December 15, 2024 Nolan Hughes

Utah’s Manny Ferrell and South Carolina’s Randy Weiss claim the final PBA Regional Tour title of the season

Manny Ferrell entered the BowlTV PBA Regional Players Invitational, the season finale of the PBA Regional Tour season, without a title to his name.

The 19-year-old Utah native left Reno’s National Bowling Stadium with the Chris Warren RPI trophy, a $15,000 first-place check, and a berth in the 2025 PBA Tournament of Champions.

“It is pretty sweet knowing that I'm a PBA champion now,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell said he started bowling about five years ago and not long after, his mother and grandfather passed away.

“He was my biggest supporter,” Ferrell said. “It sucks to win without them, but this one means a lot to me.”

Ferrell also thanked Clay Rees, a fellow Utah native and PBA West/Northwest Regional Tour player.

“(Clay) drives us everywhere, 12-plus hours. I wouldn't be where I am without him,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell led the 96-player field through 18 games of qualifying. In match play, he defeated TJ Rock (3-1), David Lance (3-1), Evan Genz (2-1) and Nate Purches in the championship match (215-194).

“After I led the tournament, I gained a bunch of confidence,” Ferrell said. “My look on the fresh was so good. I think a lot of people knew that, and they were a little scared in a way.”

With the win, Ferrell will have the opportunity to bowl in the main field of next season’s PBA Tournament of Champions.

“I’m always on the edge about going on the national tour, but this is a boost of confidence to end the year off,” Ferrell said. “I’m going to try to do cool things out there and just see how it goes.”

Championship

No. 1 Manny Ferrell def. No. 18 Nate Purches, 215-194

Semifinal Matches 

No. 1 Manny Ferrell def. No. 13 Evan Genz, 2-1
No. 18 Nate Purches def. No. 3 Trey Ford III, 2-1

Round of 8 Matches

No. 1 Manny Ferrell def. No. 8 David Lance, 3-1
No. 13 Evan Genz def. No. 21 Brandon Kring, 3-0
No. 3 Trey Ford III def. No. 6 Nick Borgaro, 3-1
No. 18 Nate Purches def. No. 23 Tim Foy Jr., 3-1

In the PBA50 division, Randy Weiss capped off his tremendous season with the RPI title, the 12th of his career.

The 50-year-old, who earned PBA50 Tour Rookie of the Year honors this season, was emotional after the win. 

“I stopped bowling for 10 years during a different phase of my life,” Weiss said. “I’m back bowling again, but you never know what level you’re going to get back to. The last two years, I feel like I’m getting sharper and sharper. I try not to think about my age as a limiting factor, but I’m about to be 51 in a couple of days; you never know how much time is left. I’m working hard to take care of myself because I want to keep going at it for a while.”

Weiss led the first two rounds of qualifying, but dropped to fourth during the third round.

“I struggled a little bit yesterday,” he said. “Luckily I hung onto that bye, which I think was huge. I did not want to have to come back and bowl last night. I wanted that break to go hit the gym, take out some aggression, and get a good night’s sleep.”

Weiss didn’t bring his A-game into match play either, failing to shoot above 210 until his seventh game on Sunday afternoon. But the veteran found a way to defeat Shawn Horenberger (3-1), Eugene McCune (2-1) and Rich Corwin in the championship match (229-209).

“I worked off my experience from previous shows,” Weiss said. “I kept the words of Mike Machuga — slow down the match — in my head. If you’re not slowing it down, the next thing you know it’ll be the eighth frame. I just focused on one shot at a time and it worked out this time.”

After the match, Weiss thanked his children, Gavin, Rosalynn and Andrew, the latter of whom celebrated his 25th birthday today.

“Rosalynn was sitting at home watching the match,” he said. “We have this deal where the kids get to pick my shirts and Rosi picked this shirt today. Gavin has a regional title, but now she’s got an RPI title so he’s going to have to step it up!”

Championship

No. 4 Randy Weiss def. No. 2 Rich Corwin, 229-209

Semifinal Matches 

No. 4 Randy Weiss def. No. 9 Eugene McCune, 2-1
No. 2 Rich Corwin def. No. 3 Chris Warren, 2-1

Round of 8 Matches

No. 9 Eugene McCune def. No. 1 Rick Benard, 3-2
No. 4 Randy Weiss def. No. 12 Shawn Horenberger, 3-1
No. 3 Chris Warren def. No. 6 Rick Graham, 3-2
No. 2 Rich Corwin def. No. 10 Darryl Bower, 3-0

TOURNAMENT DETAILS

Host center — National Bowling Stadium | Reno, NV
PBA division — Standings | Details
PBA50 division — Standings | Details

Previous Stories
Round of 8 Recap
Round 2 Recap
Round 1 Recap
Tournament preview