Bowling: Winning is a family affair for the Hursts

Ken and Ryan Hurst have made a habit of winning city titles.

The father and son bowlers won the Greater Dayton United States Bowling Congress open handicap doubles and team titles the past two years. Ryan also earned the handicap all-events title this year while Ken – who was second last year by just two pins – finished third.

“We’ve had a good couple of years,” Ken said. “Especially considering we only bowl once a week.”

Good might be a bit of an understatement as the 59-year-old posted both a 300 game and an 800 series during the GDUSBC team tournament in late February – his first such honor scores in more than five years. His 851 handicap series in the event boosted him into the top three in all-events.

“This year in the team event, dad pushed us over the top,” Ryan said.

Ryan, 33, has been bowling for as long as he can remember.

“I pretty much lived at the bowling alley and the baseball field,” he said.

But despite spending three decades on the lanes, this was his first all-events title. The difficulty of putting together three solid tournament performances in three different houses isn’t lost on the all-events champ.

“To put together three good games, three times isn’t easy,” he said. “And it feels especially good given the talent pool here, in the Dayton area.”

With older brothers and a dad who were all avid bowlers, Ryan had his work cut out for him growing up.

“I always wanted to be competitive,” he said. “I still do.”

Ken, who has bowled off-and-on since the early 1970s, has the edge when it comes to career honor scores, but Ryan closed the gap a bit in championship titles with his all-events win.

“But he’s still got the edge,” the Vandalia bowler said of his dad.

And dad isn’t about to hang up his bowling shoes anytime soon.

“We’ve got a big group of guys who bowl together here, at state and at nationals and I’m the oldest of the bunch,” Ken said. “But I’m going to keep bowling as long as I can.”

While the titles are welcome, father and son agree that they mean that much more because they won them together.

“Hopefully, we can go for a three-peat next year,” Ken said.

GDUSBC All-Events Standings

Open Handicap

Name Doubles Singles Team All-events

1. Ryan Hurst 766 736 769 2,242

2. Andrea Behr 794 627 819 2,209

3. Ken Hurst 708 655 851 2,164

Open Scratch

1. Nick Bertke 771 739 833 2,343

2. Derrick Wright Jr. 683 783 790 2,256

3. Ryan Kohlmeyer 755 753 737 2,245