Missouri Bowler Breaks Nine-Game USBC Scoring Record

ARLINGTON, Texas – Anthony Recsnik of Troy, Missouri, may be a numbers guy with a background in finance, but it’s not likely any of his class assignments have included calculating the odds of a performance like the one he turned in this weekend at the Missouri United States Bowling Congress Open Championships presented by BowlTV.

The 21-year-old right-hander not only beat his high series Saturday during the team event at Shrewsbury Lanes, he topped the previous mark two more times in doubles and singles Sunday at Concord Bowl on the way to the national nine-game USBC record. Both centers are in St. Louis.

Recsnik opened the weekend with games of 300, 256 and 269 for an 825 series and added 822 in doubles (289, 264, 269) and 836 in singles (259, 290, 287) for a 2,483 all-events total, a 275.88 average.

His scores, which are pending approval from USBC, topped the previous record of 2,468, rolled by Professional Bowlers Association Tour champion Eugene McCune of Munster, Indiana, in 2010.

“I’m kind of speechless, to be honest,” Recsnik said. “My great-grandfather was a veteran in the Navy, and one thing he always told me was to go out and make our last name known in bowling. To be able to do that is so special to me. I think this performance accomplishes that, but I still can’t believe it. It’s like a dream.”

Recsnik is a student at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, where he recently turned his focus from finance to human resource management, though his long-term goal is to secure a master’s degree with an emphasis on HR and finance.

As far as the timing of the memorable weekend, Recsnik also was in the midst of celebrating a career transition. Beyond his school responsibilities, he recently left one job and was scheduled to begin another Monday as an associate banker, now with a great story to share at orientation.

Entering the 2021 MOUSBC Open Championships, Recsnik owned four USBC-certified 300 games. The last one came in 2017. He also had sets of 807 and 813 in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Now that his scores are posted, he’ll wait to see how his performance ranks in the standings of Handicap Singles, Scratch Singles, Handicap All-Events and Scratch All-Events. The tournament kicked off March 13 and will run all but one weekend through April 18.

“I would never have thought I’d beat my high series three times at a state tournament, and I don’t know if, or when, it’s going to feel real,” said Recsnik, who bowled collegiately for Lindenwood from 2018-2020. “I’m just really proud. I told my mom while we were celebrating my job change, that it feels like a nice fresh start. I guess it’s a whole new me, starting with my bowling.”

For more information on USBC records, visit BOWL.com/Records.