it had the opportunity to collect a total of 12 medals, four in doubles, four in singles and four in all-events.

After the last shots had been thrown at the VIDENA Bowling Center of La Villa Deportiva Nacional (VIDENA) in Lima on Wednesday night and the final scores had been calculated, the Americans had managed to walk away with 10 of those 12 available medals.

Eight of those 10 were secured during Wednesday’s final day of competition when all four Team USA bowlers reached the podium two times each.

Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, was the most decorated American bowler on the day as she earned a gold medal in women’s all-events and a silver in women’s singles.

The other three Americans brought home one gold and one bronze medal each, which were earned as follows: Crystal Elliott of Palm Bay, Florida (women’s singles – gold; women’s all-events – bronze); Matt Russo of Ballwin, Missouri (men’s all-events – gold; men’s singles – bronze); Chris Via of Springfield, Ohio (men’s singles – gold; men’s all-events – bronze).

Team USA’s other two medals at the 2024 Champion of Champions were secured on Monday night when Russo and Via teamed up to capture silver in men’s doubles.

But Wednesday was all about individual action as the final eight-game blocks in each division determined both the singles and all-events medalists.

The women kicked things off during the morning session, and it didn’t take long to realize that the singles competition was going to be a two-player battle between Coté and Elliott from start to finish.

The American teammates pushed one another throughout the block, but, in the end, it was Elliott who emerged victorious, posting an eight-game mark of 1,602 (201, 198, 184, 202, 203, 204, 211 and 199) on Wednesday to finish with a 16-game total of 3,202 (a 200.13 average).

Coté finished just 21 pins behind at 3,181 (a 198.81 average) after a 1,568 final-round effort that included scores of 190, 225, 176, 204, 186, 171, 223 and 193.

Colombia’s Juliana Franco brought home the women’s singles bronze medal with a 16-game total of 3,112.

The singles victory allowed Elliott to win the battle – and her first gold medal as a member of Team USA – but Coté managed to win the war by topping her American teammate and the other 28 players in the field en route to the women’s all-events gold medal.

Coté earned her place atop the overall standings thanks to a three-day, 24-game total of 4,758 (a 198.25 average), which included 3,181 in singles and 1,577 in doubles.

Aruba’s Kamilah Dammers was next in line, authoring a 4,735 total (3,086 in singles and 1,649 in doubles) to walk away with silver in women’s all-events while Elliott used 3,202 in singles and 1,519 in doubles to post a mark of 4,721 (a 196.71 average) and capture bronze.

By earning gold and bronze this week at the Champion of Champions, Elliott not only doubled her career Team USA medal count, but she also continued a run of incredible bowling that started with a win at the 2024 U.S. Amateur, continued during the 2023-2024 collegiate season and culminated with her earning Rookie of the Year honors during the 2024 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour season.

But even though Elliott should be accustomed to success by now, she had a hard time figuring out what to say when asked how it felt to add an international singles gold medal to her list of accolades.

“I’m not really sure of the proper words to describe how I feel right now, but I would definitely say honored, fortunate and thankful,” Elliott said. “This past year has been nothing short of a dream, but that comes down to the hard work I put in because it’s not an easy sport. However, it helps to have a support system behind you that is always pushing you to be the best you can possibly be in practice and competition.”

In addition to trying to author a strong performance of her own, one of Coté’s primary goals for the 2024 Champion of Champions was to make sure Elliott knew that she could count on her for that support from start to finish.

It was a responsibility that Coté took very seriously, and it’s one that she clearly lived up to as both she and Elliott bowled well throughout the 24-game event.

“I think the idea of ‘having fun’ while doing work helped to ease Crystal’s mind on what was really going on around her,” Coté said. “We made a game plan the entire time. Being the veteran and leader for her felt rewarding. I felt like I did my job to help guide and push her while also maintaining my own composure and fight on the lanes. It just proves that you can do both.”

That composure and fight allowed Coté to secure her fourth and fifth career medals in Champion of Champions competition – she won gold in doubles and bronze in singles and all-events at the 2022 event in Brazil.

When asked what it is about this tournament that always seems to bring out her best, Coté pointed to its similarities to another event she’s quite fond of.

“The Champion of Champions reminds of the U.S. Women’s Open,” Coté said. “It’s an eight-game block, which can be long, grueling, mentally exhausting and hard. You really have to force yourself to stay patient and present. I knew going in that it was going to be hard and that execution and patience would be the key. Winning my first all-events gold medal here feels amazing.

“This week, like any week representing Team USA, is an absolute honor. I’m grateful for the opportunity and will always strive to be my best.”

Once the women’s competition had ended, Russo and Via took to the lanes for their final eight games and were hoping to call upon their best as well.

Via certainly accomplished that, putting up scores of 226, 191, 230, 195, 169, 223, 223 and 209 on Wednesday to add 1,666 pins to his total and bring home the men’s singles gold medal with a two-day, 16-game mark of 3,393 (a 212.06 average).

Canadian Francois Lavoie earned silver with 3,372.

The remaining spot on the men’s singles podium went to Russo, who used an eight-game total of 1,635 (208, 179, 245, 193, 238, 155, 201 and 216) on Wednesday to come in with a final score of 3,312 (a 207 average), which was good enough for third place in the 34-player field and the bronze medal.

Russo would get a gold of his own shortly thereafter, however, as the 3,312 from singles was added to the 1,623 he put up during doubles on Monday to give him a three-day, 24-game total of 4,935 (a 205.63 average), which was good enough for first place in the men’s all-events competition.

Mitch Hupe of Canada finished second and brought home silver thanks to a mark of 4,911.

Via collected bronze after posting 3,393 in singles and 1,509 in doubles to finish with a grand total of 4,902 (a 204.25 average).

Wednesday’s strong performances allowed both Russo and Via to finish the 2024 Champion of Champions a perfect three for three as both men medaled in all three events in which they competed.

Success at international events is certainly nothing new for Via as he came to Peru having already captured more than 10 medals during his tenure competing for Team USA and Junior Team USA; nevertheless, this week’s accomplishments in Lima are not something he will take for granted.

“Adding three medals to the trophy case is an amazing feeling,” Via said. “After missing out on a few close calls last year in the Dominican Republic, this was a nice rebound for me. A good performance like this, especially when the environment is so tough, is definitely rewarding and will be something I can use to build some confidence moving forward.”

But according to Via, that performance would not have happened if it weren’t for the support of his teammates and the contributions of another unsung hero.

“The work that Team USA Head Coach Bryan O’Keefe put in with us this week was incredible,” Via said. “He was at the bowling center for at least 12 hours each day working with us and the ladies. Those are long, hard days, especially with the grueling environment of how hard the lanes were here. A lot of the success from this tournament can be attributed to Coach O’Keefe and the work he did with me here and at camp a few weeks ago in Texas.”

For more information on Team USA, visit BOWL.com/TeamUSA.

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The United States Bowling Congress serves as the national governing body of bowling as recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). USBC conducts championship events nationwide including the largest participation sporting events in the world – the USBC Open and Women’s Championships – and professional events such as the USBC Masters and USBC Queens.

Founded in 1895, today USBC and its 1,449 state and local associations proudly serve more than a million members. USBC is headquartered in Arlington, Texas, working toward a future for the sport. The online home for USBC is BOWL.com.