Photo courtesy of GCU Club Sports
John Carroll Catholic High School graduate Braden Mauro finished among the nation's top junior bowlers before beginning his collegiate career at Grand Canyon University.
Mauro tied for ninth place in the U18 Boys Division at the United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The national tournament featured more than 900 junior bowlers.
The Birmingham native steadily climbed the standings throughout the competition, advancing through four qualifying rounds and two advancer rounds before reaching the 16-bowler double-elimination match play bracket.
Mauro averaged 213.38 through the opening advancer round. He then climbed to eighth place during the Final Advancers' Round, finishing that stage with a 214.62 average across 26 games.
Mauro said he did not begin thinking a top-10 finish was possible until about halfway through the final advancer round, which featured what he described as the tournament's most physically and mentally challenging oil pattern for him.
Grand Canyon head coach Ben Canfield praised Mauro's ability to recover from a difficult start in the round. Mauro recorded the second-highest five-game total among the 64 bowlers competing in that block.
The performance came before Mauro has bowled a frame for Grand Canyon. He committed to the university in February and will join the Lopes as a freshman this fall.
At John Carroll, Mauro helped lead the Cavaliers to the program's first state championship in 2024 and twice earned First-Team All-State honors. He also was a member of the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta National Honor Society.
Mauro plans to study business management at Grand Canyon. He joins a program that recorded four tournament victories during the 2025-26 season and finished eighth at the ITC Sectional Qualifier.
