Walden – who now lives in Blacklick, Ohio – posted the eighth 300 game of this year’s United States Bowling Congress Open Championships on Monday, the sixth in team competition. It marked the fifth career 300 for the bowler who competed for Urbana University from 2009-12. He finished the day with a 174-300-233 – 707.
“No matter how many times you’ve done it before, you’re still going to have some nerves, some butterflies, especially on that big of a stage,” Walden said. “It definitely is a highlight of my career. Bowling here at Nationals, and at the National Bowling Stadium, is the pinnacle of bowling.”
The perfect game was even more so, as Walden was able to share it with his dad and mom, Cleve and Sharon. Cleve, a longtime bowler, was also competing at nationals, making his eighth appearance.
“I pretty much grew up in a bowling alley,” Walden said. “My mom and dad had a little crib they brought to the lanes and put me in while they bowled league.”
Growing up, however, Walden was more than a bowler – he was a four-sport athlete. He played baseball, basketball and football as well as competed in bowling for Bellefontaine. The 2006 Ohio High School Baseball Player of the Year was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 37th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft but chose to play college baseball at the University of Kentucky and, later, Wright State University.
He returned to the lanes competitively in 2009 at Urbana, where he graduated in 2012.
Walden credits his high school and collegiate experience as a contributing factor in his success at the Open Championships.
“The practice on tougher patterns really helped me to learn how to read the lane and play for breakpoints and angles,” Walden said. “The people I’ve been able to watch and learn from during high school and college really helped me out, and it played a part in my success today.”
Despite his many years of experience, a perfect game at the USBC Open Champions at the National Bowling Stadium still seems too good to be true.
“It definitely hasn’t sunk in yet,” Walden said.
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